Grabbing the best 2024 Topps Update rookie cards is always a good idea, since the Topps Update series is known to be a breeding ground of some of the best rookie cards of the year!
We previously ranked the best 2024 Topps Series 1 rookie cards and the best 2024 Topps Series 2 rookie cards, so now we turn our attention to the much-awaited Topps Update rookies! (You can also see how Patrick Imhoff tried to predict which rookies would make it into the 2024 Topps Update list!)
Earlier this year, MLB Network made a list of the Top 100 Baseball Players Right Now, so I tracked each player’s rookie card. Of the 100 rookie cards of those players, 45 came from Topps Update, which is the most of all three Topps series! (There were just 19 rookie cards coming from Topps Series 2, which was the least.)
Topps posted the checklist, so now we know which players got their rookie cards in this series! Unfortunately, we’ll still have to wait for guys like James Wood, who ranks as the best rookie card we’re all waiting for in 2025 Topps Series 1. But until then, we have the 11 best 2024 Topps Update rookie cards, which is pretty well stocked with superstars!
First, here’s the confirmed list of rookie cards in the 2024 Topps Update series, which is released on October 16, 2024! Here are the different boxes available to you on eBay:
Before we share our 11 best 2024 Topps Update rookie cards, let’s first list all 81 rookies with solo true rookie cards in this series!
Also, there are 14 “Rookie Combo” cards with 28 other rookies in this checklist, with a total of 28 rookies listed. That means there are a total of 109 true rookie cards in 2024 Topps Update!
Finally, make note of eight other awesome combo cards (some with 2024 rookies (in bold)!) that also jump out at us:
Not only are there some of the best rookie cards of the year in this series, but Topps Update also brings Rookie Debut cards, which are kind of like rookie sequels. They don’t count as true rookie cards, but owners of a 2014 Topps Update Mookie Betts Rookie Debut love those cards, too.
Rookie Debut cards make 2024 Topps Update a little more special because this one series is the first to have Elly De La Cruz, Junior Caminero, Jordan Lawlar, Jackson Holliday, Jackson Chourio, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jackson Chourio, Jackson Merrill, Jasson Dominguez, Shota Imanaga, Masyn Winn and Paul Skenes all in the same packs!
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Getting these rookie cards is a good thing – but getting parallels of these rookie cards is even better! Some of these players had SP rookie cards in 2024 Topps Series 2, which many will want more than their base cards in Update.
1. Jackson Merrill, SS/OF, San Diego Padres – Card No. US210
Before the season started, we were excited to Merrill in action, but no one expected this (OK, maybe Merrill’s parents). He’s batting close to .300, with an OPS around .830, and should finish with 25 HR (leading all rookies) and 18 SB (top 10 among rookies) or so. From a collectability standpoint, we don’t love that he switched from shortstop to the outfield, but it’s better than if he moved to first base or catcher!
With a 5.1 WAR leading all rookies (15th in MLB!), Merrill is the odds-on 2024 National Rookie of the Year favorite, and he leads our list of the best 2024 Topps Update rookie cards! (Before buying his 1st Bowman card, just know that it’s not him on that card!)
2. Paul Skenes, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates – Card No. US100
With double-digit wins, more than a 1.0 K/IP and an ERA closer to 2.00 than 3.00, Skenes emerged as one of the most exciting arms in baseball since Jacob deGrom came into the league. While Merrill might beat this Bucco out for NL ROY honors (and the top listing in our best 2024 Topps Update rookie cards list), Skenes still might emerge as the best of this class overall. Unfortunately, starting pitchers don’t have the same collectability as offensive positions, and we’ve seen other great young arms struggle with injuries, like Stephen Strasburg. Hopefully, the Pirates use caution with this fireballer! His rookie cards are going to be a hot commodity all winter!
3. Jackson Chourio, OF, Milwaukee Brewers – Card No. US240
Chourio started a little slow, but came through with one of the best rookie seasons of anyone in the past few years. At just 20 years old, he ranks among the all-time greats in home runs and RBI at this age.
