At the beginning of every baseball season, the background noise dies down and a few names start to stand out. It happened April of last year. It took place again this time. This year, that clarity came faster than most people thought it would, thanks to six rookies who didn’t look like rookies at all.
For decades, Beckett has been the hobby’s most reliable source of price information. He quickly picked out the group of players to keep an eye on: Chase DeLauter, Munetaka Murakami, Kevin McGonigle, Sal Stewart, Carson Benge, and JJ Wetherholt. Six different people. There are six markets. And they all have one thing in common that more than one MLB executive has pointed out in a quiet way: an odd, almost creepy sense of calm.
DeLauter could be the most interesting case. The Cleveland Guardians picked him with the 16th overall pick in the 2022 draft. He then spent three years in the minor leagues playing with foot and core injuries, playing in only 138 games. He didn’t waste any time when he finally got there. He hit home runs off of Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and Andres Munoz in the first series in Seattle. He is said to be the only player in baseball history to do so. With five home runs and 18 RBI in 29 games, he has walked more often than struck out. Some fans might not think that last part is very important, but it is. When you train with plates, you get power that lasts for a long time. His two Bowman rookie cards are already being passed around.
Murakami, on the other hand, writes a very different kind of story. He’s not the raw prospect type at age 26. For eight years, he played in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. In 2022, he won the Triple Crown and was named league MVP twice. It was thought that he would hit when he signed with the Chicago White Sox. Among very few people, he hit a home run in each of his first three major league games. A team that has been rebuilding for what seems like a long time has hit 12 home runs in 31 games. If a collector wants to get their hands on early Murakami cards, they can do so starting with the 2019 BBM Japan releases. From 2022 on, Bowman’s NPB sets will add dozens more.
In Detroit, McGonigle has driven in runs at a rate that made people take notice, even when there were a lot of rookies talking. The first weekend for Stewart in Cincinnati, he hit.769, which is the kind of number that makes you stop and think. Before Opening Day, Benge in New York had only played in a few games above Double-A. But when he walked into Citi Field, it felt like he had been there before. Wetherholt in St. Louis has already had a curtain call, which is the kind of event that makes fans love you quickly.
The way league executives talk about this group is interesting, even if you don’t look at the numbers. A poll of rival front offices put McGonigle ahead of Stewart and Murakami in terms of how impressive they were. That kind of praise from peers usually means something. These people enjoy baseball a great deal. It usually means something when they think highly of you.
Of course, it’s still early. A 162-game season can make people feel small. People get hurt. Slumps show up. Pitchers change. Some of these six will have quieter times ahead, and as summer approaches, more names will likely come up from the minor leagues, changing the whole conversation about rookies. That’s just how the sport works.
But while the window is open, there is something important to notice right now. There will only ever be so many real rookie cards made. No parallels or inserts. The Bowman albums are now out. The second market is making progress. Additionally, the players don’t seem to be slowing down at all. These six names are important to know if you are collecting for the long term or just to keep up with the hobby.
