Rookie cards of Corbin Carroll, Gunnar Henderson on the rise after big debut seasons

Corbin Carroll may be only 5-foot-10, 165 pounds, but the Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder can hit the long ball: He reached the 25-homer mark this season, his rookie year.

But that’s just a small part of his arsenal. The speed demon can hit (his average as the end of the season neared was .282), and he possesses a sharp eye, drawing more than 50 walks this year. And when Carroll is on base, good things happen: Through mid-September, he had logged 50 steals in 55 attempts and scored 110 runs.

After that performance, Carroll was odds-on favorite to win NL Rookie of the Year honors. And that’s with some stiff competition: pitchers Bobby Miller and Kodai Senga, Dodger centerfielder James “Tarzan” Outman, and Cincinnati Reds phenoms Elly De La Cruz, Spencer Steer and Matt McLain.

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Back to Carroll: He burst onto the scene in such an explosive way that it’s surprising his memorabilia prices aren’t more in line with those of, say, De La Cruz.

As it is, Carroll card values are climbing, as these recent eBay auction prices illustrate:

• $4,300 on 34 bids for a signed 2019 Bowman Chrome Gold Refractor marked #32/50 and graded BGS 9.5.

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• $3,550 on 45 bids for a signed 2023 Topps Chrome Orange Wave card marked #10/25 and graded PSA 10. A Gold variation of that card — one of 50 made — sold for the exact same price on 21 bids.

• $3,200 on 1 bid for a signed 2023 Topps Finest Gold Refractor marked #7/10 and graded PSA 9.

• $2,900 on 22 bids for a signed 2019 Bowman Chrome Green Refractor marked #12/99 and graded BGS 9.5.

Corbin-signed baseballs are all over the map: We’ve seen authenticated examples selling for as little as $55 and as much as $470. The majority, however, were between $100 and $160.

Gunnar Henderson came into this season as a highly touted rookie talent, and he hasn’t disappointed — if you can overlook his rocky start. Through the end of May, Henderson was hitting .201. When the calendar flipped to June, he suddenly seemed to “get it.” He batted .323 that month and was on his way to what will likely earn him AL Rookie of the Year honors. He’ll finish with a 25-homer season, nearly 100 runs and more than 80 RBI.

Henderson’s hobby hype began in 2022 and has only heated up since then. Card of choice: his autographed 2019 Bowman Chrome. A Gold Refractor variation marked #43/50 and graded PSA 10 sold on eBay recently for $5,900 on 38 bids.

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Another Gold Refractor of Gunnar’s 2019 Bowman Chrome (#31/50, BGS 9.5) drew 56 bids in climbing to $4,050. Still another (#40/50, BGS 9.5) brought $3,300 on 29 bids. A Black Refractor of the same card — one of 75 made — drew 45 bids and sold for $3,865.

Other Henderson cards proving to be bid magnets:

• 2023 Topps Chrome: An ungraded and autographed Red Refractor variation of this colorful card sold for $4,150 on 24 bids. It was marked #5/5.

• 2023 Topps Finest: A 1-of-1 Superfractor variation of this one brought $4,050 on 56 bids.

• 2023 Topps Chrome Radiating Rookies: An eBay seller got $2,838 on 41 bids for an ungraded example of this card. It was marked #11/23.

Want Henderson’s basic 2023 Topps rookie card? You can pick up one of those — with no bells and whistles — for just a few dollars. It’s a quintessential card, with a sharp game-action batting pose of Henderson in uniform dirtied up by a headfirst slide.

PS: A true treasure for Orioles fans appears in Topps’ 2019 Bowman Chrome set: a dual-signed card inked by both Henderson and Adley Rutschman. A Red Refractor variation of this insert sold recently for $3,383 on 44 bids.