Tyler Nevin was drafted 38th overall by the Colorado Rockies in the 2015 MLB Draft out of Poway High School in California. As a highly touted prospect coming out of high school, Nevin’s rookie cards from his draft year and subsequent seasons have developed a strong following among baseball card collectors.
Nevin signed with the Rockies for a $1.6 million signing bonus after being selected in the competitive balance round A of the 2015 draft. This sizeable signing bonus for a high school position player indicated the Rockies’ belief in Nevin’s potential. His first amateur baseball cards started appearing shortly after in sets like 2015 Bowman, Topps High Tek, and Leaf Draft.
The 2015 Bowman Tyler Nevin rookie card is one of the key cards from his draft year. As the flagship Bowman set that serves as the leading source for top MLB draft prospects, Nevin’s debut in this set holds significance. His paper rookie card in 2015 Bowman shows him in a Rockies uniform with stats from his senior high school season. This card remains obtainable but has increased in value in recent years as Nevin has risen up organizational rankings. Graded gem mint 10 examples of the 2015 Bowman Nevin rookie have sold for over $100 on auction sites.
Another coveted Nevin draft year card is his short print variant from 2015 Topps High Tek. Featuring stunning 3D player images with tech-inspired designs on a metallic card stock, the 2015 Topps High Tek set perfectly captured the futuristic aesthetic of the time. Nevin’s short print version within the set is rarer to find in collectors’ hands. Even low-grade examples often sell for $50 or more due to the set’s aesthetic appeal and Nevin’s developing prospect status.
Nevin spent his first full pro season in 2016 playing for the Asheville Tourists of the Low A South Atlantic League. That season he slashed .290/.361/.414 with 7 home runs over 111 games. His standout performance led to his inclusion in upper-level prospect sets like 2017 Bowman Sterling and 2017 Stadium Club.
The 2017 Bowman Sterling Tyler Nevin rookie card highlights his breakout 2016 campaign. Featuring vibrant photography on a sleek silver foil stock, Bowman Sterling portrays Nevin in an action shot ready to swing. As one of the higher-end Bowman releases that focuses on top prospects, the Nevin rookie remains a key holding for collectors following his progression. Pristine mint 10 examples have sold for over $150 at auction.
Another top Nevin rookie from 2017 is found in Stadium Club. Known for its elegant minimalist design aesthetics, 2017 Stadium Club immortalized Nevin crouched in the on deck circle. The set perfectly captured Nevin’s prospect status entering 2017 with a photo rich card in a premium on-card autograph format. Numbered to 299 copies, graded mint 9 examples of Nevin’s autograph rookie in Stadium Club routinely sell for well over $200.
Nevin followed up his breakout 2016 with an even more impressive 2017 campaign splitting time between Asheville and Lancaster of the High A California League. Across both levels that season, Nevin hit .317/.389/.534 with 18 home runs and 79 RBI over 125 total games. His offensive explosion garnered Nevin accolades as Colorado’s top position player prospect entering 2018.
Nevin’s standout 2017 season led him to appear in some of the leading release sets of 2018, including Bowman, Bowman Chrome, and Bowman Platinum. As a Top 100 MLB prospect, Nevin’s inclusion in these elite sets increased expectations and collector demand for his modern rookie cards. Of the 2018 Nevin rookie options, Bowman Platinum remains the white whale for serious collectors.
Only available as 1/1 printing plates or autograph cards, Nevin’s ultra-short printed rookie in Bowman Platinum epitomizes the modern concept of the Holy Grail card. One such Nevin printing plate rookie achieved a record-setting auction price of over $1,000 in 2020. While financially out of reach for most, the Platinum rookie represents the pinnacle of Nevin collecting so far in his career. Beyond Platinum, pristine Bowman Chrome Nevin rookies have also achieved four-figure prices in recent eBay sales.
In 2018, Nevin started the season scorching hot for the Hartford Yard Goats of the Double A Eastern League, slashing .352/.443/.595 through 52 games before an injury derailed his momentum. He spent most of the rest of the season on the injured list recovering. Despite losing much of his season to injury, Topps commemorated Nevin’s early success with inclusion in their 2018 Topps Fire racing prospect set. Depicting Nevin rounding third base, the card highlighted the toolset that made him a Top 100 prospect prior to his injury plagued season.
Nevin fully regained his health in 2019 and returned to form at Double A Hartford, batting .317 with 9 homers in 75 games before a late season promotion to the Albuquerque Isotopes of Triple A. His sustained success that season reaffirmed his superstar potential in collector’s eyes. Nevin made appearances in several of the year’s top prospect sets like 2019 Bowman Chrome Sapphire, Ginter, and Topps Fire. The Sapphire parallel remains quite scarce with only 15 parallel copies produced of Nevin’s card.
After an injury shortened 2020 season amid the pandemic, Nevin kicked off 2021 back at Triple A Albuquerque. He again impressed with a .308 average through 44 games before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles along with pitcher Chris Germino for infielder Pat Valaika on July 30, 2021. Nevin’s mid-season move to a new organization added intrigue for collectors and opened a new chapter in his baseball card story.
Nevin has continued raking since joining the Orioles’ Triple A affiliate Norfolk Tides, batting .322 in 42 games. He seems on the cusp of a long awaited MLB debut. Should Nevin break into the big leagues for Baltimore, a wide variety of product releases in 2022 like Bowman, Topps, and Topps Chrome could feature his hotly anticipated Orioles rookie cards. With his track record of production and rise up prospect rankings, demand would likely be high from collectors eager to acquire Nevin’s first MLB cards.
In summary, Tyler Nevin’s baseball cards so far have chronicled his development from promising high school draft pick to top Rockies’ prospect to now on the doorstep of an Orioles debut. Collectors following Nevin’s journey closely will want to secure all the seminal rookies and prospect cards documenting his rise. His recent on-field success raising MLB expectations brings renewed anticipation that Nevin’s biggest and most valuable cards may still be ahead in the form of a coveted Orioles rookie card issue.