Once the pandemic hit in the spring of 2020 the baseball card hobby saw a huge surge in interest with thousands of people getting into or getting back into collecting cards and using them as an investment opportunity. I was no exception even if I was late to the game, buying into the first time a little more than a year later in the summer of 2021. Baseball cards had changed since I collected them as a kid with the addition of numbered parallels in different colors, seemingly a new set released every other week, and the advent of box breaks where you can pay for a specific team and watch as an internet personality opens the packs for you. Now that I’m caught up on how to collect and am fully invested I’ve decided to start a column focusing on the Orioles included in the major releases from the leading brands like Bowman and Topps.

(You can discuss this on the BSL board here.)

This week’s big release is 2022 Topps Chrome. Chrome is an alternate of the main Topps Series 1 and Series 2 releases that combines the stars and rookies from both releases with a thicker, higher quality card stock than the original and new inserts. The inserts in this release include the 1987 card design (one in six packs), Future Stars (one in six packs), Heart of the City (one in 16 packs), New Classics (one in 12 packs), and Pinstriped (one in 24 packs). There are also 20 parallel colors for the each of the base set cards from refractors all the way to 1:1 superfractors and everywhere in-between. Orioles fans will likely be most interested in orange and orange wave refractors which are numbered to 25. As always there are jersey relics and autographs for select players.

Lets get into the Orioles in this set.

Ryan MountcastleBase, Future Stars, Chrome Veteran Autographs

Until the exciting young players that have debuted for the Orioles in 2022 show up in these sets (some in Update Series next month, most not until 2023) Mountcastle is probably the biggest “hit” for O’s fans despite his sophomore slump at the plate. He is still young with upside and should be a safe bet to still be on the team in a few years. He is also the guy Topps has planted on the most variety of cards. No Orioles will appear on the Heart of the City, New Classics, or Pinstriped inserts but Mountcastle will represent on the Future Stars series. Despite 10 different Orioles appearing in Topps Chrome this year only about half of them will likely to be of any value to fans of the Baltimore baseball team with Mountcastle’s autograph sure to top most fans wish lists.

Cedric MullinsBase, Chrome Veteran Autographs

Mullins broke out in a big way in 2021 with his 30/30 season and being the starting centerfielder in the all-star game. He may have come back down to earth a bit this season but he has proven that he can be an everyday player for a competitive team. He was so much of a surprise last year that he wasn’t included at all in the 2021 version of Topps Chrome. This year he gets a base card, and all the variations that includes, as well as an autograph card. Mullins is still a little undervalued on the card market so it shouldn’t be hard to get one of those for a decent price on the secondary market.

Trey ManciniBase, Chrome Veteran Autographs

This will likely be the last chance for Orioles fans to get a new mainline Topps card with Mancini in an Orioles uniform unless he re-signs with the team this offseason or some other time in the future which I would say is unlikely. The big time fan favorite who overcame prostate cancer and came back to be a very productive hitter for the team over the past two years is now on the Houston Astros but will have a base card and autograph card as an Oriole. Its important to note for players like this when participating in box breaks that they will be given to the person who purchased the team on the card, not the team that they are currently on.

John Means Base

Despite only appearing in two games this season and throwing just eight innings before undergoing Tommy John Surgery that should sideline him until mid-2023 Means get to be in the base set of Chrome. It makes sense as he has established himself as a legitimate major league starting pitcher over the past few years despite the Orioles being the worst team in baseball from 2019-2021. With the team turned around and winning even despite his absence its easy to forget his significance in Baltimore. Luckily Topps did not.

Austin HaysTopps Chrome Authentics

Some players don’t get a base card but are still included in sets when it comes to autograph and relic cards and that is the case here for Hays. It’s a little surprising that he didn’t make the cut of 225 base cards considering he had a fantastic first couple of months of the season before cooling off considerably in the second half. The set list must have been locked before he fell off but at least he is going to get a jersey relic and some variants of that as well. Some of the relics this year will also have autographs but Hays is not included on that list.

Alexander WellsBase RC, Chrome Rookie Autographs

The big rookie cards for the Orioles in series 1 and 2 were unfortunately not exciting in the least. That should change very soon but for now we have to settle for pitchers that were either hurt, disappointing, or released. Wells falls into the hurt category having missed most of the season due to an elbow injury. He appeared in two games covering 3.2 innings before the injury and is currently back from rehab in AAA Norfolk waiting for another opportunity. You can get his rookie card autographed for cheap if you buy into him being a bounce back player in 2023.

Zac LowtherBase RC, Chrome Rookie Autographs

Another rookie left handed pitcher who I doubt collectors will be looking for is Lowther who struggled mightily at the major league level this year. He had a 8.44 ERA over 5.1 innings with just one strikeout. Even worse is the way he has performed in AAA. Over 43.2 innings he is 1-5 with a 10.31 ERA and 2.24 WHIP. Its disappointing because Lowther was a top 30 prospect the entire time he was coming up through the farm system and he just hasn’t been able to convert his success through AA up to the highest levels of the sport.

Spenser WatkinsChrome Rookie Autographs

If you showed me this list following the 2021 season I would’ve likely said this is the card I was least interested in considering Watkins had a 8.07 ERA over 54.2 innings in 2021. Fortunately for him and the team he worked hard over the offseason and implemented some changes that led to him owning a significantly improved 4.37 ERA over 94.2 innings and 19 starts. He was recently demoted to AAA Norfolk but mostly because of the surprising depth of the Orioles pitching staff than anything he did wrong. There is a good chance that he is back with the big league club before season’s end and could even play a role in the 2023 team’s success.

Mike BaumannChrome Rookie Autographs

Baumann was the mostly highly touted of these rookies coming into the season, hovering close to the team’s top 10 prospects list for most outlets. Surprisingly he started the season in the Orioles bullpen where he saw a pretty big bump in velocity, sitting in the upper 90’s. Unfortunately his command didn’t match the stuff and he was demoted for most of the season. He had an up and down campaign in AAA ultimately ending up with a 4.20 ERA over 60 innings. He eventually transitioned back to the rotation and made a spot start for the O’s. He currently sits in the Baltimore bullpen holding a 4.76 ERA over 17 innings with 11 strikeouts.

Marcos DiplanChrome Rookie Autographs

The most surprising inclusion for the Orioles in this set has to be Diplan. He threw 30 innings out of the Orioles bullpen in 2021 with a 4.50 ERA but became a free agent following the season. Signed back to a minor league contract he pitched even better in limited time this season for the birds (1.59 ERA over 5.2 innings with eight strikeouts) but spent most of his time in AAA Norfolk where he pitched to a 2.02 ERA over 26.2 innings with 28 strikeouts and two saves before being released. He could end up being a solid reliever for some team but it doesn’t appear likely to be with the Orioles and I’m not sure what kind of value his autograph will hold outside of his friends and family.

Bob Phelan
Bob Phelan

BSL Analyst

Bob is a co-host of ‘On the Verge’ an Orioles podcast focused on the O’s farm system here on BSL. He used to run the baseball blog ‘The Oriole Report’ before transitioning to podcasting about movies, TV, Video Games, and MMA. ‘The Redbox Report’ movie podcast was started in 2013 followed by ‘The Redbelt Report’ MMA podcast in 2016. Bob has also written for Konsume.com and BaltimoreSportsReport.com and delivers mail for a living in Baltimore County. Follow him on Twitter @TheOrioleReport.

X