One of the most valuable rookies in the 2022 Topps baseball set is No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis. His base rookie card is selling for around $50-75 in near mint condition. Short printed and autographed versions of his rookie card can fetch much higher prices. His Topps Chrome Red Refractor rookie has sold for over $500, while autographed cards are bringing in several hundred dollars. Davis is expected to be the Pirates’ starting catcher for years to come, so his rookie cards hold plenty of long-term upside.
Another top rookie to watch is Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera. His base rookie sells for $30-40 but more short printed parallels could gain value if he becomes a starter in St. Louis. Tigers pitcher Jackson Jobe is also highly sought after given his status as the #3 overall pick. His paper base rookie sells for around $25 while refractors and autographs fetch $100+. With their early draft positions and time to develop, Davis, Herrera and Jobe appear poised for strong rookie card markets heading into the 2023 season.
Veteran stars signing big contracts tend to see card prices rise as well. For example, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge had his $360 million contract renewed, driving up the prices of his 2022 Topps flagship base card to around $30-40 compared to only $5-10 earlier in the season. High-grade versions of his flagship card from this year could become quite valuable long-term. Similarly, Cardinals superstar Paul Goldschmidt inked a $130 million extension, giving collectors optimism around holding his 2022 Topps cards.
Rookies and stars aren’t the only ones worth investing in though. Short prints tend to gain value sharply over time due to their low print runs. For example, Topps Chrome Yellow parallels from 2022 have serial numbers under only 5 copies. Early comps show the Yellow parallels selling for $150-300 already. Other short prints like Gold ink, Pink ice and Aqua splashes command $50-100 readily. Rainbow foil inverted variations have sold for over $1,000 given their rarity. Autographs from base set cards in 2022 also carry premiums of 2-5x the non-auto parallels.
Topps Update Series and Topps Chrome are often seen as the flagship products to hold each year for the best rookie class photography, paper/plastic quality and design changes. Yet the original 2022 Topps base set also features rookie phenoms like Bobby Witt Jr, CJ Abrams, Spencer Strider and more – so complete high-grade sets also command strong long-term demand. Ultimately, the 2022 Topps issue houses many cards that appear primed to retain and outpace inflation over the coming decades, making several specs well worth the investment today. With player performance and career milestones steadily revealing the true elite, Topps 2022 looks franchised to produce many valuable collectibles.
