The 2022 Topps baseball card series featured some highly sought after rookie cards and short printed parallels that have quickly become some of the most valuable modern cards on the market. With unprecedented demand and excitement surrounding young star rookies like Julio Rodriguez, Bobby Witt Jr., and Spencer Torkelson, finding some of the scarcer Topps parallels from this past season can prove quite difficult. Let’s take a deeper look at some of the standout rare Topps baseball cards collectors are hunting from 2022.
Perhaps the biggest chase card from the entire 2022 Topps series is the Julio Rodriguez rainbow foil parallel. Labeled as SP Rainbow Foil in the checklist, this parallel features Julio Rodriguez’s primary red bordered rookie card with an iridescent rainbow swirl foil texture across the entire front of the card. Topps confirmed they only printed 18 of these cards, making it an incredibly rare modern rookie to try and track down. On the secondary market, PSA 10 examples have sold for upwards of $12,000, showing just how coveted a true 1/1 parallel this is among collectors.
Another uber short printed card that’s caused excitement is the Bobby Witt Jr. Green Shimmer parallel from Series 1. Numbered to only 10 copies, these feature a vibrant green shimmer effect on the front along with Witt’s primary red bordered rookie. Given Witt’s star potential and breakout rookie campaign in Kansas City, any ultra low numbered parallels of his signature rookie cards are automatically worthwhile investments. PSA 10 examples have changed hands privately for over $8,000.
For Spencer Torkelson enthusiasts, one hugely valuable parallel comes from Heritage High Number. Labeled as the S2 Red Foil parallel in checklists, these feature a vivid red spectrum textured pattern across the front of Torkelson’s primary red bordered rookie card. Topps confirmed a print run of only 15 copies for this parallel, thrusting any Gem Mint examples into truly elite collecting territory. A PSA 10 just traded for a staggering $10,000 on an online card forum.
Beyond the shiny high-numbered short prints, some key base rookie cards from series 1 also gained major value throughout the year. As Julio Rodriguez’s legend grew with jaw-dropping plays in Seattle, even his standard base rookie maintained blistering demand. PSA 10 examples now move regularly for $700-800, marking a massive rise from initial release prices. Bobby Witt Jr.’s base also climbed significantly, with ungraded copies still selling for $100-150 raw even months after release.
Topps Heritage held additional treasures, as Adley Rutschman’s star potential and breakout MLB debut at catcher led to surging interest in parallels of his retro-style rookie card as well. Numbered versions like the /75 Green Foil parallel or /50 Purple Foil parallel maintain prices around $500-600 graded Mint. The rare Heritage High Number set also yielded worthwhile short prints, like a Crimson Foil parallel of C.J. Abrams that was limited to just 15 copies.
Bowman 1st Edition from early in the year remains another set that delivered breakout players and short printed hits. Cards like Oneil Cruz’s Green Refractor (/75) and Bobby Miller’s Orange Refractor (/50) parallels saw major rises tied to their success throughout the season. Even base rookies held strong value, as later risers like Jose Miranda and Steven Kwan maintained $50-75 raw prices into the winter months after breakouts.
While flagship Series 1 and Heritage garner the bulk of attention each year, Topps Chrome and Finest also yielded exciting rookie short prints and shiny parallels of big names that collectors scrambled to find. Jacob deGrom’s final rookie year provided a major story, with colorful refractors like his Aqua Shimmer (/99) rising throughout his Cy Young caliber comeback campaign. Super short prints like a Nick Lodolo Directional parallel numbered to 3 copies lit up boards.
Whether hunting base copies or short prints, the sheer volume of exciting young talents that debuted throughout 2022 Topps sets like Rodriguez, Witt, Torkelson and more provided arguably the most compelling modern rookie class chase in years. With so many future stars cemented their arrival, their Topps cards from their initial campaigns maintain strong long term speculative appeal regardless of parallel or numbering. The 2022 season may prove one of the most widely collected in recent memory.
While flagship Series 1 and Heritage will always drive the majority of interest each year, diving into some of the scarcer parallel subsets and short prints delivered within Topps’ 2022 releases gave savvy collectors a opportunity to uncover finds with immense long term profit potential. Between the proven young stars and potential breakouts alike, this past year’s rookies established a class that looks primed to maintain strong collector enthusiasm and secondary market demand deep into the future.
