Top 10 MLB Rookies of the 2010s and Their Cards: Part 2
#5 Juan Soto
Juan Soto is the youngest player on this list. Having just turned 26 in October he already has the career resume hall of fame caliber, if not, he's close. After signing with the Nationals as an international free agent in 2015, Soto made his debut in the majors with Washington in 2018 at 19 years old.
Top 10 MLB Rookies Cards of the 2010s: Part 1
He made stops in San Diego and in New York with the Yankees before signing with their crosstown rivals, inking an incredible 15-year $765 million contract with the Mets.
His PSA 10 2016 Bowman Chrome refractor autograph is a beauty. It's a great card, and the blue ink signature goes well with the red uniform. But it isn't for your value buys. According to Card Ladder, you'll be paying upwards of $6,000 for one of these.
#4 Bryce Harper
Bryce Harper was dubbed 'The Chosen One' of Baseball by Sports Illustrated in 2009, a throwback to LeBron James seven years prior. After graduating high school early he enrolled at the College of Southern Nevada. It was a wood bat league where he hit 31 home runs and batted .443.
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He was taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals. While with the Nationals he made six All-Star teams and won an MVP. He signed with the Phillies in 2019, has made two All-Star teams and won another MVP, and he's still just 32 years old.
One of the bigger, and more famous cards of Harpers is his PSA 10 2011 Bowman Chrome Prospects autograph. According to Card Ladder, you'll need close to $6,000 for this piece.
#3 Mike Trout
From 2012 to 2022 Mike Trout was regarded as the best baseball player in the world. Injuries have hampered his career the last three years, but since his debut in 2011 he has already accumulated the resume of a sure fire hall of famer.
Trout won the AL Rookie of the Year in 2012, he has won three MVP awards, made 11 All-Star appearances and nine Silver Slugger awards. The only knock on his illustrious career is his post-season resume, which is practically non-existent. But let's be honest, it's hardly his fault since it is a team game. The Angels have only made the playoffs once with him on the roster, in 2014.
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While many of the above players have cards featured that are north of $5,000, one of the most famous Trout cards (and one of the most famous of the 21st century) is his PSA 10 2011 Topps Update. It's base, but a famous base. While this card peaked at about $6,000 in February 2021, according to Card Ladder, you can get one right now for under $1,000.
#2 Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge and his prolific power hit the bright lights of Major League Baseball in 2016. After getting drafted by the Yankees in 2013 with the No. 32 overall pick he set the rookie home run record in 2017 (a record since broken by Pete Alonso). He won AL Rookie of the Year that year, and proceeded to win two MVP awards, has made six All-Star appearances and has won four Silver Slugger Awards.
But the peak of his career was in 2022 when he broke the American League single season home run record when he hit 62 home runs, one more than the previous record holder Roger Maris.
Judge's PSA 10 2013 Bowman Chrome Prospect auto is one of his best cards. Worth about $3,000 the card is signed with blue ink, beautifully color matching team colors and the sleeve Judge is wearing in the photo.
#1 Shohei Ohtani
This was not a hard choice, the number one rookie to debut in the 2010s is the dual threat Shohei Ohtani. Signed from Japan in 2018 to the Los Angeles Angels Ohtani had a mediocre first two years and an atrocious shortened 2020 season, he exploded in 2021. While he hit a serviceable .257 he crushed 46 home runs and 100 RBI on his way to his first of two MVP.
Helping his cause for the award was his pitching. He pitched a 3.18 ERA and had 219 strikeouts to just 44 walks.
While he signed with the Dodgers for a record-breaking (at the time) contract of 10 years and $700 million, one of his famous cards is with him in his Japanese national team uniform. The 2017 Bowman Mega Box orange refractor is worth about $18,000, one of the few cards that, according to Card Ladder, has consistently gone up in value.
Adding to the novelty of the card is a misspelling. His last name is spelled 'Otani', missing the H.
After graduating from the University of North Dakota in 2008, Cole worked as an advertising copywriter until shifting to print journalism a few years later. Managing three weekly newspapers in the Dakotas, Cole won numerous awards from the North Dakota Newspaper Association including Best of the Dakotas and, their top award, General Excellence. He returned to collecting in 2021 and has since combined his passion for writing with his love of cards. Cole also writes for the Sports Cards Nonsense newsletter and has made guest appearances on multiple sports card collecting podcasts including Sports Cards Nonsense, and the Eephus Baseball Cards Podcast. IG: coleryan411 X: @colebenz