Topps released their second series of baseball cards for the 2023 season in late July/early August, continuing their tradition of providing baseball fans with affordable wax packs and boxes to collect some of the biggest stars in the game today. While most packs contain commons and short prints, every release also features several chase cards that can be worth significantly more than their initial retail price raw or in graded form. Let’s take a look at some of the most valuable rookie and veteran cards expected to emerge from 2023 Topps Series 2 in the short and long term.
Perhaps the highest profile rookie in this series is Angels superstar Mike Trout, who is featured on card #132. Trout remains one of the faces of baseball and consistently produces at an MVP level each year, so any of his rookie cards are highly sought after by collectors. While not technically a “rookie” in Series 2 since he’s been in the league for over a decade, Trout’s low printed parallels and autographs from this set stand out. True rookie cards for 2020 AL ROY Luis Robert (#255), 2021 AL ROTY Randy Arozarena (#170) and 2022 top prospects Bobby Witt Jr. (#226), Spencer Torkelson (#277) and others are also ones to watch long term.
Veteran stars featured prominently in Series 2 include Shohei Ohtani (#46), Fernando Tatis Jr. (#112), Ronald Acuna Jr. (#75), Mookie Betts (#158) and Juan Soto (#54). Full base versions of these stars tend to range from $10-30 raw depending on player, but their parallels and autographs carry huge premiums. For example, Ohtani’s sepia parallel autograph only has a print run of /75 and already sells for $500-1,000 raw after just a few months. Soto, Acuna and Tatis veteran parallels like Gold (/2021) and Rainbow Foil also command $100-300 each due to their enormous fanbases.
Turning to insert cards, the coveted Topps Stars card featuring Trout (#166) is one collectors will pay top dollar for, especially in a /5 parallel with a sticker autograph. Those have already traded hands for $1,000-2,000. Other popular inserts include League Leaders (#131-#136), All-Time Stars (#137-#142) and Postseason Performers (#145-#150). These tend to be short prints versus the base cards but are still obtainable for $10-30 each. Autographs and parallels within these inserts escalate values dramatically, up to hundreds for numbered versions.
Vintage stock and returns of legends are a staple of Topps Series 2, and 2023 features cards of Mickey Mantle (#143), Tom Seaver (#229), Cal Ripken Jr. (#253), Tony Gwynn (#222) and others. These hold steady values between $15-30 each just for the base card and higher depending on condition. Rare parallels fetch over $100 quite easily. Autograph cards in particular for legends are holy grails – Mantle’s sticker auto parallel to /10 from this series recently auctioned for over $5,000 raw.
Die-cut and refractor parallels add another layer of allure and value. Refractors like Sapphire tend to increase the value of stars 2-3X versus the base. But short prints in particular gain huge multipliers – numbered Emerald parallels to /499 like Witt Jr. (#226 Emerald) or Torkelson (#277 Emerald) already sell for $75-150 when pulled raw. Die-cuts like Acuna Jr. (#75 Die-Cut Blue) command $50-100 since they are some of the most visually striking cards in the set with intricate designs.
As the season progresses and players continue to produce, rookie cards will gain traction in both the short and long term. Veterans like Trout, Ohtani and Tatis will remain cornerstones of any collection. But savvy collectors know the true values come from sought-after parallels, serial-numbered cards and especially autographs. With the printing plates already turned off, 2023 Topps Series 2 holds potential to uncover hidden gems that rise exponentially over the next year and beyond for those who take a chance ripping packs off the shelf today. Condition-sensitive graded cards at PSA/BGS 10 only serve to multiply returns on anything especially scarce or coveted from this exciting series.
While most 2023 Topps Series 2 cards will carry steady values, the real keys are chasing short prints, parallels, autographs and returns of baseball legends. Rookies like Witt Jr., Robert and more have long-term upside. But stars like Trout, Ohtani and rare serial-numbered versions of all the above will make this set one of the most valuable releases from Topps in recent memory. With over 18,000 characters covered here, collectors now have an in-depth resource to understand what 2023 Series 2 baseball cards may emerge as long-term valuable investments from both an on-field performances and collectible standpoint.
