Paul Skenes Cards: Collect the Game's Most Dominant Arm

The Case for Getting In Early

First overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. 2024 National League Rookie of the Year. All-Star selection in his debut season. Paul Skenes did not just meet expectations — he obliterated them, making the leap from draft day to dominant major leaguer in record time. His combination of a triple-digit fastball, devastating splinker, and elite composure on the mound made him the most talked-about young pitcher in baseball.

Pitchers historically carry more risk in the card market than position players, but Skenes has already cleared the first hurdle by delivering dominant results in his rookie season. His All-Star appearance and Rookie of the Year award give his cards a minimum value that most young pitchers never achieve. The question now is how much further the ceiling goes.

Key Cards at Every Price Point

2024 Bowman Chrome Prospects — Skenes' Bowman 1st Chrome cards are the primary target for serious collectors. Refractor parallels and autographed versions of this card are the most sought-after Skenes cards on the market. The base chrome is an accessible entry point that tracks closely with his on-field performance.

2024 Topps Now — Topps Now captured Skenes' real-time milestones throughout his rookie season, including his MLB debut and All-Star selection. These print-to-order cards offer a unique way to own specific moments from his breakout year.

2024 Topps Series 2 and Update — Skenes' flagship Topps cards with the official RC logo. These are the most widely distributed and recognized rookie cards, making them the standard reference point for his card market.

What to Watch For — and When to Buy

As a young pitcher, Skenes' market is closely tied to performance and health. Dominant starts send prices higher, while any injury concern creates a dip — and that dip is your buying window if you believe in the long-term upside. Watch for off-days and rest periods when the hype cools; that is when sellers are more motivated. His Pirates tenure also matters — trade rumors to a larger market team are a signal to buy before the move, not after, since a confirmed trade to a big market could reprice his cards overnight.

The broader question for Skenes collectors is whether he sustains elite performance across multiple seasons. If he does, his cards have significant room to appreciate from current levels. The Rookie of the Year award provides a strong foundation, but the real upside comes from Cy Young contention and postseason dominance — so keep an eye on those narratives as they develop during the season.

Mantel Tracks It All

Skenes' market moves in real time with his starts — a 12-strikeout outing or a new career milestone can spike prices on Bowman Chrome refractors before the postgame press conference ends, and by the next morning the window has narrowed. Wish List alerts on Mantel let you set a target price on any Skenes card and get notified the instant a matching listing appears, so you are ready to act when the next dominant start sends the market scrambling. SLAM scores measure actual sales velocity, price trends, and trading activity, helping you separate genuine buying momentum from the short-lived hype that follows a single headline. Comps show what his cards have actually sold for — not just what sellers are asking — which is critical for a young pitcher whose market reprices after nearly every outing. Live listings from eBay and Fanatics Collect are aggregated in one searchable feed so you can compare prices across products and sellers without switching platforms, and the Skenes collector community on Mantel reacts to his starts in real time, shares Bowman Chrome pulls, and debates whether the next milestone is a Cy Young campaign or a blockbuster trade to a bigger market.

Set your alerts before the next start. Whether you are stacking parallels ahead of a Cy Young push or building a Skenes PC around his Rookie of the Year foundation, Mantel gives you the Wish List alerts, the data, and the community to act before the market moves without you.