6 Types of (Cheap) Baseball Rookie Cards To Target!

We all know rookie cards is what we want to collect, but which types of rookie cards are both cheap with great upside!?!

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Apr 03, 2025

Each Happy Hobby Sports Card Newsletter For Collectors has a handful of great sports card subjects, helping sports card collectors working with limited budgets!

This Week’s Newsletter Highlights!

⚾ 6 TYPES OF BASEBALL ROOKIE CARDS TO TARGET!
⚾ BASEBALL CARD TRIVIA!

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⚾ 6 TYPES OF BASEBALL ROOKIE CARDS TO TARGET!

Back in August of 2023, Happy Hobbyist

Patrick Imhoff

wrote an article on the 6 types of players to target when buying baseball cards on a limited budget. Fast-forward to the beginning of the 2025 MLB season and we are refreshing the article to give you discusses which types of baseball players he likes to target with low prices and higher ceilings!

Tip No. 1: The “Early” Rookie Card

Like most collectors, you might separate the rookie cards from non-rookies when you open a box of cards, and then you further separate them into the top rookies.

Usually, at the bottom of the pile, are a few cards of players you never heard of, who logged a handful of games, but still got a card. These players met the MLB criteria and are entitled to a card. even though they might still be a year or two away from being a full-time major leaguer.

These cards are where we can strike gold!

Take your time and look at these players on a website like MLB Pipeline, and see if they are a highly ranked prospect who got rewarded early with a temporary callup and go for it.

A perfect fit for this category right now is Arizona’s Jordan Lawlar. The 22-year-old shortstop is their No. 1 prospect and he’s currently working at Triple-A. But his 2024 Topps Series 2 rookie card is out and available – and mostly forgotten. Now is the perfect time to track down a numbered parallel or even auto of this card for a great price.

Tip No. 2: The Call-Ups

If you enjoy collecting Bowman 1st prospect cards, the best time to grab one is right before their call-up to the majors. The day they are called up, prices will drastically increase, so you need to anticipate this. If you follow a local team, your local sports writers will tend to leak these call-ups and you can get a head start.

A perfect guy in this category is Jett Williams of the New York Mets. The 21-year-old SS/OF is going to get called up this year and he is the perfect guy to buy. He is ranked No. 56 overall on MLB Pipeline, which means he is really good, but you don’t have to pay Top-5 prices for this possible future All-Star. I wrote in more detail about Williams a few weeks ago.

Tip No. 3: The Ugly Sibling

The ugly sibling is the player that gets overlooked because of who else is on their team. These are All-Star caliber players, but they just do not get the attention of their higher pedigree teammates. Look at the Washington Nationals. Which players are collectors focusing on? Most likely, the answer is James Wood and Dylan Crews, and for good reason.

Two overlooked but highly talented players on the Nationals are C.J. Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. Both players are still just 24 years old, and they play premier positions in the infield for a very young and talented team.

Tip No. 4: The Castoffs

Collectors are very quick to call a player a bust and move on from them to the next shiny object. Many times, these players are still just 23 years old or even younger, and they just need a chance to adjust to hit their stride.

One such player to look at might be Julio Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners. The 24-year-old center fielder burst onto the scene in 2022 and 2023, looking like the future of the Mariners. He slumped in 2024, and he has started slow in 2025. It is too soon to give up on him, but you can look for a seller who has -- and buy low!

Tip No. 5: The Injured List

Players get hurt; it is a fact of life. I never wish for an injury and I always hope they come back stronger and healthier. That said, when a player does get hurt and misses significant time, card prices drop because there is a risk they will not be the same when they come back. This is our chance to get a great deal with some risk.

Connor Norby is the perfect low-risk/high-reward injured player. The top prospect of the Orioles was traded to the Marlins last year and he is just getting started at 24. Big things are expected of him, and I believe he will deliver.

Tip No. 6: The Trade

Players get traded for various reasons each year; it is just part of the business. Some players are traded to help another team get over the hump. Moving from one market to another can open opportunities to grab a rookie card from a collector who no longer wants the card, as they remain more “loyal” to their team than the player. Sometimes prospects are traded because there is a logjam of talent at their position, and they can get a better chance on another team. This may move a prospect from top 20 to top 10 on the new team and increase their value.

Two players who were traded over the last year were major leaguer Kyle Tucker (from the Astros to the Cubs) and prospect Nick Yorke (from the Red Sox to the Pirates). Both look to capitalize on their respective moves and both would be great additions to your collection.

Whether your goal is just to collect or to make small investments in your favorite players and teams, I hope these tips allow you to buy low in a market that can at times be extremely overpriced.

Every other week, Patrick shares, “Patrick’s Prime Prospect Picks,” where he chooses a 1st Bowman card with possible upside!

⚾ BASEBALL CARD TRIVIA!

Send me the answer to this question – you could win this free card: 1993 Fleer Ultra Ken Griffey Jr. #619!

Which year had a Topps baseball set with three All-Star outfielders from the same team? (In other words, all three of one MLB team's outfielders made the All-Star team, and all three had an "All-Star" designation on their card in that flagship set.)

Email your answer to gonoscards@gmail.com and you can win this 1993 Fleer Ultra Ken Griffey Jr. #619 card! Rather than take the first person who answers it right, I’m going to do a random drawing of all the people who answer this question before midnight, Friday, April 11th. The winner will be announced in the April 17th newsletter.

From March 13 newsletter: Who is the only player to have a Topps Rookie All-Star Cup on two cards, in different years? The answer: Ryan Mountcastle (2021 & 2022 Topps). Several people gave two answers, but Cal Ripken Jr. never had any All-Star Cups on his cards, despite winning twice. The winner: Brian Bontrager (Check out Brian’s B Three Sports Cards eBay store!)

From March 6 newsletter: Which baseball player had both his 2,000th and 3,000th base hit on the same day, Aug. 6, six years apart? The answer: Tony Gwynn. Prize: 2008 Topps Opening Day Joey Votto #218 Red Team Color Match Rookie Card. The winner: Adam Smith!

Congrats, Adam & Brian!