Trea Turner is considered one of the fastest runners in Major League Baseball with a recorded speed of 22.7 mph. Turner was a much heralded college star for the NC State Wolfpack, which resulted in him being selected by the San Diego Padres with the thirteenth pick of the first round of the 2014 MLB Draft. Later in 2014 he was traded to the Washington Nationals for whom he would make his major league debut in 2015. His rookie season was 2016 during which he was twice awarded the NL Rookie of the Month award and ultimately finished second in voting for NL Rookie of the Year.
Here is a look at some of Turner’s best baseball cards including prospect issues and rookie cards.
2012-’13 Early Releases
Turne
r’s first trading cards were in 2012 when he was a college freshman and set the NC State record for stolen bases with 57. He was included in 2012 USA Baseball as well as a limited number of cards from two Panini releases, 2012 Elite Extra Edition and 2012 Prime Cuts.
The following year Turner was again included in 2013 USA Baseball and 2013 USA Baseball Champions along with a handful of cards in 2013 Panini America’s Pastime. Some of these early releases included an autograph, although most were on a sticker, with several containing swatches from a USA Baseball jersey.
2014-’15 Draft and Prospect Cards
In 2014 Turner was selected thirteenth overall in the 2014 MLB Draft and as a result, was featured in 2014 sets related to the draft. These pre-prospect sets satiated collectors hunger for cards at the time, but their popularity would later be superseded. Turner was include in 2014 Bowman Chrome Draft from Topps and 2014 Elite Extra Edition, 2014 Panini Prizm Perennial Draft Pic, 2014 Leaf Trinity, and 2014 Leaf Valiant Draft.
Most of Turner’s autograph cards from 2014 were on card, with the cards from Bowman Chrome Draft remaining the most popular and in demand card. 2015 saw the release of other Turner prospect cards including 2015 Bowman Chrome, 2015 Immaculate Collection, 2015 Panini Contenders, 2015 Panini National Treasures, and 2015 USA Baseball Stars and Stripes. 2015 also marked Turner’s major league debut with the Nationals where he appeared in 27 games at the end of the season.
2016 Rookie Cards
Although Turner had cards issued the previous four years 2016 is considered his official rookie year. Turner was included in virtually every major release and had more than 800 cards issued. Among these was his first Topps card in 2016 Topps Baseball, which has become a career milestone in its own right. This card is sought after by collectors who wish to own what they consider to be a ‘true’ rookie card.
Turner had the most cards in 2016 Topps Allen and Ginter and 2016 Topps Chrome from Topps and 2016 Donruss and 2016 Panini Flawless from Panini. 2016 saw Turner bat .342 while stealing over 30 bases and contending for the 2016 NL Rookie of the Year Award. His on-field exploits were also featured on Topps NOW.
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