Three Players Having Steller Starts and Their Rookie Cards
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Fans like a success story. And when it comes to the 2025 MLB season there are many players seeing a boost on the field and in the hobby. Here are three players have a great year and where their rookie cards sit in the market today.
#3 Jacob deGrom, RHP (Texas Rangers)
When he's at his best, you'd be hard pressed to find a better pitcher than Jacob deGrom. He signed a big contract before the 2023 season and had a few starts before going under the knife for a second career Tommy John surgery.
While he got a few innings in at the end of 2024, he's hit the ground running this year. His ERA sits 2.61 and has 36 strikeouts in 38 inning pitched. He's given up 4 runs in just one start this year.
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One of deGrom's most desired rookie cards is his 2014 Topps Heritage. The pop count is fairly low at 804 graded Gem Mint 10. Looking at Card Ladder, you can see that deGrom's performance has shown up in his card value, and quick for that matter.
According to the card tracking app, this card has ebbed and flowed around the $50 mark, with one selling for just $35 on March 29th. But just three days latter, according to the app, this same card sold for $150. It's such a high number that it could be a one-off, and collectors should take that into account. Currently on eBay, there are multiple listings for this card around the $75 mark.
#2 Austin Riley, 3B (Atlanta Braves)
Austin Riley has been one of those quiet, above average cogs in the Braves lineup since his promotion in 2019. With Ronald Acuna Jr. still on the mend from an ACL injury, Riley has outperformed his career numbers so far in 2025.
Currently, Riley is batting .292, nearly 20 points higher than his career average of .273. He also has 8 home runs and 24 RBI. Not only that, but according to his stats from the last 7 games, and 15 games, he's hitting over .300.
Austin Riley's rookie comes out of 2019 Topps Update. Though not on Card Ladder, eBay sold listings gives a good picture on where his value is at. According to the listings, this card sold for $105 on March 15th, while a raw version sold for just $25 on February 12th.
A player like Riley, who is on a team with Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies, and previously Freddie Freeman, his value can be hard to gauge.
#1 Pete Alonso, 1B (New York Mets)
Polar Bear Pete Alonso is having a career year, there's not doubting that. He's currently hitting .344, a whopping 90 points above his career average. He has 8 home runs and 31 RBI, good enough for top three in RBI in baseball right now.
Though not signed to a long-term deal in the offseason, he re-upped with the Mets on a short term deal with multiple opt-outs. He's clearly showing this year he is a candidate for a big, long-term deal.
Alonso's rookie card came out of the 2019 sets. His PSA 10 Chrome refractor is a popular one among collectors and collectors looking for a nice card with a bit of a budget constraint. This card's value, according to Card Ladder, has bounced around quite frequently. On March 31st one sold for $31. Just under a month later, the card was sold for double, at $67 dollars on April 23rd.
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