Sports card collectors are big believers in “what have you done for me lately?” And that applies to current and former All-Stars more than anyone else.
Whether it’s a season-ending injury or just a first-half power slump, card markets can shift and never recover without a major change in play.
Here’s a dive into four former and current MLB All-Stars who have seen their card markets drop in recent months.
Ronald Acuña Jr.
Fans and collectors alike had high expectations for Acuña Jr. entering 2024 after he secured last season’s NL MVP with the first ever 40-homer, 70-stolen base season. Those hopes didn’t last long, however, with Acuña Jr. suffering a season-ending ACL tear just 49 games into the season.
The Atlanta Braves have managed to stay afloat without their superstar, but Acuña Jr.’s card market has collapsed since.
Even before the injury, Acuña Jr. was on pace for possibly his worst season to date while slashing just .250/.351/.365 through 192 at-bats. Though his card prices were already cooling, another major knee injury has possibly doomed his card prices for the foreseeable future.
Over the last 90 days, Acuña Jr.’s graded cards tracked by Market Movers are down 16 percent collectively across more than 2,800 sales. His most popular card over that period, the 2018 Topps Update Base PSA 10, has declined in price 28 percent across 264 sales. That card got to as high as $70 last July but is now trending around just $34.
Looking at Acuña Jr.’s top 10 best-PSA 10s over the last three months, eight have gone down in value.
The drop for Acuña Jr. has extended into his ultra high-end market too, with a 2017 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autographs Red Refractor /5 BGS 9.5 selling for $62,220 in June — a steep fall from another BGS 9.5 example that sold for $92,400 in May 2023. The 2023 sale did feature a True Gem example, but it’s hard to imagine that large of a price delta if Acuña Jr. wasn’t out for the season.
Acuña Jr. obviously can't be faulted for a season-ending injury, but collectors should be taking into consideration the type of player he could be when he returns in 2025. He is still just 26 but has already had major operations on both knees, and collectors should be asking themselves how excited they are about his career moving forward if his steals decline sharply and his outfield play drops off considerably.
Corbin Carroll
The landscape for Carroll both on the field and in the hobby has changed so much since the start of the season. The runaway National League Rookie of the Year last season, Carroll also finished fifth in MVP voting after slashing .285/.362/.506 with 25 home runs and 54 stolen bases in 155 games.
So far, he has been anemic at the plate while batting just .212 with a .301 OBP through 353 at-bats in 2024. There’s still plenty of evidence Carroll can be a great player, but sentiment among collectors has shifted some — there’s a big difference for hobbyists between being an above-average outfielder who is exciting on the basepaths and being an all-around star who can hit for average and power.
Over the last 90 days, Carroll’s graded cards, tracked by Market Movers, have dropped 20 percent in price collectively across over 2,200 sales. Among the biggest drivers of that decline is Carroll’s 2023 Bowman Mega Box Chrome Mojo Refractor PSA 10, which has dropped 55 percent in price across 77 sales over the last three months. A $25 card near the start of the season, that card is all the way down to just $12.
Carroll’s flagship 2023 Topps Chrome Base PSA 10 has been a major decliner, too, with a 32 percent drop in price across 74 sales. Once a $33 card, it’s now trending around just $23.
In addition to the price declines, collectors hoping for a rebound are also likely concerned with Carroll’s overall low prices. Low prices are great for hobbyists hoping to add strictly for their own collection, but prices that aren’t much higher than the price of grading shows that interest is nearing a low.
Carroll was heavily aided by Arizona’s Cinderella run to the 2023 World Series, and it’s currently looking like the magic has worn off.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Once considered a hobby darling, Guerrero Jr. has seen his market shift accordingly as his 2021 season has seemed more like an outlier than a regular occurance. The runner-up for AL MVP that season, Guerrero Jr. slashed .311/.401/.601 while leading the league in runs (124), home runs (48), OBP (.401), slugging (.601) and total bases (363).
At the time, Guerrero Jr. not only looked like he’d follow in his father’s footsteps as a perennial All-Star, he looked like an MVP candidate for years to come while leading a young Blue Jays core. In the two full seasons since, Guerrero Jr.’s power numbers have regressed significantly, and his market has cooled, too.
Over the last three months, Guerrero Jr.’s graded cards are down 6 percent collectively across just 989 sales. His most popular seller, the 2019 Topps Chrome Base PSA 10, is down 18 percent in price across 93 sales over that period and can be bought for around just $20.
Despite having a much smaller print run, Guerrero Jr.’s 2019 Topps Chrome Sapphire Edition PSA 10 — typically a key card for the top rookies — is down 30 percent over the last 90 days and is now down to around $150.
Guerrero Jr. is currently having another All-Star season, but collectors might remain cool to his market until he’s back in the MVP conversation.
Julio Rodriguez
Not unlike Guerrero Jr., Rodriguez's power numbers have been down and collectors have noticed. After hitting 28 home runs in 2022 and 32 in 2023, Rodriguez has just 10 through 97 games this season, and his slugging percentage is down more than 100 points (from .485 to .372).
After an explosive rookie season in 2022 in which Rodriguez won Rookie of the Year and a 2023 season in which he finished fourth in MVP voting, it’s likely sinking in for many that he’s not the next Ken Griffey Jr. — a comparison that was never fair to begin with. The evidence so far shows Rodriguez has the potential to be a regular All-Star, but that doesn’t necessarily move collectors much.
Short of regular MVP-level seasons, it’s hard for even the best players to maintain strong pricing, and Rodriguez is in the middle of a course correction. Over the last 90 days, Rodrigeuz’s graded cards are down 12 percent collectively across over 2,400 sales.
His 2019 Bowman Chrome Prospects 1st PSA 10 has been a major driver of that decline with a 11 percent drop across 228 sales while his 2019 Bowman Mega Box Chrome Prospects Mojo Refractor PSA 10 has dropped 35 percent over that same period of time. A $300 card at multiple points in 2022, that Mojo Refractor is now down to $67.
Even Rodriguez’s 2022 Topps Chrome Sapphire Edition Base PSA 10, which features a wonderful natural color match, is down 32 percent over the last three months and is trending around $400.
Much like Carroll and Guerrero Jr., overall team success — fair or not — is something to monitor. It can be hard to maintain strong pricing without regular postseason appearances, and eventually casual fans might shift their interest elsewhere if deep postseason runs aren’t possible.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct.