2025 MLB Rookie of the Year Front-runners and Their Must-own Baseball Cards
The start of a new MLB season means a fresh crop of rookies set to take the baseball card-collecting hobby by storm.
Last year, players such as Paul Skenes, Jackson Merrill, Jackson Chourio and Wyatt Langford went from prospects to MLB standings, and they were all hot commodities in the hobby.
So, who is next?
It's worth noting off the top, the hobby has always given the vast majority of its attention to hitters, and while a generational talent like Skenes is the rare exception, guys like Jackson Jobe (DET), Kumar Rocker (TEX), Jack Leiter (TEX), Will Warren (NYY) and others are unlikely to command much collector attention.
International players tend to be an exception, as there was a healthy market for Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga last year, and Roki Sasaki (LAD) should drive similar interest.
As for what to collect, a player's 1st Bowman card—specifically his 1st Bowman Chrome autograph—has become the most sought-after early card for most newcomers. It generally represents a player's first major release card, often coming years before his rookie cards.
That said, there is still a corner of the hobby that will always want a player's Topps flagship rookie, and Topps Pro Debut can also provide a nice low-cost option for players who have not yet had a true rookie card released by Topps.
Ahead, we've highlighted seven top rookies and a rundown of which sets to find their 1st Bowman card, Topps rookie card or Topps Pro Debut card if their rookie has not yet been released, and a bargain option outside of those two brands to also consider.
2B Kristian Campbell, Boston Red Sox
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1st Bowman: 2023 Bowman Chrome Draft
Topps Card: 2024 Topps Pro Debut
Bargain Buy: 2020 Leaf Perfect Game National Showcase
A fourth-round pick in 2023 out of Georgia Tech, Kristian Campbell wasn't even ranked among the Boston Red Sox top-30 prospects at the start of last season.
By season's end, he was one of the most promising young hitters in baseball.
The 22-year-old batted .330/.439/.558 with 32 doubles, 20 home runs, 77 RBI and 24 steals in 115 games across three minor league levels, closing out the year at Triple-A, and that laid the groundwork for him to win a spot on this year's Opening Day roster.
The Red Sox saw enough this spring and over his first few games to sign him to an eight-year, $60 million extension, and he emerged as the early AL Rookie of the Year front-runner with a hot start at the plate.
Red Sox players can sometimes have trouble finding traction in the card market due to the sheer number of Yankees fans in the hobby, but Campbell has some serious momentum.
OF Dylan Crews, Washington Nationals
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1st Bowman: 2024 Bowman Chrome Prospects
Topps: 2025 Topps
Bargain Buy: 2018 Panini Stars & Stripes USA Baseball
It's easy to forget it was Dylan Crews who spent much of the 2023 college season as the consensus top prospect in that year's draft class before eventually being overtaken by his LSU teammate, Paul Skenes.
Crews hit a ridiculous .426/.567/.713 with 16 doubles, 18 home runs and 70 RBI in 71 games during his junior year at LSU, winning 2023 Golden Spikes honors before he was taken No. 2 overall by the Washington Nationals.
The 23-year-old took some lumps in his first taste of the big leagues last year, hitting .218/.288/.353 over 132 plate appearances, and he is still trying to find his footing in the majors, but all the tools are there for him to be a franchise cornerstone.
Collectors had no issue getting behind Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper and Juan Soto when they broke through, so playing for the Nationals will not be a hurdle in finding hobby relevance.
OF Jasson Dominguez, New York Yankees
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1st Bowman: 2020 Bowman Chrome Prospects
Topps: 2024 Topps
Bargain Buy: 2024 Stadium Club
Collectors have been hoarding Jasson Dominguez cards for years now expecting him to be the next big thing playing in the biggest market in the sport.
A staggering 19,392 of his 2020 Bowman Chrome Prospects base cards have been submitted to PSA for grading, with 10,810 receiving a Gem Mint 10 grade, if that gives a better idea of the sheer volume of collectors prioritizing his cards.
