October has a way of turning good players into collecting darlings. A big postseason run can change the way a hobby looks at a card market fast, and the American League playoff field is loaded with names who could make that kind of leap.
Jeremy Pena is already proof of the point. His rise started with a monster 2022 playoff run, when the rookie hit .345 with 4 home runs and 8 RBI.
That stretch earned him the American League Championship Series MVP and the World Series MVP after the Astros beat the Phillies for the title. Since then, Pena has put together a modest but servicable career, and in 2026 he turned in a solid year despite playing a career-low 112 games.
He matched his career high with 22 home runs, hit .277 and drove in 56 runs. He still fits this conversation because his cards have shown they can react quickly to another October surge, and his rookie market is still accessible.
According to eBay sold listings, a PSA 10 of his Chrome Sapphire rookie sold for just $19 on auction.
Munetaka Murakami is another player who could get collectors moving. The White Sox’s Japanese power hitter had a rough batting average in his rookie season, but the power was real: 35 home runs and 77 RBI in 127 games.
He already had a brief summer stretch before his injury when he was the hottest player on the market, and that kind of home-run burst is exactly what can wake up his cards again in the playoffs. His parallels still return value, but the base rookie refractor remains cheap.
According to Card Ladder, his latest sale of a rookie Topps Chrome refractor went for just under $10.
Travis Bazzana is the kind of rising rookie story that can catch fire in a hurry. The former No. 1 overall pick and Cleveland Guardians infielder is headed into his first postseason after his first major league season, and he finished the year with a .245 average, 15 home runs and 57 RBI.
The real pop in his profile comes from the last month, though. MLB.com shows him hitting .288 with six home runs and 21 RBI over his previous 30 days.
That’s the sort of recent production that can turn into hobby momentum if he keeps it going in October. His cards are still relatively affordable compared with some other rookies, and Card Ladder shows his latest PSA 10 2024 Bowman Draft Chrome 1st sold for $140.
Roman Anthony has been a hobby favorite since the day he was drafted in 2022, and his market surged when he hit .292 with eight home runs and 32 RBI in 71 games during his rookie season in 2025. That momentum cooled in 2026 after a rough start, but Anthony has picked things back up after an extended injury absence from May 7 to August 30.
Over his last 30 games, he has hit .273 with four home runs and 10 RBI. A strong first postseason trip could remind collectors why he has carried so much buzz for so long.
Some of his Bowman Chrome 1st parallels and rookie cards still command a premium, but a base Topps Chrome rookie refractor can still be found for around $10.
Cam Schlittler is already known to hobbyists, and not because he came cheap. He made his name as a rookie by pitching to a 1.26 ERA and firing a 12-strikeout game against the Red Sox in the American League Wild Card Series.
He backed that up with a strong 2026 regular season, and another big playoff showing could send his market higher again. His Topps Chrome rookie aqua refractor numbered to 199 last sold for more than $500, according to Card Ladder, but the base refractor is still sitting at a bargain price.
Card Ladder says the last base refractor sold for Schlittler was $6.75.
Junior Caminero rounds out the group after a career year that put him squarely in the MVP conversation. He hit .276 with 42 home runs and 101 RBI, and his market is hot enough that a collector might normally wait for a dip.
But the postseason has a habit of changing the script. This will technically be his second postseason, after appearing in two games as a rookie in 2023, but it is his first playoff run in three years, and he has a chance to add another layer to an already loud season.
One lower-cost way into his market is Bowman's Best. Card Ladder shows his base refractor from that product last sold for under $7.
In Other News...
Astros Bullpen Gamble Left Houston In A Brutal Spot For Game 2
Houston entered the AL Wild Card Series already leaning on thin pitching depth, and the decision to use a bullpen game in Game 1 came with a steep price. The White Sox took advantage in a 6-3 win, leaving the Astros to piece together the rest of the series with their season suddenly hanging by a thread.
Hunter Brown is lined up to start Game 2 on four days rest, giving Houston a chance to push the matchup back to Chicago and keep its postseason alive. The challenge is obvious: the Astros have dropped eight straight playoff games at home dating back to the 2023 AL Division Series, so even a familiar ballpark has not offered much comfort when the pressure rises. [Read more 🡒]
Joe Espadas Game 1 Choice Put The Astros In Trouble Early
The Astros opened their American League Wild-Card Series with an aggressive pitching plan, turning to a bullpen game and giving the ball first to AJ Blubaugh against the White Sox. It was the kind of decision that signaled Houston was willing to trust its depth in a short series, but the move quickly put pressure on the rest of the staff when Bryan King entered and the second inning started to unravel.
By the time Miguel Ullola settled things with three innings of relief, the Astros were already chasing the game and never fully got back in it. Houstons 6-3 loss left plenty of attention on how manager Joe Espada lined up his pitchers, and whether the early approach left the club too much to overcome before the offense had a chance to answer. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Face An Ugly Crowd Problem At The Worst Possible Time
The Astros walked into a familiar October pressure cooker and left with a 6-3 loss to the White Sox in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card series, a result that immediately put them on the brink. With the series now hanging over one game, Houston needs a response in Game 2 just to force a deciding Game 3, and the margin for error is gone in a hurry.
Bennett Sousa was frustrated by the boos from the home crowd after his outing, and Christian Walker also pointed to the negative effect of the reaction. For a team trying to steady itself in an elimination spot, the atmosphere around the dugout has become part of the challenge, and the Astros have to find a way to block it out before the series slips away. [Read more 🡒]