The Best Spencer Strider Rookie & Prospect Cards

Spencer Strider is an exciting young pitcher who looks so full of promise. But what are Spencer Strider’s best rookie cards? What about prospect and minor league cards? And are his cards worth investing in?

Shop for Spencer Strider rookie cards on eBay

Who is Spencer Strider?

Spencer Strider is a young starting pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. After being drafted in the 4^th round of the 2020 draft, Strider rocketed through the minor leagues. In his first professional season in 2021, he pitched at four minor league levels and had a two-start cup of coffee in the big leagues.

In 2021, in his first extended exposure to the big leagues, Strider pitched admirably. He appeared in 31 games, making 20 starts. Strider went 11-5 with a 2.67 ERA. He struck out an impressive 202 batters in only 131.2 IP. He helped pitch Atlanta back to the playoffs.

For his efforts, he finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year balloting to teammate Michael Harris II.

Through the first two months of the season, Spencer Striker has started 2023 pitching at the same high level at which he pitched in 2022. Only 24 years old, the future looks bright for the young hurler.

The best Spencer Strider baseball cards

Despite being drafted only three years prior to this writing, Spencer Strider has appeared on a robust total of 1,227 cards and counting as of this writing.

2022 was his official rookie year, which means that he appeared on a number of prospect and pre-rookie cards in 2020 and 2021.

Let’s take a look at some of the best of these, including his rookie cards, pre-rookie or prospect cards, minor league cards, and more.

Notable Spencer Strider rookie cards

Shane Spencer’s rookie cards were produced in 2022, the year he burst onto the scene with his first extended big league roster time. He appeared on a whopping 875 cards that year, many unlicensed products from Donruss and Panini. If those are your thing, there are a lot of options, but our list will focus on the licensed Topps and Bowman products.

Even sticking to just the fully licensed product, we have provided a Top 10 list of just base cards. Rest assured that each of these comes with a rainbow of parallels to chase if you so desire.

Overall, the story here is fairly low pop counts, but in most cases, pretty reasonable prices, even in a PSA 10 slab. A few are so rare in slabs, however, that comps aren’t even available. A couple of cards, specifically the Topps “batting” SP and the Topps Chrome Sapphire, clock in with price tags over $200 in PSA 10.

Shop for Spencer Strider rookie cards on eBay

Of course, most of these offer a variety of refractors, parallels, and the like, that offer an even tougher pull at a higher price point.

Which one is the one for you? That will depend. Look at the total PSA population, the percentage of PSA 10s of that population, and the price. Then find one that’s within your budget. If you like the look of the card (design, photo, etc.) that’s a big factor, as well.

The Best Spencer Strider rookie autographed cards

Fans of certified autographs will find a good number of available options from Spencer Strider’s rookie season to choose from. Below are five of our favorites.

Shop for Spencer Strider rookie auto cards on eBay

The good news here is that variety offers lots of choices, and depending on whether you’re shopping for raw, PSA 9, or PSA 10 copies, a range of price points. With prices ranging from $60 up to over $300, there’s something for every collecting budget.

As with all autographs, if you can afford the on-card signed options, that’s usually the better long-term play and the most bang for your buck.

The Spencer Strider first Bowman cards

After being drafted in the 2020 draft, Spencer Strider appeared on 152 cards that year, according to the Trading Card Database. Of those, the Bowman Draft offerings, in both paper and Chrome, are the most desirable.

In addition to the base versions, a wide variety of parallel versions are available of both cards, giving collectors many options if they’re looking for some higher-priced, rarer option, there’s plenty to pick from.

Despite being the much coveted “1st Bowman”, these are still quite reasonably priced, even in a PSA 10 slabs. Interestingly enough, the total PSA population of the paper version is lower than that of Chrome, which keeps their prices more or less in line with each other.

Shop Spencer Strider 1st Bowman cards on eBay

Spencer Strider Minor League cards

Despite, or perhaps because of, his fast assent through the Braves minor league system in 2021, Spencer Strider appears in three different minor league team sets produced by Choice. He also appeared on one Choice minor league card in 2020, the year he was drafted, despite not appearing in any minor league games during that season.

Somewhat shockingly, PSA has never graded a copy of any of these cards. That’s right, if you can find a raw copy worth grading, you could have a PSA pop 1.

The sets are fairly hard to find, but if you’re a fan of minor league cards or are just looking for some Spencer items that are “off the beaten path”, these are worth seeking out.

Thoughts on Spencer Strider rookie card value

So, the big question…are Spencer Strider cards a good investment? Well, it depends. Overall, young pitchers come with a lot of risk. To string together a number of good seasons while avoiding injury and ineffectiveness is difficult.

Stringing together top-notch seasons long enough to become a superstar and someday be a candidate for the Hall of Fame? Only a tiny fraction of pitchers will ever do that.

Even for those pitchers that do make it happen and rise to superstar status, their cards tend to trail those of hitters, value-wise. This has always been true, with very few exceptions. Ty Cobb cards tend to outvalue similar Cy Young cards.

Shop for Spencer Strider rookie cards on eBay

Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig tend to cost more than similar cards of Walter Johnson. Bob Gibson and Tom Seaver cards can’t compete with Pete Rose or Johnny Bench. One exception that proves the rule is Nolan Ryan, whose cards continue to sell for a premium.

That being said, with risk comes the potential for great reward. If you bought in early on rookie cards Justin Verlander, or Randy Johnson, then you saw a great return on investment.

Another element of the equation is that the buy-in price for Strider cards isn’t all that high right now. If you’re a Braves fan, a fan of young pitchers, or just think Spencer Strider’s mustache needs a place in your collection, you can take a reasonable gamble that may pay off long-term or not, but should provide a lot of fun and add an element to your fandom.

Final thoughts on the best Spencer Strider Rookie & Prospect Cards

Spencer Strider is an exciting young pitcher for one of the most popular and talented teams in the game. His career is off to an impressive start, but there’s a lot of risk involved in investing in his (or any young pitcher’s) cards.

That being said, the buy-in price is reasonable at this point, so if you’re a fan and want to buy in, stick within your budget and have at it.

Are you a big fan of Spencer Strider? What’s your favorite Strider card? Let us know at card_lines on Twitter.

Shop for Spencer Strider rookie cards on eBay

More Cardlines top baseball card rookie coverage

• Nolan Ryan
• Justin Verlander
• Billy Wagner
• Todd Helton
• Frank Thomas
• Miguel Cabrera
• Randy Johnson
• Mark McGwire
• Carlos Beltran
• Scott Rolen
• Barry Bonds
• Derek Jeter
• Chipper Jones
• Ken Griffey Jr.
• Aaron Judge