Would You Rather? 2018 Topps Update RCs: Ronald Acuña Jr. vs. Juan Soto
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Ronald Acuña Jr. and Juan Soto shared an NL Rookie of the Year ballot in 2018, with the former winning in a landslide. Eight years later, their 2018 Topps Update base rookies are separated by just a few dollars in Gem Mint condition. The market says they're close. The debate over which one you'd rather own is anything but.
Acuña's #US250 has been trading between $35 and $43, while Soto's #US300 has been selling in the $43-to-$46 range. For under $50, you're buying a base rookie of a generational talent. The question is, which do you believe has its best baseball still in the tank?
The cards tell a story in a glance. Acuña is mid-follow-through in the Braves' blue alternate, eyes skyward, watching the ball leave the bat. Soto is in the box in Nationals blue, locked in, waiting. One card captures the explosion. The other captures the discipline.
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Ronald Acuna
Acuña might still be the most electric player in baseball when he's on the field. His 2023 MVP campaign—.337 batting average, 41 homers, 73 stolen bases—produced the first 40-70 season in league history. Nobody else has come close. The problem is durability. A second ACL tear in May 2024 cost him most of the season, and while he returned in late May 2025 to hit .290 with solid power, the Acuña who swiped all those bags needed two healthy knees to do it. He's been playing winter ball and committed to Team Venezuela for the World Baseball Classic, determined to prove '23 wasn't a fluke. The ceiling is arguably one of the highest in baseball. The floor is another trip to the injured list.
Juan Soto
Soto doesn't have a ceiling argument. He has a floor argument, and it's one of the best floors any player has ever established. Through eight seasons, the Dominican native has walked more than he's struck out—896 to 833—a feat that puts him in conversation with Ted Williams and Barry Bonds. His six consecutive Silver Sluggers through age 26 tie Mike Trout and Alex Rodriguez for the most in history. In December 2024, Steve Cohen bet $765 million over 15 years that Soto's plate discipline and power would age gracefully. Year One backed him up: a career-high 43 homers, 38 stolen bases, and 127 walks that set a Mets single-season record.
That said, the hobby values these two differently. Acuña's card is a momentum play—the kind that spiked when he went 40-70 and cratered when the ACL tore. Buy it and you're betting on another signature moment. Soto's card is a hold. The Shuffle and the steady climb through four teams and a record-setting deal all point in one direction. And at 27, with his best years possibly still ahead of him, the ceiling might rival or supplant Acuña's—it just comes with a lot less risk.
Same rookie class. Same set. Same grade. A few dollars apart. One gives you the tantalizing five-tool wonder that might never fully return. The other gives you the steady hand that three-quarters of a billion dollars says is locked in. The question is: where would you like to drop your $45?
Scott Orgera is a sportswriter and statistician with more than three decades of experience. He has covered thousands of MLB and NFL games, along with most other major sports. A member of the BBWAA, his bylines appear in the Associated Press, Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, and Forbes, among others. He also co‑authored 976‑1313: How Sports Phone Launched Careers and Broke New Ground. Having worked card shows with his family in the 1980s, Scott has remained active in the hobby ever since and now owns a card and memorabilia shop just outside New York City.