The 10 Best Baseball Cards to Buy Right Now

The Brewers swept the Dodgers on Oct. 15 to reach their first World Series since 1982. Four of the 10 cards below are Brewers, from Robin Yount's 1975 rookie to Jacob Misiorowski's 2026 rookie. Polymarket and Kalshi give Milwaukee about a 65 percent chance of beating the Guardians or the Rays for the title, with Game 1 in Milwaukee on Oct. 23. Three others have price catalysts in November's award votes and January's Hall of Fame results.

Think of this list as a walk down the display case, from the budget cards by the register to the grails in the back, so every collector can find one to own this month. The prices are what buyers paid in recent sales through Oct. 17.¹

Updated on Oct. 17, 2026.

What the odds mean for these cards

The World Series is the last race this year that can still move prices on this list. A Brewers title should lift all four Milwaukee cards, with Chourio's autograph in line for the biggest bump if he's the World Series MVP. With the November awards all but settled, those cards are priced in already.

Yelich's rookie climbed through the playoffs while Misiorowski's slid

Christian Yelich's 2013 Topps Update rookie in PSA 10 went from around $20 before the playoffs to $28 this week. Misiorowski's PSA 10 rookie went the other way, from around $305 in September to $258 this week, even with the Cy Young all but his. He gets 11 days of rest before Game 1 of the World Series. I'd buy his rookie now, before he takes the mound on baseball's biggest stage.

Budget picks

1. Robin Yount, 1975 Topps rookie, PSA 5

Five PSA 5 copies sold for $49 USD to $85 USD between Oct. 1 and Oct. 7.

The 1975 Topps card is Yount's only Topps rookie. He was the American League MVP for the 1982 Brewers, the last Milwaukee team to reach the World Series before this one. The Brewers have never won it.

More than 30 PSA 5 copies have sold since July, so you can wait for a copy you like instead of chasing the first one listed.

Apart from one copy with a marks qualifier on Oct. 17, no PSA 5 has sold since Oct. 7. I'd bid around $65 before Game 1. If the Brewers win their first World Series, perhaps dynasty chats will inevitably start to form, and all Brewers cards should see a bump in price.

2. Christian Yelich, 2013 Topps Update rookie, PSA 10

Five PSA 10 copies sold for $26 USD to $40 USD between Oct. 12 and Oct. 17.

Card US290 is Yelich's rookie from his Marlins days, five years before he won the 2018 National League MVP in his first season with Milwaukee. He's 7-for-24 with three RBIs and two stolen bases this postseason on the way to the first World Series of his career.

Gem mint copies are easy to come by on this card, with 3,868 PSA 10s graded as of Oct. 16. At around $28, it's the cheapest way to own a Brewers star's rookie for this World Series. I'd grab one before Game 1 instead of chasing it after a big night.

3. Munetaka Murakami, 2026 Topps Chrome Refractor rookie, raw

From Oct. 11 to 17, raw copies sold 36 times for $4 USD to $15 USD.

The Refractor is a shinier version of his base Chrome rookie. The one-of-one SuperFractor of the same card graded PSA 7 and sold for $40,687 USD with buyer's premium at Goldin on Oct. 8. Murakami tied the MLB rookie record with home runs in five straight games in April, then made the All-Star team and the Home Run Derby.

His season ended on Oct. 10, when he struck out four times in the White Sox's 2-0 loss at Cleveland in Game 5 of their Division Series. With Kevin McGonigle a 94 percent favorite for American League Rookie of the Year, there's no award bump coming in November. I'd buy now, while raw copies sit around $9 with nothing on the schedule until spring training. I expect to see a PSA 9 or PSA 10 on the trading block soon.

Mid-range picks

4. Jacob Misiorowski, 2026 Topps rookie, PSA 10

PSA 10 copies sold 10 times for $201 USD to $375 USD between Oct. 11 and Oct. 17.

Polymarket gives Misiorowski a 98.5 percent chance of winning the National League Cy Young Award, announced in November, with Kalshi at 99 percent. He started Game 1 against the Dodgers and allowed one run in 4 1/3 innings on Oct. 11. He didn't have his best stuff, but he kept the Brewers in the game.

With the betting odds treating the award as his, Misiorowski's card market is already priced in. With any fireballer, an arm injury is what the entire baseball community hopes never happens... but inevitably is quite common.

PSA has graded more than twice as many 10s as 9s on this card, 393 to 183 as of Oct. 16. PSA 9 copies sold for $33 USD to $69 USD this week. With gem mint the easier grade to find, I'd hold out for the 10.

5. Pete Crow-Armstrong, 2024 Topps rookie, PSA 10

PSA 10 copies sold eight times for $214 USD to $369 USD between Sept. 20 and Oct. 10.

