Baseball’s final week has all but locked in the major awards, and the card market has already been treating the expected winners like future hardware winners for a while now.
Pete Crow-Armstrong and Yordan Alvarez are projected to take home their first MVP awards in 2026, while Jacob Misiorowski and Dylan Cease are lined up to win the Cy Young in their respective leagues. The Rookie of the Year races point to Sal Stewart and Kevin McGonigle. According to Card Ladder, each player’s hottest sales this season already give a pretty clear picture of how collectors have valued their rise.
For Crow-Armstrong, the top end has been loud. His biggest sale was a 2024 Topps Dynasty Rookie Patch Autograph 1/1 that went for $66,000 on August 28, 2026. That was followed by a 2024 Topps Chrome Superfractor Rookie (BGS 9) at $48,000 on September 6, 2026, and a 2024 Topps Dynasty Rookie Patch Autograph /10 (PSA 10 with Auto 10) at $40,260 on September 10, 2026.
Alvarez’s best cards this season came in a much tighter band. His top sale was a 2018 Bowman Chrome Orange Refractor Prospect Auto /25 (PSA 10) at $17,690 on June 6. A 2024 Topps Transcendent MLB Logo Autograph Patch 1/1 (BGS 9.5 with Auto 10) sold for $12,610.80 on August 6, and another 2018 Bowman Chrome Orange Refractor Prospect Auto /25 (BGS 9.5) brought $12,600 on May 17.
Misiorowski’s market was driven by a high-end 2026 Bowman Anime Superfractor, which sold for $45,600 on June 19. He also had a 2022 Bowman Chrome Draft Superfractor Auto 1/1 (PSA 10) at $30,000 on May 3 and a 2026 Topps Chrome Black Superfractor Auto (PSA 9) at $30,400 on September 13.
Cease’s top sales were clustered lower, but still showed steady demand. A 2016 Bowman Chrome Draft Superfractor (BGS 9.5) sold for $1,159 on August 7. His other top sales were a 2020 Topps Archives Corn Field Of Dreams Auto 1/1 and a 2020 Bowman’s Best Superfractor Auto, both at $1,000, on September 19 and March 25, respectively.
Stewart’s best card sale was a 2026 Topps Chrome Sapphire Padparadscha 1/1 Auto at $15,100 on September 12. He also had a T-1 finish with a 2026 Topps Chrome Superfractor Auto at $20,000 on August 20 and a 2022 Bowman Draft Superfractor (PSA 8) at $20,000 on April 15.
McGonigle’s strongest sale was a 2025 Bowman Chrome Red Refractor Auto /5 (PSA 10) at $48,000 on April 30. Before that, he posted a 2025 Bowman Chrome Sapphire Padparadscha Prospect Auto 1/1 (BGS 9.5) at $34,500 on May 22, 2026, and another 2025 Bowman Chrome Red Refractor Auto /5 (PSA 10) at $34,200 on May 22.
We’ll see after the season whether actually winning the awards gives these markets another jolt or whether collectors already priced it in.
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Bregman later posted an update on social media, and the encouraging part for Chicago is that he will not need surgery and is hopeful about returning in the postseason. Even so, the Cubs are left waiting on a player whose status now carries more weight than any single game, with the next steps hinging on how he recovers from an injury that could shape the teams October plans. [Read more 🡒]
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For now, MLB is planning to keep the games in Boston, with possible fixes like pushing a game to Monday or squeezing in a doubleheader if the weather interferes. For Chicago, the bigger issue is how any shuffle could ripple through its pitching plans and travel routine at a point in the season when every game still matters for playoff seeding. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Nearing A Justin Steele Decision At The Worst Possible Time
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Even so, no final call has been made on Steeles playoff status, and the uncertainty has turned into the kind of late-season dilemma teams dread. The Cubs have to weigh the value of having him available now against the possibility that the safest move is to shut him down and protect him for next year, leaving the club to sort through one of its biggest health questions at exactly the wrong moment. [Read more 🡒]