Dylan Lee has quickly become one of the most sought-after rookie prospects in all of baseball over the past couple seasons. While still in the minor leagues, Lee has generated a huge buzz around his potential and many see him as a future star at the major league level. As a result, Dylan Lee baseball cards have skyrocketed in popularity and value among collectors in recent years.
Lee was drafted out of high school by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 3rd round of the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft. Considered one of the top pitching prospects in that entire draft class, Lee had scouts drooling over his electric fastball that could touch triple digits on the radar gun along with a nasty slider and developing changeup. In his first professional season in rookie ball in 2018, Lee dominated to the tune of a 1.46 ERA and 0.79 WHIP with 54 strikeouts in 41.2 innings pitched between the Appalachian League and Gulf Coast League.
This breakout performance immediately put Lee on the map as one of the top pitching prospects in the entire Rays system. His 2018 rookie cards began to gain value as collectors speculated over his long term potential. One of Lee’s standout rookie cards from 2018 is his Bowman Chrome Auto Refractor parallel card, limited to only 5 copies printed. High grade PSA 10 or BGS 10 examples of this ultra rare Dylan Lee rookie card have sold at auction for upwards of $10,000 due to his budding hype after that first season.
Lee continued to impress in 2019 when he was promoted to A-Ball for the first time with the Charleston RiverDogs of the South Atlantic League. There, he dominated even more with a 1.09 ERA and 0.84 WHIP over 15 starts and 73.1 innings pitched. He struck out an incredible 114 batters compared to just 16 walks allowed that season. This breakout season at the A-Ball level sent Lee’s prospect stock soaring and collectors began snatching up any Dylan Lee cards they could find on the secondary market.
One of the standout rookie cards from Lee’s 2019 season is his Bowman Draft Chrome Green Auto Refractor parallel card, limited to only 3 copies produced. In a PSA 10 gem mint condition, examples of this ultra rare Dylan Lee rookie have sold for as much as $25,000 due to his incredible season and rising star status. The demand for any Dylan Lee cards, especially from his early Bowman Chrome and Draft sets, skyrocketed throughout 2019 and into 2020 as he continued rising up prospect rankings.
Heading into the shortened 2020 minor league season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dylan Lee was ranked as the #4 overall prospect in the loaded Rays system by MLB.com behind only Wander Franco, Vidal Brujan, and Shane Baz. At the time, Fangraphs ranked him as the 79th best overall prospect in all of baseball. Needless to say, the hype and excitement surrounding Lee was at an all-time high. Unfortunately, the pandemic wiped out the entire 2020 minor league season so Lee missed valuable development time on the mound that year.
In 2021 Lee finally received an invitation to major league spring training camp with the Tampa Bay Rays. Though he didn’t make the big league roster out of camp, Lee was dominant once again in his first taste of Double-A action with the Montgomery Biscuits in the Southern League. In 13 starts totaling 61.1 innings pitched, Lee posted an outstanding 1.77 ERA with 78 strikeouts compared to just 17 walks allowed. He continued flashing a triple-digit heater with movement to go along with a plus slider and changeup. This success only added to Lee’s growing hype that continued driving up the prices of his vintage rookie cards.
Lee received a late season promotion to Triple-A Durham in 2021 where he made two starts, allowing just one earned run over 8.2 innings while striking out 13 batters. With his prospect stock and hype at an all-time high going into 2022, Lee was named the Rays’ #3 overall prospect by MLB.com behind only Baz and shortstop Carlos Colmenarez. He was also ranked as the 56th best prospect in all of baseball by Fangraphs entering this season. Needless to say, any Dylan Lee cards, especially those from his early Bowman Chrome rookie years, were in extremely high demand and only increasing in value.
In 2022, the 24-year-old Lee began the season back with Triple-A Durham where he continued shoving with a 2.03 ERA and 0.92 WHIP over 20 starts and 115.2 innings pitched. He struck out an incredible 143 batters compared to just 23 walks allowed at the highest level of the minors prior to the MLB season. This dominance led to Lee earning his first ever major league call up with the Tampa Bay Rays in early August 2022. He made his big league debut on August 5th against the Cleveland Guardians, striking out 3 batters over 2 scoreless innings in a relief appearance.
Lee would go on to appear in 10 games for the Rays in 2022, making 2 starts while posting a 3.38 ERA and 1.19 WHIP with 22 strikeouts over 22 innings as he got his first taste of major league action. He showed electric stuff against MLB hitters with a mid-to-upper 90s fastball and a wipeout slider. Needless to say, Lee’s prospect stock could not have been higher going into the 2023 season after showcasing his talent in the big leagues as a 24-year-old rookie. His cards from early in his career, especially prized rookie parallels, have exploded in value due to his breakout and arrival in the major leagues.
Going forward, Dylan Lee cards, especially from 2018-2019 Bowman Chrome sets when he was a hyped prospect, are some of the most sought after on the modern baseball card market. High grade PSA 10 or BGS 10 examples of prized parallels like his 2018 Bowman Chrome Auto Refractor or 2019 Bowman Draft Green Auto Refractor are considered true gems in collections and routinely sell for five figures due to Lee’s rising star status. As he continues establishing himself with the Tampa Bay Rays pitching staff in 2023 and beyond, the demand and prices for all of Lee’s vintage rookie cards will likely only continue climbing to new heights. Collectors are banking on Lee becoming an impact starter for years to come, further cementing his early cards as some of the most valuable moderns on the market today.