Even more impressive is that he’s the youngest player to ever tally a 20 HR/20 SB season, barely beating out Mike Trout and Vada Pinson. That’s good company!
4. Jackson Holliday, 2B/SS, Baltimore Orioles – Card No. US50
Much was made about Holliday’s call-up-and-crumble early this season, but after returning the minors for a tune-up, Holliday came back up in July for another shot. While he hasn’t yet reached the heights we’d hoped for him (far from it!), the 20-year-old has improved. The Orioles are World Series-ready, so they can’t be as patient on him like the Rays are with Junior Caminero. “Buy-low” surrounds Holliday’s name lately, and we co-sign on that.
5. Wyatt Langford, OF, Texas Rangers – Card No. US151
Another superstar prospect we hoped would have a better 2024, the former Gators outfielder had an up-and-down first year in the pros. In 26 June games, he hit .309 with 22 RBI, ranking sixth among all MLB hitters! He has 30 HR / 30 SB potential, and that gets card collectors excited! Langford’s 66 RBI so far rank fourth among all rookies – and he has done it in just 525 plate appearances, better than Chourio and Merrill.
6. Colt Keith, 2B, Detroit Tigers – Card No. US73
The Tigers signed the then-22-year-old infielder to a six-year contract worth over $28 million in January, well before the season, while Keith was still ranked as the 22nd-best prospect according to MLB. He’s a key part of the middle of the Tigers’ lineup, he does everything pretty well. He ranks among the best 2024 Topps Update rookie cards because he also ranks among the best rookie hitters in strikeout percentage (19.4%), which portends well for future seasons.
7. Jared Jones, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates – Card No. US49
Overshadowed by Skenes, his Pirates pitching teammate, Jones has shone some flashes of success as well! His first half of the season was stellar, with a 3.56 ERA in 91 innings, an opponents’ batting average of .220 and over 1.0 K/IP. Injuries slowed his second half, but we hope for bigger things in 2025.
8. Andy Pages, OF, L.A. Dodgers – Card No. US221
You don’t hear a lot about this 23-year-old rookie center fielder, but when the Dodgers call on him, he answers. With a lineup that boasts Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, it’s easy to get lost. But his 60 runs scored ranks top 10 among rookies, and his 43 RBI is top-15 among rookies with 110 games played.
9. Kyle Manzardo, 1B, Cleveland Guardians – Card No. US262
The former top first base prospect in Tampa Bay was traded to Cleveland last year, and has since joined the Guardians in the majors. He’s not a slugger by any means, and he still has work to do against lefties, but he’s batting over .350 with four HR in September against righties.
10. Jack Leiter, SP, Texas Rangers – Card No. US156
You might be surprised to see the 25-year-old right-hander on this list of the best 2024 Topps Update rookie cards, but the second overall pick of the 2021 MLB Draft was once Texas’ top overall prospect in 2022 (he ranked fourth for the Rangers in 2024). The son of 3-time World Series champion Al Leiter, good things can still be ahead for this Rangers pitcher.
11. Jonatan Clase, OF, Toronto Blue Jays – Card No. US35
Clase couldn’t make things happen with the Mariners, so they traded him to Toronto just before the MLB Trade Deadline. He’s touted as a five-tool player who stole 79 bags in 2023 in the minors, giving him the first 20 HR / 70 SB season in minor-league history! The 22-year-old speedster needs to cut down on the Ks for 2025 success in the majors, which would make his appearance on the best 2024 Topps Update rookie cards list make more sense.
Some others who got votes from Patrick Imhoff in his list of the best 2024 Topps Update rookie cards include: Blaze Alexander, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks, Jordan Beck, OF, Colorado Rockies and Victor Scott, OF, St. Louis Cardinals. I also want to keep an eye on Tigers OF Wenceel Perez!
If you love rookie cards, here are some more articles tracking great cards from the past and present:
Whether you need to pick up the best 2024 Topps Update rookie cards, or the rookie baseball cards from 2024 Topps Series 1 or 2024 Topps Series 2, you have to agree — this has been an amazing year for great rookie cards!
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