Polymarket gives Crow-Armstrong a 98.5 percent chance of winning National League MVP, announced in November, with Shohei Ohtani at 1.4 percent. Kalshi has Crow-Armstrong at 98 percent. Similar to the Miz, PCA's card market is priced in for his MVP win. What comes next is a repeat performance year over year and the Cubs progressing deeper into the playoffs. After a lackluster rookie season, PCA's return to form in his sophomore year raises a question that is too early to answer. Is PCA on his way to becoming a legendary Hall of Famer? Only time will tell.

This year the Padres swept the Cubs in the Wild Card Series, with Crow-Armstrong going 0-for-7. His PSA 10 hasn't sold since Oct. 10. I'd make a $275 offer on a listed copy before the MVP announcement.

Some of his cards have already climbed and fallen back. His first Bowman Chrome autograph sold for $2,750 USD to $3,554 USD on eBay in August. In September it sold for more than $5,000 USD three times, reaching $5,350 USD on Sept. 26. The next copy sold for $3,050 USD on Oct. 8.

His one-of-one 2024 Topps Chrome Update MLB Debut Patch autograph sold for $1,098,000 USD with buyer's premium at Goldin on Sept. 29.

6. Buster Posey, 2010 Topps rookie, PSA 10

Fifteen PSA 10 copies sold for $149 USD to $229 USD between Sept. 22 and Oct. 15.

Posey is on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, for the class of 2027. He was National League Rookie of the Year in 2010 and MVP in 2012, with three World Series titles for the Giants.

This is the list's high-risk, high-reward pick. Players need votes on three of every four ballots to get in. NBC Washington counts Posey as one of only two first-time candidates with "even a remote chance" of election. If the January vote goes his way, this becomes a Hall of Famer's rookie card.

PSA has given 1,998 copies a 10, more than any other grade on this card. I'd bid $159, what each of the last three copies sold for on Oct. 15.

7. Shohei Ohtani, 2018 Topps Update rookie, PSA 10

Six PSA 10 copies sold for $362 USD to $495 USD from Oct. 11 to Oct. 17.

Card US1 is Ohtani's rookie card in Topps' flagship paper set. The Brewers' sweep ended the Dodgers' bid for a third straight title on Oct. 15, even after Ohtani hit a three-run home run in Game 4, his first of the postseason.

After the loss, Ohtani said he plans to pitch next year and called offseason surgery on his knee or biceps "hard to tell at this point". It's a tough pill to swallow for Ohtani fans and the Dodgers.

In each of the last three offseasons, this card hit its low in November and was higher again by Opening Day. Don't overpay for your Ohtani right now. I'd wait for November and bid $400.

High-end picks

8. Jackson Chourio, 2022 Bowman Chrome autograph Refractor, PSA 10

From Oct. 4 to Oct. 16, PSA 10 copies sold 11 times for $1,247 USD to $1,600 USD.

This /499 Refractor of Chourio's first Bowman Chrome autograph is an obtainable grail for the dynamic 22-year-old. He won Game 2 of the Division Series with a walk-off single against San Diego. Against the Dodgers he led off Game 3 of the NLCS with a home run on the first pitch, a year to the day after his first-pitch homer off Yoshinobu Yamamoto in last year's NLCS.

Kalshi makes Chourio the favorite for World Series MVP at 17 percent, ahead of William Contreras and Misiorowski. I'm expecting Chourio to continue ripping as the postseason unfolds.

The Oct. 16 sale at $1,247 was this card's lowest in October. I'd bid $1,300 before Game 1. A World Series MVP should push it back over $1,500, where it sold three times this month.

9. Ken Griffey Jr., 1989 Upper Deck rookie, PSA 10

There is no top 10 list without the king of baseball cards. Five PSA 10 copies sold for $5,281 USD to $6,300 USD between Oct. 3 and Oct. 15.

Card No. 1 in Upper Deck's first set is the best-known rookie card of its era. With PSA 10 copies selling several times a week, you pay the market price with no playoff premium built in.

Each new PSA 10 adds to the supply. PSA's count stood at 4,379 on Oct. 16, just one more than on Oct. 12.

10. Sandy Koufax, 1955 Topps rookie, PSA 4

Four PSA 4 copies sold for $2,483 USD to $2,975 USD between Oct. 10 and Oct. 17.

Koufax's 1955 Topps rookie shows him as a Brooklyn Dodger, which adds to the nostalgia factor for his card. His Hall of Fame career ended when he was just 30 years old, after 12 seasons with the Dodgers. His playing days were cut short after severe traumatic arthritis riddled his pitching elbow and ended his professional career.

This beautiful card is consistently liquid and you can find them on eBay or your favorite marketplace in the grade that suits your collecting.

Once the World Series is over, I'll be back with a new list for November.

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