With the buzz of summer barely faded, and the echoes of bats against leather just beginning to reverberate once again, the 2025 MLB season is finally upon us. This year, the Atlanta Braves set the pace as they face off against the San Diego Padres. However, the true game this season seems to be taking place off the field—and within meticulously sorted cardboard boxes. If you think it’s just players warming up, think again. Baseball card collectors are lunging from the dugouts of hobbyist patience into full-blown sprints toward the prospect section, driven by the siren call of future stars and untapped potential.
The ink on this year’s Opening Day rosters had hardly dried before collectors went headfirst into boxes and started a series of bidding wars, fervently chasing after the first gleaming glimpses of tomorrow’s heroes. For these hobbyists, it isn’t merely about nostalgia or adding another card to an overflowing binder. No, for many, this is meticulous, long-term investing – with the added thrill of a little more cardboard and a whole lot more hope.
In the heart of this cardboard commotion is Cards HQ in Atlanta, a self-proclaimed titan in the world of trading card shops. Manager Ryan Van Oost stands witness to this upheaval in the collector’s cosmos.
“We keep all of our Atlanta cards over here,” Van Oost declared, gesturing towards what was once a wall of vibrant Braves memorabilia. As cards flew off the shelves, the section now stands picked-over. “As you can see, we had a crazy weekend.” If that isn’t an understatement, then unicorns are real.
The fervor surrounding prospect cards has reached such a pitch that even the largest card shops are struggling to restock their inventories before collectors eagerly swarm their displays once more. “I tried to walk around yesterday,” added Van Oost. “I couldn’t even move. The store was packed.”
If you harbor the notion the scene revolves around star players like Ronald Acuña Jr., think again. The real action is happening underground, centered on names that are foreign even to the most devout fans sitting in stadium seats.
Take Nacho Alvarez, for instance, standing with just 30 big-league at-bats under his belt. Yet, his card commands a handsome fortune of $5,000 at Cards HQ. “This is the first card ever made of him,” Van Oost divulged. “Collectors go nuts for that kind of thing.” It is this untamed frenzy of speculation, fostered by a touch of rarity, that propels a simple scrap of cardboard into the upper echelons of value.
Yet it isn’t Nacho who’s basking in the limelight of collector infatuation; enter Drake Baldwin—a moniker still absent from MLB highlight reels. Despite Drake’s zero games logged in the majors, rumors of him potentially starting on Opening Day due to unforeseen injuries have sent the collector community into a spiral of speculative buying. “Everyone is looking for the Baldwin kid,” Van Oost mentioned. “He’s about to start behind the plate, and we sold out. There’s none left.”
This scenario is the collector’s gambit: invest in the unknown with the prospect that one day they might become household names, fodder for future conversations, and, eventually, a treasure chest of value. This high-stakes game of cardboard roulette has recently seen some major payoffs. Just ask the fortuitous individual who unearthed a Paul Skenes card, selling it for a jaw-dropping $1.11 million.
The Pirates pitcher, with only 23 professional appearances, quickly ascended into legendary status by virtue of this cardboard miracle. His notoriety and charm—combined with a tempting package deal of 30 years’ worth of Pirates season tickets—made the card irresistible. “Some kid hit it out in California,” Van Oost reminisced. “Sold it for $1.1 million. Insane.”
But not all glimmers turn into gold. The collector’s world is filled with unfulfilled promises and dashed dreams. There are plenty of swing-and-misses—a stark reminder that the reward is not without its risk. But for those with a discerning eye for talent or simply the serendipity of being in the right place at the right time, the payoff can indeed change lives.
Ryan Van Oost, always one with a card up his sleeve and another tucked safety-net-style, is completely bought into this world. “I mean, I’m banking on it,” he laughed, letting his optimism float amid his inventory. “Who needs a 401K when we’ve got sports cards?” And for the moment, the echoes of future cheers and the rustle of unabashedly eager collectors drown out any contrary thought.
If history proves them right, the minds in the hobby community might just have insights that even seasoned gamblers would envy.
