Fernando Tatis Jr. is one of the brightest young stars in Major League Baseball today. As the budding superstar shortstop for the San Diego Padres, Tatis has taken the league by storm with his electrifying play and highlight-reel worthy defensive plays and home runs. Only 22 years old, Tatis has already established himself as one of the faces of MLB and a burgeoning brand both on and off the field.
Naturally, with Tatis’ rising stardom has come skyrocketing interest in his baseball cards from collectors both casual and serious. Though still early in his career, Tatis’ rookie cards have already seen tremendous appreciation in secondary market value as his star continues to rise. Let’s take a deeper look at some of Tatis Jr.’s most notable baseball cards to date, their characteristics, production numbers, valuations and what factors might influence their future worth.
2019 Topps Chrome Yellow Refractor RC #127 – This is widely considered to be Tatis Jr.’s top rookie card. Part of Topps’ highly coveted Chrome set, the yellow refractor parallel features eye-catching color and a 1 in 10 case hit rate, making it quite scarce. Through 2019, Tatis showed flashes of his potential but had not fully broken out yet. As a result, these Sold for around $50-100 upon release. As Tatis established himself in 2020 and 2021, the card price exploded. Near mint copies now fetch $1,000-2,000, with rare gem mint 10 graded copies commanding $3,000 or more. As Tatis continues performing at an elite level, this card stands to gain even more in value long term.
2019 Bowman Chrome RC Orange Refractor #BCP70 – Another highly valuable and scarce Tatis rookie, the Bowman Chrome orange refractor features stunning color and a retro design paying homage to the original Bowman set. With an approximate print run of 1 in 10 cases, these are fairly tough to acquire. Upon release, uncirred copies sold in the $50-100 range. As Tatis emerged, the card value rose sharply to $500-1,000. Top graded gem mint 10 copies have even reached $3,000. As one of Tatis’ most visually striking and limited rookie parallels, this card maintains strong collector demand.
2019 Bowman’s Best Chrome RC Blue Refractor #BB6 – The Bowman’s Best set brought another slick Tatis rookie in blue refractor form. With an estimated print run of 1 in 8 cases, these provide a nice color contrast and remain relatively scarce compared to standard base cards. Initial prices ranged $50-150. But now mint copies regularly trade hands for $300-600, with the finest 10s reaching over $1,000. This card holds value due to its memorable design and rarity within the prestigious Bowman’s Best brand. As long as Tatis produces, it retains potential for future appreciation.
2019 Topps Finest RC #39 – The flagship Topps Finest set released a uniformly rated Tatis rookie with vibrant imaging technology. While not as rare as other parallels, these standard rookie cards still gained value significantly from $10-20 upon initial release to $75-150 in near mint condition now. Even higher grades have reached $250-500 as Tatis cements his star status. For a traditionally desirable mainstream rookie issue, the Finest RC looks built to hold ground.
2019 Topps Update RC #US250 – As Tatis’ breakout MLB season commenced in full force, Topps rushed out this popular Update Series RC. With a much larger initial print run versus low-numbered parallels, near mint copies can be acquired for $25-50 presently. Shining examples that achieve a BGS or PSA 10 can fetch up to $150-300 due to strong condition. This serves as one of Tatis’ most accessible rookies and easiest to find in high grades.
While still relatively new to collecting, Fernando Tatis Jr.’s rookies have already seen dynamic price increases that correlate precisely to his on-field dominance and marketability. With Tatis signed to a huge contract extension keeping him in San Diego for over a decade still in his early 20s, all indicators point to more big years on the horizon. For serious card investors, any of Tatis’ rare parallel rookies offer compelling long term appreciation potential. His mainstream rookies also appear built to hold value as must-have items for Padres PC collectors decades down the line. Truly, Tatis is positioned as one of the new faces of the hobby for years to come.
