Cards
Dealers, collectors prospecting for gold during chase for MLB prospects, 2026 rookies at card shows
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Konnor Griffin covered a lot of ground, metaphorically speaking, during Sports Wax Promotions’ card show at Blume Studios, a converted warehouse that sits in the shadows of Bank of America Stadium.
Griffin, the 19-year-old rookie shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates, is ranked as Major League Baseball’s top prospect, according to Baseball America and MLB.com. Collectors had plenty of Griffin cards to choose from among the Bowman and Donruss selections for sale from David DiMartino, a dealer from Salisbury, N.C.
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DiMartino, who also runs a grading service ($10/card, 10-day turnaround) priced his Griffin cards at $20 to $100, depending on the product and grade.
It would have been easy to miss DiMartino’s tables at the back of the 30,000-square-foot venue, but for those searching for the cream of this year’s rookie crop and patient enough to peruse all 300 tables, they were rewarded with a gold mine of fresh talent.
JJ Wetherholt (St. Louis Cardinals) and Kevin McGonigle (Detroit Tigers), both infielders, are the other two prospects high on DiMartino’s list of the hottest rookie cards.
All three players’ cards have been popular among DiMartino’s customers, he said.
McGonigle and Wetherholt both made the Opening Day rosters of their respective teams. Griffin starts the season at Triple-A Indianapolis after hitting a paltry .171 in spring training. He did lead the Pirates with four homers in Grapefruit League play.
Throw in cards of Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony as well among the top prospects, according to DiMartino. Anthony’s rookie year was 2025, but it was cut short to 71 games after suffering an oblique injury in September.
Dave Stewart, a dealer/collector from Concord, N.C., concurred on Anthony’s potential as a player whose card could escalate in value this season, especially after his performance in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. In seven games, Anthony, Team USA’s youngest player at age 21, hit .280 with two home runs and seven RBIs. One of his homers clinched a victory over the Dominican Republic in the WBC semifinals.
“His first cards came out a few years back, but this will be his first full year,” said Stewart, a Red Sox fan who grew up in Boston. “There’s also Marcelo Mayer, who was drafted by the Red Sox a little earlier than Anthony but has taken some time to get up to the major leagues.” Mayer will also start the season in the Red Sox lineup.
Among newer prospects, outfielder Bo Davidson, one of the San Francisco Giants’ top prospects, is a player Stewart is focused on this year, that is, if he can find his cards, especially those containing autographs. Davidson, an undrafted player signed by the Giants in 2023, was reassigned to minor league camp in mid-March.
“I’m really big on Bo Davidson,” Stewart said. “But it’s similar to basketball. I can find Cooper Flagg autographed cards anywhere, but I can’t find Kon Knueppel. Davidson is highly regarded. I walked the show yesterday [March 20] and couldn’t find them anywhere.”
HIT OR MISS
Similar to the stock market, vendors at the show said it’s typically hit and miss with gauging emerging rookies whose cards will be coveted and rise in value. But that’s part of the intrigue, they said.
For Stewart, along with many others in the hobby, his strategy is to concentrate on players two to three years before they hit the big leagues as they work their way up the ladder at the minor league level.
“Three years ago, I was buying Junior Caminero and Roman Anthony cards like crazy,” Stewart said. “Caminero’s breakout year was last season and Anthony [should] mature this year. For me, Davidson is next. What I learned a long time ago with prospecting is you can’t cast a wide net. If you do, you’ll hurt yourself chasing the top 20 rookies.”
To each his own. Sometimes, it’s better to go with a “smorgasbord buffet” of prospects to “get a taste of everything,” DiMartino said. By collecting cards among 10 prospects, for example, if one of those players has a strong season in the bigs, then the overall investment can pay for itself, he said.
Kevin Smith, a dealer/collector from Baden, N.C., is a big New York Yankees fan. As a result, he’s focused on collecting cards tied to prospects Cam Schlittler and Carlos Lagrange, both pitchers, along with shortstop Anthony Volpe and outfielder Jason Dominguez.
Schlittler, a right-hander, made the Yankees big-league roster this spring after getting called up at the end of the 2025 season and pitching in the American League playoffs. Lagrange, a fireballer who consistently throws 100 mph, starts the season at Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre. Volpe is rehabbing from an injury and Dominguez, despite having a monster spring in which he hit .347 with four homers, also starts the season in Triple-A.
“Dominguez was supposed to be a five-tool prospect at 16 when the Yankees signed him,” Smith said, “but because they have Cody Bellinger in left field, Trent Grisham in center and obviously Aaron Judge in right, they don’t have room for him.”
During the show, Smith spied a bargain at one dealer’s table, where he bought a few Kevin McGonigle cards, including his 2025 Bowman debut, for $1 apiece. The 21-year-old infielder made the Tigers’ roster after hitting .250 with two homers, one triple, two doubles and a team-high 11 walks in 20 spring training games.
Across the aisle from Smith’s setup, dealer Chris Ulmer from Charleston, S.C. dug out a McGonigle 2025 Bowman Chrome Autograph card with a 10 grade that he had priced at $850.
“He’s favored to win AL Rookie of the Year,” Ulmer said. “I pulled him from a box break and while going through commons to find out who the top prospects were, I noticed it was a $300 card. I got it graded at a 10 and now it’s valued over $800.”
Ulmer remains bullish on younger players that have established themselves at the highest level, such as Juan Soto, Ronald Acuna and Elly De La Cruz. Their cards still carry good value entering the 2026 season, he said.
“One guy that’s been up for a few years that’s still really young is Jackson Chourio with the Brewers,” Ulmer said. He had Chourio’s 2024 Topps Sapphire Autograph Red card, graded 10, priced at $10,000.
“Chourio can steal bases and can hit home runs. He has the ability to put up big numbers, which is what the hobby looks for,” Ulmer said. “For me, it all comes down to injury. For so many of these players, they’re not on the field and the value of their cards isn’t what it needs to be. That’s why I always stuck with Soto, because he hasn’t really been hurt.”
DiMartino plucked a cool card put out by Bowman’s Best. The Quad Autograph Orange Refractor piece, one of 25 produced by Bowman and graded a 10, features autographs by four prospects: Wetherholt, Jesus Made (Brewers), Eli Willits (Nationals) and George Lombard Jr. (Yankees). DiMartino has it listed on eBay for $1,500 plus.
Prospecting is DiMartino’s passion. Apart from doing research online, he’s attended minor league games across North Carolina, where players are more accessible and it’s easier to get cards autographed.
“That’s the fun part of it, being interactive and watching them play in person,” DiMartino said. “It’s not so much the money side or the investment side, but being able to meet those players.”
All told, DiMartino, who also runs a grading card service, had Griffin cards priced at $20 to $100, depending on the product.
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