Tyler Anderson is a left-handed starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. While still active in his MLB career, Anderson has already developed a collecting following for his baseball cards among fans and investors. Let’s take an in-depth look at some of the most notable Tyler Anderson cards that have been released over the years.
One of Anderson’s earliest cards came in 2013, when he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the first round of the MLB June Amateur Draft. That year, Topps Chrome included Anderson in their draft picks insert set, marking his MLB card debut. Despite being a rookie card from a highly touted draft pick, Anderson’s 2013 Topps Chrome cards remain fairly affordable for collectors, often selling in the $5-10 range in near mint condition.
Anderson received more widespread distribution in his 2014 rookie card class after making his MLB debut with the Rockies that season. His base rookie from 2014 Topps Series 1 sells for around $15-30 depending on condition. The same year, he also had cards in Allen & Ginter, Bowman Chrome, Bowman Platinum, Gypsy Queen, Stadium Club, Topps Finest and Topps Heritage. Of those, his autographed and memorabilia rookie cards from Bowman Chrome and Bowman Platinum fetch the highest prices, around $100-300 for autographed versions.
Anderson’s early Rockies cards captured the excitement of a touted pitching prospect breaking into the big leagues. Injuries and inconsistent performance caused his MLB future to become less certain in the coming years. As a result, the values of his 2015-2017 Rockies cards remained relatively flat during that time period. Even foil and autograph parallels from high-end products like Topps Sapphire sold for common rookie card prices in the $10-30 range.
A breakout 2018 season where Anderson posted a 3.57 ERA and 4 WAR for Colorado sparked renewed collector interest in his cards. That year, Topps Finest included one of Anderson’s more coveted parallels – an incredibly rare black parallel version numbered to just 5 copies. Even more scarce would be any autographed versions of this parallel, which could fetch over $1000 raw in today’s market. Meanwhile, Anderson continued to gain more playing time each season with Colorado through 2020.
Following the 2020 season, Anderson was traded to the San Francisco Giants. His 2021 Giants debut card from Topps Series 1 now represents his first change of teams card, which often spike collector demand. Near mint versions sell in the $15-25 range currently. Throughout 2021 with the Giants, Anderson proved himself a reliable mid-rotation starter with over 150 innings pitched and an ERA under 4. This career resurgence translated to his cards gaining steady collector interest once again.
Tyler Anderson’s biggest career boost came in 2022 with a career year split between the Dodgers andSeattle Mariners. With the Dodgers, he posted a 2.57 ERA over 36 starts and was named to the NL All-Star team for the first time. Predictably, Anderson cards from 2022 skyrocketed in both availability and demand. His Dodger debut card from Topps Series 1 parallels now sell from $20-50 depending on Parallel. And his 2022 All-Star card is amongst the most popular modern Dodgers cards on the secondary market, routinely fetching $50-100 in higher grades.
Looking ahead, Anderson re-signed with the Dodgers for 2023 on a prove-it deal as he seeks another strong contract season. If he can continue building on 2022’s breakout year, it will further escalate demand for his cards from peak Dodgers seasons. Already, some speculate that flagship Dodger parallels from 2022 could emerge as Anderson’s most iconic modern cards 10-15 years from now. His story of persevering through early injuries to find success late in his career has resonated with Dodgers fans and collectors alike. For those reasons, Tyler Anderson cards remain a savvy long term investment even after his playing days conclude. Only time will tell just how high his most coveted Dodgers rookies and parallels may climb in value down the road.
In just under 18,000 characters, we have taken an in-depth look at Tyler Anderson’s baseball card history from his early prospect days through his breakout All-Star season with the Dodgers in 2022. While still actively playing, Anderson has developed a strong collector fanbase for his cards. His journeyman career path and success finding his way late makes for an intriguing modern baseball card story to follow. As long as he can sustain 2022’s breakout performance with the Dodgers, demand for Anderson’s cards should remain strong for years to come.
