Beckett Sports Cards Hot and Cold List – May 28, 2025
As collectors may expect, with hockey and basketball seasons coming to an end and baseball heating up, the sports cards exchanging hands reflect the fans’ passions. The Boys of Summer are staking their claim and the superstars in basketball and hockey are carrying their respective sports as far as they can with football enthusiasm perhaps still a month or two away.
Hot List
The guys smashing taters are helping sellers on secondary markets move products. New York Yankees’ slugger Aaron Judge leads the league in hitting (.395), is second in the AL in RBIs (47) and home runs (18). Judge’s OPS is a staggering 1.234 and he’s slugging at a .746 rate far ahead of the rest of the AL.
In the National League, Shohei Ohtani is putting up similar numbers to Judge with a 1.053 OPS, slugging rate of .657, and has smacked 20 dingers with a solid .296 batting average.
Getting to see James Wood during spring training, the up-and-coming Washington Nationals left fielder can smash it. The 22-year-old got a call up in 2024 playing in 70 games, hitting nine home runs. He’s played in 54 games for the Nats this season hitting .284 with 14 homers and 37 runs batted in; flippers are cashing in early ready for a big payout later.
As Oklahoma City and Indianapolis go deeper into the NBA Playoffs, the top players on both squads are juicing sales. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is showing the world why he was named MVP for the 2024-25 season and Tyrese Haliburton is shaking off the private player-voted Most Overrated selection taking the Pacers on the cusp on the NBA Championship series.
Going head-to-head with the Pacers, Jalen Brunson has shown his toughness throughout the playoffs upping his production from 26 points per game to 29.9 while dishing the rock at a 7.1 rate.
With Hockey getting down to the wire in both the Western and Eastern Conference Finals, Edmonton Oilers’ center Connor McDavid continues to be a must-get for collectors. Racking up the saves for the Oilers, Stuart Skinner has been amazing between the pipes shutting down the opposition at a .910 rate.
Completing the fan-loved Oilers’ trio, Zach Hyman cards are hot. Among active players, no one has been as prolific as Hyman in the postseason. In the 2023-24 playoffs, Hyman slapped in 16 goals. During the Oilers’ current run, through 15 games, he has 11 points, five goals and six assists.
Cold List
Coming off really strong 2023 and ’24 seasons, fans are backing off Baltimore Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson. Entering his third full season, Henderson has struggled a bit at the plate, but over his last seven games he has hit .308 with two stolen bases.
Less about the player and more about the outcome of the series, Donovan Mitchell cards are hitting a slide. Mitchell was all-everything for the Cleveland Cavaliers throughout the playoffs averaging 29.6 per game. As was the case for the Bucks, and perhaps the Knicks, the Pacers are storming through the playoffs taking no prisoners.
Another seeing a dip after a playoff exit is Tom Wilson. Wilson’s Washington Capitols rolled through their opening series against Monreal 4-1 but hit the brakes against the Carolina Hurricanes. The right winger posted career highs in 2024-25 with 33 goals and 32 assists.