The 22-year-old has never quite put together a full season of production in the minors, and he hit .179/.313/.304 in 67 plate appearances in the big leagues down the stretch last season, but the Yankees have given him a clear runway to be the everyday left fielder in 2025.
If he gets hot, his market will explode, and more than a few flippers are sitting on a stockpile of his cards waiting for that exact moment.
SP Roki Sasaki, Los Angeles Dodgers
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1st Card: 2020 BBM
Topps: 2021 Topps NPB
Bargain Buy: 2023 Topps World Baseball Classic
Aside from a few Topps Now cards, Roki Sasaki has not yet had any cards released stateside since signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers during the offseason, but there are a number of options that were released in Japan.
His Japanese League rookie card appears in the 2020 BBM set, which has long been the prominent card company in Japan dating back to the first cards made of guys such as Hideo Nomo and Ichiro Suzuki.
However, Topps has also started releasing a Japanese League set each year, so Sasaki's first card in a Topps product can be found in the 2021 Topps NPB set with a decent market for that card while collectors wait on his first Topps flagship release.
Even with a rocky start to his rookie season, Sasaki has long been on the MLB radar for a reason, and he checks all the boxes to be a frontline starter and one of the serious contenders for 2025 NL Rookie of the Year honors.
3B Matt Shaw, Chicago Cubs
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1st Bowman: 2023 Bowman Chrome Draft
Topps: 2024 Topps Pro Debut
Bargain Buy: 2024 Panini Prizm
The No. 13 overall pick in the 2023 draft, Matt Shaw fits the mold of polished college hitter who can move quickly through the minors that the Chicago Cubs have consistently targeted over the years, with guys like Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner also fitting that description.
He hit .284/.379/.488 with 19 doubles, 21 home runs and 71 RBI in 121 games between Double-A and Triple-A last season, then starred for Team USA in the Premier12 tournament during the offseason.
All of that paved the way for him to enter spring training with a clear path to the starting third base job, and it became clear he would be part of the Opening Day roster when he traveled with the team and started at third base for both games in the Tokyo Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
His hobby relevance will get a nice boost from playing in one of the biggest markets in the sport, and even with a slow start at the plate, he looks the part of a big league regular with all the tools to be a star at the hot corner.
OF Cam Smith, Houston Astros
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1st Bowman: 2024 Bowman Chrome Draft
Topps: N/A
Bargain Buy: 2024 Panini Prospect Edition #88 Cam Smith
Cam Smith was still suiting up for the Florida State Seminoles at this time a year ago and in the early stages of a breakout season that would send his draft stock soaring.
He hit .387/.488/.654 with 22 doubles, 16 home runs and 57 RBI as a draft-eligible sophomore last spring, raising his OPS almost 300 points relative to his freshman season, and the Chicago Cubs called his name with the No. 14 overall pick.
His stock continued to climb as he hit .313/.396/.609 over 134 plate appearances while reaching Double-A in his pro debut, and the Cubs sent him to the Houston Astros during the offseason as the prospect centerpiece in the deal to acquire Kyle Tucker.
The 22-year-old ended up hitting his way onto the Opening Day roster during spring training, and the further removed we are from the Astros sign-stealing scandal, the more collectors seem willing to pay attention to their roster once again.
SS Jacob Wilson, Athletics
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1st Bowman: 2023 Bowman Chrome Draft
Topps: 2025 Topps
Bargain Buy: 2024 Donruss
Longtime Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson never gained much of a hobby following, with his five different rookie cards that are scattered across a variety of 2001 products each available for roughly the cost of guacamole at Chipotle.
However, his son has a chance to drive some real collecting interest.
Jacob Wilson was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2023 draft after hitting .361 with just 31 strikeouts in 697 plate appearances during his college career at Grand Canyon University, and his top-of-the-scale hit tool carried him all the way to the majors in 2024.
The 23-year-old is now the shortstop of the present and future for an Athletics team on the rise, and while playing in a smaller market does undercut some of his hobby appeal, collectors will take notice if he continues to hit.
