If you had told Atlanta Braves fans and card collectors in 2020 that someone not named Cristian Pache would be the center fielder of the future, they might have called you crazy. Pache, who hit a postseason home run in 2020 before hitting one in the regular season, was traded to the A’s before the 2022 season. The Braves knew what a lot of others didn’t: they had a center fielder in waiting. Now, Michael Harris baseball cards are ones in demand.
Harris, a third round draft pick out of high school in 2019, was called up in late May. In just four full months, Harris amassed 5.3 Wins Above Replacement and nearly made the 20/20 club, falling just one home run short. He’s favored to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award by a slim margin over teammate Spencer Strider.
In the Topps and Panini baseball products released prior to the end of the season, Harris had yet to receive a true rookie card. Harris has Topps Now cards, but they omitted the classic rookie card logo in favor of a “call up” card designation. While Harris may not get a true rookie card until 2023, there’s still plenty of prospect cards of his worth grabbing.
Here are my top five Michael Harris cards as of now:
Note: Harris has a patch auto redemption in 2022 Immaculate Baseball that would more than likely be on this list if it were live.
5) 2021 Leaf Trinity Patch Autograph (#PA-MH1)
Collectors tend to have a love hate relationship with Leaf cards. The annual Leaf Trinity release, however, has held some value due to its outstanding and eye-popping patches. Michael Harris patch autos are few and far between for now. Without an MLB license or MLBPA license, some of the charm is lost on Leaf cards. But, if you’re a fan of a player like Harris, you will be hard pressed to find a more visually appealing card of the young star in the marking.
Scouring eBay, you’ll find that the patches are not only team jersey logos, but include things like buttons and MLB logo patches.
In July, a Harris Leaf Trinity Patch Auto sold for $347.30, proving that MLB license or not, there is demand.
4) 2022 Panini Absolute Tools of the Trade 3 Swatch Signatures (#TT3S- MH)
Of the entire 2022 Panini Absolute Baseball checklist, this is the only subset where Harris is featured. As is the same with Leaf, the unlicensed nature of Panini baseball will always leave a bit to be desired for collectors, but they can at least put a city to Harris’ name.
The triple swatches, with the bottom right one typically featuring a patch, make the card a beautiful addition to a budding Harris collection. The base version is numbered to 199 while there are five parallels to chase, all the way down to the Spectrum Black 1/1.
Prices for the standard version remain fairly modest.
3) 2021 Topps Heritage Minor League Real One Auto (#ROA-MH)
The first technically licensed card on this list is the Real One Autograph from 2021 Topps Heritage Minor League that features Harris during his time with the Rome Braves, Atlanta’s High-A affiliate. Real One autos are some of the best and rarest autos to collect of any player. The minor league version will have to do until Harris presumably gets a true rookie Real One autograph in 2023 Heritage.
The highest dollar sales of his Heritage autos both sold in August. His Red 1/1 auto sold for $565.55 while a dual auto with fellow Braves rookie Vaughn Grissom /25 sold for a whopping $1,200. However, standard versions are still available for under $100.
2) 2021 Bowman Draft Chrome Sapphire (#BDC-86)
Sapphire cards will pretty much work their way onto any prospect card list. The simplicity and beauty of the brand cannot be understated, and that holds true with Harris’ card.
He had a 1st Bowman auto in 2020 Bowman Chrome, meaning this 2021 Bowman Draft Chrome card does not have the coveted 1st Bowman logo. It is his first non-auto Bowman card, however, and prices reflect just how much collectors love this card and its parallels. In October, a PSA 10 base Sapphire sold for $280. A raw Gold Sapphire /15 sold for $400 in August. Collectors seem to be treating this card as if it had that 1st Bowman logo.
Prices for these beauties are generally within reach of just about any collector.
1) 2020 Bowman Chrome Prospects Autographs (#CPA-MH)
The crème de la crème of all prospects cards is the 1st Bowman auto. Harris is emerging as one of the top chases on the autograph checklist of this product along with Mets catching prospect Francisco Alvarez. It’s not to be confused with 2020 Bowman where Bobby Witt Jr.’s 1st Bowman auto can be found.
As with any recent Bowman product, serial numbered parallel versions abound. Other than the base auto, there are 14 different parallels to chase, including six that are HTA exclusive. A Red Refractor numbered to 5 and graded PSA 10 went for $28,500 in July. An Orange Wave numbered to 25 and graded BGS 9.5 with a 10 auto grade sold for $8,300 that same day while another with a 9 auto grade sold for $7,000 in September. A Gold Refractor numbered to 50 and graded 9.5/10 netted $5,500 in October.
There are several dozen Harris Bowman Chrome autographs on eBay now.
Here’s a look a the 50 most watched Michael Harris card auctions on eBay:
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