Dylan Dodd is a former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 2010 to 2014. While his MLB career was relatively short, Dodd made an impact during his time in the big leagues and generated interest from collectors of baseball cards. Let’s take a deeper look at Dylan Dodd’s baseball card history.
Dodd was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 3rd round of the 2008 MLB June Amateur Draft out of high school in Virginia. As an amateur, Dodd’s first baseball cards came in 2008 Upper Deck Series 1 & 2 rookie card issues. Both cards featured Dodd’s photo from his senior year of high school in a Padres uniform.
In 2009, Dodd’s prospect status led to him receiving cards in the Topps Prospects set as well as Upper Deck’s Prospect Premieres issue. These served as Dodd’s first minor league cards. Topps featured Dodd on card #132 in their 2009 Topps Prospects set alongside other top Padres farmhands. Upper Deck included Dodd on card #153 of their 2009 Prospect Premieres issue, which was the 3rd card in the set dedicated to Padres prospects.
Dodd made his professional debut with the Fort Wayne TinCaps of the Midwest League in 2009. This led to his first minor league baseball cards in uniform. Dodd was included in both the 2009 Topps Allen & Ginter and Topps Tristar Prospects sets sporting his Fort Wayne uniform. He also received a card in the 2009 Topps Pro Debut set highlighting his first season in A-ball.
In 2010, Dodd broke out with a dominant season split between High-A Lake Elsinore and Double-A San Antonio. He posted a combined 2.03 ERA with 159 strikeouts over 146.2 innings pitched between the two levels. This breakout performance led to Dodd receiving Update cards in both 2010 Topps Series 2 and Bowman Platinum sets. He also made his debut in the Topps Triple Threads memorabilia set.
Dodd got the call to the majors in September 2010 and made his MLB debut on September 6th versus the Dodgers. He tossed a scoreless inning of relief in his debut. This led to Dodd being included as a rookie in the 2010 Topps Update and Topps Tribute sets, as well as the 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter set highlighting that year’s rookie crops. Dodd also received a base rookie card in the 2010 Topps Chrome Update issue.
In 2011, Dodd split time between the Padres and their Triple-A affiliate in Tucson. He continued to receive Update cards highlighting his MLB action in 2011 Topps Series 1 & 2 and Topps Update sets. Dodd also made his Topps Pro Debut card as a big leaguer that year. He was included in the 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter set as well.
Dodd’s most prominent baseball card came in 2012 Topps. He was featured on the base card #398 in the flagship Topps set that year. This served as Dodd’s first “main” card in Topps’ standard baseball release as opposed to an Update or Prospects issue. He also received Update cards in 2012 Topps Series 1 & 2 highlighting his continued MLB appearances.
Injuries slowed Dodd’s progress in 2013-2014 as he bounced between the Padres and their Triple-A affiliates. He continued to receive Update cards in 2013 Topps Series 2 and 2014 Topps Update issues. Dodd’s final MLB cards came in 2014 Topps Update before he was released by the Padres organization after the 2014 season at age 26.
While Dylan Dodd didn’t achieve MLB stardom, collectors took notice of his prospect pedigree and MLB appearances over 5 seasons. His cards from Bowman, Topps, Upper Deck, and more provide a documented account of his professional journey. Dodd autographed cards also remain popular with collectors given his success at the minor league level. Nearly a decade after his debut, Dodd’s cards – especially his 2012 Topps base card – continue to hold value for Padres and baseball card collectors.
In summarization, Dylan Dodd generated a wide array of baseball cards between 2008-2014 chronicling his rise from high school draft pick to MLB pitcher. From his earliest prospect issues to MLB Update cards and a base card in Topps’ flagship set, Dodd created a documented collecting history for fans. While injuries curtailed his career, Dodd’s cards remain of interest today showcasing a once promising pitching prospect.
