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The Top Prospect Cards of Reds Phenom Christian Encarnacion-Strand

Long suffering fans of the Cincinnati Reds are having a year of exciting rookie performances. The next young player to get his chance to help boost the Reds to the playoffs is Christian Encarnacion-Strand.

But who is Christian Encarnacion-Strand? And what are his best prospect cards?

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Who is Christian Encarnacion-Strand?

Drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 4th round of the 2021 MLB Draft, Christian Encarnacion-Strand is vying to become the next young star to burst onto the big league scene with the Cincinnati Reds.

After signing post-draft, got into 22 late-season games in 2021. In that short sample, Encarnacion-Strand hit a whopping .391/.424/.598 for an OPS of 1.022.

In 2022, he built on that early success. He rocketed through three minor league levels, putting up a combined line of .304/.368/.587 (.955 OPS). He was moved from Seattle to Cincinnati at the trade deadline in a trade for Tyler Mahle.

In 2023, Encarnacion-Strand got the bump to AAA and hit .331/.405/.637 (1.042 OPS) before getting the call-up for his big league debut on July 17th, at 23 years old.

Encarnacion-Strand, who plays first and third base, joins a crowded infield situation in Cincinnati, but if he hits anywhere near his minor-league pedigree, it’ll force the Reds to find at bats for him.

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Already a trivia question answer

Just by making his major league debut, Christian Encarnacion-Strand becomes the answer to an interesting trivia question. He now represents the longest name ever in major league history. The prior record had been held since…2022.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand Baseball Cards

According to the Trading Card Database at TCDB.com, Christian Encarnacion-Strand has appeared on 209 cards during his career. This is a relatively low number for a top prospect about to make their big-league debut.

One of the reasons for the lower number of cards is that as a 4th round pick, Encarnacion-Strand was not a big priority for card companies. It is a testament to Encarnacion-Strand’s immense talent and production that he’s in the big leagues barely 2 years after being drafted, before too many cards could be produced.

If you’re interested in Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s true rookie cards, those are unlikely to come until 2023. Keep an eye on late update sets, but I expect it’ll be 2024 before we see the true rookie cards.

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Christian Encarnacion-Strand: The 1st Bowman Cards

Christian Encarnacion-Strand appeared on his coveted 1st Bowman cards in the year he was drafted, in the 2021 Bowman Draft product.

The 2021 Bowman Draft Paper card has only been graded once by PSA, with the sole PSA copy being a in a PSA 10 slab. That number is sure to rise if Encarnacion-Strand has any early success in the majors. The card has been selling for around $3 raw of late, another number destined to climb if he has some early major league success.

The 2021 Bowman Draft Chrome card has been graded by PSA a bit more, although it’s total pop is still under 30 as of this writing. The one recent sale of a PSA 10 was for $130.

If you’re looking for an autograph, the 2021 Bowman Draft Chrome Draft Pick Autographs is a great option. It actually has a significantly higher PSA population than the other two cards listed here, but still sells for $400-450 in a PSA 10 slab.

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CardTotal PSA PopRecent Sale PopRecent Sale Price
2021 Bowman Draft Christian Encarnacion-Strand #BD-91PSA 10 = 1RAW = $3
2021 Bowman Draft Chrome Christian Encarnacion-Strand #BDC-929PSA 10 = 11PSA 10 = $130
2021 Bowman Draft Chrome Draft Pick Autographs Christian Encarnacion-Strand #CDA-CE230PSA 10 = 100PSA 10 = $400-450

Other early career Christian Encarnacion-Strand cards

Christian Encarnacion-Strand appears in the 2022 Topps Pro Debut product, appearing on about 23 different cards, across base, parallels, and autograph offerings.

The base and chrome versions don’t appear to have any graded population (at least with PSA) and sell for small money raw, at least for now. This could change if he starts hot in the big leagues.

The autograph version sells for between $100-150 in a PSA 10 slab. Only one example graded by PSA hasn’t been a PSA 10, interestingly enough.

Panini also produced cards of Encarnacion-Strand in 2021. Being unlicensed, these offer a lower-cost alternative to the Bowman and Topps offerings, with a rainbow of parallels and other rarer versions to chase.

CardTotal PSA PopRecent Sale PopRecent Sale Price
2021 Bowman Draft Christian Encarnacion-Strand #BD-91PSA 10 = 1RAW = $3
2021 Bowman Draft Chrome Christian Encarnacion-Strand #BDC-929PSA 10 = 11PSA 10 = $130
2021 Bowman Draft Chrome Draft Pick Autographs Christian Encarnacion-Strand #CDA-CE230PSA 10 = 100PSA 10 = $400-450
CardTotal PSA PopRecent Sale PopRecent Sale Price
2022 Topps Pro Debut Christian Encarnacion-Strand #PD-51NANARAW = $2
2022 Topps Pro Debut Chrome Christian Encarnacion-Strand #PDC-51NANARAW = $2-5
2022 Topps Pro Debut Autographs Christian Encarnacion-Strand #PD-5122PSA 10 = 21PSA 10 = $100-150

Final Thoughts on Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s Top Prospect Cards

Christian Encarnacion-Strand has a record-breaking name. He’s looking to make a name for himself in the major leagues under the microscope of a playoff race. All he’s done at every level of the minors is hit at video-game levels. Can he keep that up?

It’s an exciting time to see how the youngster performs. A player’s first week in the big leagues might not be the best time to run out and buy his cards, but I’d keep an eye on Encarnacion-Strand and his cards, including pulling any you may already own.

What do you think of Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s cards? Have a favorite? Think he’s the next big star? Let us know at card_lines on Twitter.

Shop for Christian Encarnacion-Strand prospect cards on eBay

CardTotal PSA PopRecent Sale PopRecent Sale Price
2022 Topps Pro Debut Christian Encarnacion-Strand #PD-51NANARAW = $2
2022 Topps Pro Debut Chrome Christian Encarnacion-Strand #PDC-51NANARAW = $2-5
2022 Topps Pro Debut Autographs Christian Encarnacion-Strand #PD-5122PSA 10 = 21PSA 10 = $100-150

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Mike D.

Mike D

Mike D. has collected cards for over 35 years, since he bought his first pack of Topps at the corner store in 1987. His fandom,  collecting interests, and contributions to Cardlines center around baseball in general and the Baseball Hall of Fame specifically.

Mike's collecting focus is centered on graded cards, mostly rookie cards, of Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers. Lately, he's been enjoying dabbling in graded minor league cards. A collector/investor with a "buy and hold" approach, Mike takes the long-term view with his collection.

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