For many hobbyists, the art of prospecting the top minor league baseball players is one of the best experiences in card collecting.
Betting on the next top player is also one of the most difficult things to project, and price volatility from season to season can a struggle for many.
From top prospects with record sales to surging stars with call-ups closing in, here’s a look at five of the sports card hobby’s favorite prospects, their card markets and when they might hit the big league roster.
Jasson Dominguez, OF, New York Yankees
There may never be a prospect with a more shocking early sale than what Jasson Dominguez had — a 2020 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autographs Superfractor 1/1 PSA 10 selling for $474,000 simply changes how any player would be viewed moving forward.
Now over two years old, that sale seems even stranger than it did at the time. Dominguez is currently playing for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he’s slashed .302/.358/.472 in 40 games with six home runs and 22 RBI. Yankees fans have expressed frustration that Dominguez hasn’t been called up yet, and his card prices have collapsed in the meantime.
According to Market Movers, Dominguez’s 2020 1st Bowman Chrome Prospects PSA 10, his most popular graded card by sales volume over the last year, has dropped 59% in price and is now down to just $40. His 2020 1st Bowman Paper Prospects PSA 10 is much the same — it has dropped 59% in price over the last 365 days and has a recent sale of just $20, which is about the cost of grading.
Expectations for Dominguez were almost always going to be warped after that $474,000 Superfractor sale, but collectors seem to have lost patience even more than the typical fan. Even if Dominguez takes over one of New York’s full-time outfield positions in 2025, it’s difficult to see a path forward where that Superfractor ends up being worth the sale.
Walker Jenkins, OF, Minnesota Twins
The No. 3-ranked prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, Walker Jenkins still has a long way to go before he’s called up to the Twins. Currently in High-A, Jenkins probably doesn’t make the majors full-time until 2026, but his market has surged in recent months amid a strong stretch with Cedar Rapids.
According to Card Ladder, Jenkins has had nine public sales top $5,000, with the highest being a $44,286 sale for his 2024 1st Bowman Chrome Prospect Autographs Superfractor 1/1 PSA 10, which sold at Goldin in June.
Beyond that massive Superfractor sale, a trio of 2024 1st Bowman Chrome Prospect Autograph Refractors have provided the biggest sales — a Red Wave /5 PSA 10 sold for $7,747 while an Orange /25 Raw and a Red /5 Raw each fetched about $7,000.
At the low end, his 2024 1st Bowman Chrome Prospects PSA 10 has sold 98 times over the last month while jumping 53% in price to about $42.
Marcelo Mayer, SS, Boston Red Sox
Marcelo Mayer has climbed up the prospect rankings — now No. 4 overall — but his card market has significantly cooled since a run of high-dollar sales in 2022. Things might only get worse from here, too.
Mayer was promoted to Triple-A Worcester in August but he never played due to a lumbar strain, and it appears he'll miss the rest of the 2024 season with that injury. Despite slashing .307/.370/.480 at Double-A Portland, many collectors may either lose interest completely or hold until he’s called up to Boston.
Compared to an impressive run of sales in 2022, Mayer’s market has completely collapsed in price. His top public sale to date is the 2021 1st Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Autographs Superfractor 1/1 PSA 9/10, which sold for $132,000 at Goldin in 2022.
A number of other key cards sold for record prices in 2022, with a 2021 1st Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Autographs Red /5 PSA 10 selling for $54,000 while an Orange /25 PSA 10 sold for $34,800.
Prices are down significantly in 2024, however, with a 2021 1st Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Autographs Red Wave /5 PSA 10 selling for just $4,392 while an Orange /25 PSA 10 fetched just $4,500.
All signs point to Mayer being a significant contributor for one of baseball’s most popular teams, but his card market has been completely reshaped over the last two years, and it likely won't ever return to those 2022 levels.
Max Clark, OF, Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers currently own the No. 6 and No. 7-ranked prospects in baseball, and while right-hander Jackson Jobe might land with the big league club sooner, outfielder Max Clark is the player hobbyists are more excited about.
Currently with High-A West Michigan, Clark has slashed .266/.347/.430 with two home runs and 17 RBI in 31 games. An encouraging sign for collectors, his card market has shown positive growth at both the low and high ends.
Clark’s graded cards tracked by Market Movers are up 11% collectively over the last 90 days across nearly 700 total sales. His most popular card over that period, his 2023 1st Bowman Draft Chrome Refractor PSA 10, has jumped 14% in price to about $49.
At the high end, Clark has had six total sales top $5,000, with three of those selling in 2024. To date, his 2023 1st Bowman Draft Chrome Autograph Red /5 Raw holds his highest public sale, fetching $8,000 on eBay in 2023 while an Orange /25 PSA 10 example sold for $7,217 at Alt in March.
Clark has a chance for a call-up to Detroit sometime in 2025. Whether or not his market continues to stay positive, will be something prospectors monitor closely.
Jordan Lawlar, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks
Forget Druw Jones — Jordan Lawlar is the Arizona Diamondbacks prospect that card collectors are focusing on, despite a number of injuries. A pair of hamstring issues have limited Lawlar to just 13 games this season, though the eighth-ranked prospect slashed .327/.414/.531 with 16 hits and 16 RBI in those games.
Those injuries have adjusted Lawlar’s full-time arrival to Arizona, but it’s fair to expect him to be in the majors to start 2025.
Though he’s overtaken Jones, the son of former Atlanta Braves All-Star Andruw Jones, Lawlar’s market has still cooled significantly in 2024. Lawlar’s graded cards tracked by Market Movers are down 48% collectively over the last 365 days while his high-end market looks much different than a number of record sales in 2023.
So far in 2024, the highest sale tracked by Card Ladder is $2,713 for a 2021 1st Bowman Draft Chrome Autograph Orange /25 BGS 9.5. That sale is a drastic change compared to 2022 and 2023, where he had six total sales top $10,000.
With injuries so heavily impacting his 2024 season, collectors holding may look to pause any changes while those looking to buy may find some of their best deals yet.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct.