Sports card market: Jackson Holliday's cards sizzling just like his bat

Orioles' top prospect sees big surge in price as his sales climb in last week

Cover Image for Sports card market: Jackson Holliday's cards sizzling just like his bat
Jackson Holliday has hit .321 with four home runs since his recall to Baltimore on July 31. (Credit: Getty Images)

After his first major-league stint ended in a demotion, Jackson Holliday has performed about as well as any Orioles fan could have hoped in his recent call-up.

The top prospect's card market is surging, too, as collectors have quickly flocked to his lineup of Bowman cards during his hot streak since being recalled July 31.

Here’s a dive into the sports card market, and its trending players over the last month, with data provided by Market Movers.

All cards have sold at least 10 times and have a current average value of $30 and above.

Price percentage risers

  • 2021 Topps Chrome Jazz Chisholm Refractor PSA 10: +173%
  • 2015 Bowman Draft Aaron Judge Base PSA 10: +105%
  • 2020 Prizm Justin Jefferson Base PSA 10: +99%
  • 2022 Bowman Chrome University Caleb Williams 1st Prospects PSA 10: +98%
  • 2022 Bowman Draft Jackson Holliday 1st Chrome PSA 10: +77%

While Jazz Chisholm continues his surge from last week, Holliday has seen his market match his performance at the plate since being recalled.

After a brutal first 10 games to start with Baltimore, Holliday was demoted in April and was finally recalled to the Orioles in late July. In the eight games since, he has batted .321 with four home runs, 11 RBI, and eight runs in just 28 at-bats.

Over the last 14 days, Holliday’s graded cards, tracked by Market Movers, are up 10% collectively across nearly 550 sales, with the biggest driver being his 2022 Bowman Draft 1st Chrome PSA 10, which has jumped 42% in price across 72 sales.

Holliday’s most popular card, his 2022 Bowman Draft Base PSA 10, has sold 91 times over that same period with a 2% price increase.

Holliday has also seen some strong movement on two of his popular short prints, with his 2024 Bowman 1955 Bowman Anime PSA 10 jumping $79 in value up to $269 over the last two weeks, while his 2024 Topps SP Variation has jumped $50 up to $250.

Even if Holliday’s key cards don’t continue going up in price, his Fun Face card will likely remain one of, if not the best, cards to come out in 2024.

Price percentage decliners

  • 2023 Topps UEFA Club Competitions Lamine Yamal Base PSA 10: -71%
  • 2023 Donruss Lamine Yamal Optic PSA 10: -54%
  • 2022 Bowman Mega Box Elly De La Cruz Chrome Prospects Mojo Refractor PSA 10: -52%
  • 2023 Topps Chrome Gunnar Henderson Base PSA 10: -50%
  • 2023 Bowman Draft Wyatt Langford 1st Chrome DP Auto PSA 10: -47%

Following a great performance at Euro 2024 in July, Lamine Yamal has been a popular target among soccer collectors. Already considered one of the best young talents in the world, the 17-year-old Barcelona forward is poised to be a mainstay in the hobby long-term, too.

Despite the recent success, Yamal’s market has cooled some following his breakout performance, with his graded cards collectively dropping in price 18% over the last 30 days.

His most popular graded card, a 2023 Topps NOW UEFA Champions League Base PSA 10, has been a major driver of decline, with a 30% drop over the last month across 41 sales. Yamal’s second-most popular seller, a 2023 Panini Megacracks La Liga EA Sports Master Rookie PSA 10, has also dropped 30% over the last month on 17 sales.

It’s not uncommon to see large market drops like this following a big performance, so collectors shouldn’t panic. Yamal’s card market will recover nicely if he even comes close to his current potential.

Dollar amount risers

Patrick Mahomes' cards remain a solid investment. (Credit: Fanatics)
Patrick Mahomes' cards remain a solid investment. (Credit: Fanatics)
  • 2023 Bowman Draft Paul Skenes 1st Chrome DP Auto PSA 10: +$443
  • 2011 Bowman Chrome Bryce Harper Prospect Auto PSA 10: +$427
  • 2021 Optic Justin Fields Downtown PSA 10: +$415
  • 2017 Optic Patrick Mahomes Base PSA 10: +$252
  • 2003 Topps Chrome LeBron James Base PSA 10: +$231

With so much focus on young QBs C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson and Bryce Young, it’s easy to forget that Patrick Mahomes remains one of the best players in football and is still one of the most important players in the hobby.

As expected, his cards are trending up some as the start of the NFL season closes in. Mahomes’ graded cards are up 3% collectively over the last month, and his 2017 Optic Base PSA 10 has been a driver with a 25% price bump over that period. After trending around $1,000 a month ago, that Optic Base PSA 10 is now up close to $1,260.

As always, collectors should pay close attention to his 2017 Prizm Silver — this card is one of the most manipulated on the market, and any collector considering a purchase should closely inspect recent sales.

Dollar amount decliners

  • 2023 Bowman Draft Wyatt Langford 1st Chrome DP Auto PSA 10: -$233
  • 2023 Donruss Bryce Young Downtown PSA 10: -$215
  • 2023 Absolute Bijan Robinson Kaboom! PSA 10: -$130
  • 2015 Upper Deck Connor McDavid Young Guns Base PSA 10: -$103
  • 2011 Topps Update Mike Trout Base PSA 10: -$90

The market for Mike Trout is something to monitor for collectors in the coming months. To date, Trout’s greatness has been undeniable. When healthy, he’s among the best players in baseball — and among the most talented to ever play the game.

Injuries have completely derailed Trout’s career, however, and that only got worse last week when the Angels announced Trout had torn his left meniscus again while rehabbing from surgery for the same injury.

For so long it seemed as though he’d reach incredible numbers despite missing a large number of games, but Trout just turned 33, and it’s fair to wonder how much longer he can effectively play. Over the last 30 days, Trout’s graded cards tracked by Market Movers are down 3 percent collectively across nearly 600 sales.

Trout’s flagship rookie, his 2011 Topps Update Base PSA 10, has sold 31 times over the last month, but has dropped in price 10% to about $860.

Sales volume leaders

  • 2023 Prizm Victor Wembanyama Base PSA 10: 765 sales
  • 2023 Bowman Draft Paul Skenes 1st Base PSA 10: 761 sales
  • 2023 Prizm C.J. Stroud Base PSA 10: 261 sales
  • 2024 Topps Elly De La Cruz Base PSA 10: 182 sales
  • 2018 Topps Chrome Shohei Ohtani Base PSA 10: 129 sales

As we’ve covered in this space previously, expect interest for Stroud to continue building as the regular season nears. Stroud’s graded card market has collectively turned positive over the last two weeks, and his volume remains extremely high.

It’s hard to see any player coming close to Wembanyama’s total sales volume, but Stroud remains by far the closest among active players, and the gap likely closes some as basketball fades into the offseason and the NFL fires up.

Collectors shouldn’t be surprised if Stroud’s 2023 Prizm Base PSA 10 ends up selling 2,000 times or more before this time next year.

Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct.