It was not that long ago that New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe was one of the hottest young players in baseball. Possessing a perfect storm of immense talent while also being a Yankees' first-round pick meant that it did not take long for Volpe to garner national attention during his rise to the majors. This was equally true in the collecting world, where Volpe's Bowman 1sts (especially autos and parallels), as well as his tougher rookie cards, quickly became some of the more liquid cards in the hobby.
Fast forward a bit, and things began to change. Volpe wasn't "bad" per se during his first two seasons, but his star turn was taking longer than expected, and the shine began to wear off. After injury issues cratered Volpe's production last year, he started the season on the injured list to finish his recovery from shoulder surgery. The combination of Volpe looking rough while learning a new swing out on rehab (.624 OPS) and Jose Caballero playing very well in his absence led New York to make the decision to option Volpe to the minors.
That is all well and good, as well as almost certainly is the best baseball decision for the Yankees. However, it is hard not to think about some of the card collectors who shelled out generational wealth, banking on Volpe being a star.
Any guesses on what it would sell for today? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/qFLwuRhCJS
— Hal Lewis (@halleygator) May 4, 2026
Anthony Volpe's Yankees demotion is a harsh reminder of the silly risks high-end prospect card collectors take
This is far from the first, or even the most painful, lesson that card collectors have had to learn about betting too big on guys who aren't established yet. Just ask all of the people who were gobbling up Wander Franco Bowman 1sts and rookies for thousands upon thousands. You can probably find them in bankruptcy court. Athletes are a volatile commodity for a number of reasons, and that is particularly true of prospects. This red refractor (which is numbered to 5) of Volpe's Bowman 1st auto might have seemed like a savvy investment at $150,000 at the time if you were convinced he would replace Derek Jeter.
However, more often than not, that is not what happens. There needn't be a total disaster for these sorts of prospect bets to end poorly. Take Riley Greene. He was the fifth overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft and has been a fine player for the Tigers with two All-Star appearances. You can get his base Bowman 1st auto for around $100 right now and a blue parallel for under $300. You may not want to look at what some of his cards were going for before his debut. The odds that a six-figure bet on a prospect card will ever be a good bet are just very, very, very low.
Unfortunately for this poor soul, they are having to learn that very expensive lesson the hard way. There is still a chance that Volpe rebounds from his demotion and they will be able to recoup some value, but it seems likely that the chances Volpe will ever be good enough for that purchase to age well are near zero at this point.
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