If you have ever sat at a table and had lunch with some other collectors at a big show, the conversation always pops up.
Who is the most underrated and undervalued player in the baseball card market?
There are many, perhaps even some on every team. But no one has been on the outskirts of stardom while extremely undervalued and under appreciated in the hobby quite like Teoscar Hernandez has.
Do you remember the collective, “Why did they put him in it?” questions that orbited around the 2024 Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game when it was announced that Hernandez would be participating?
This was just before he won it all, which he did after shocking the baseball world just by making it out of the first round.
Unless you have been a devoted fan of the Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners or Los Angeles Dodgers, you would realize how close Hernandez is to being a legitimate superstar.
Hernandez came up with the Houston Astros and made his MLB debut in 2016. He had two hits in his first game, and his first one was a homer off Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Francisco Liriano. At the trade deadline the following season, Hernandez was traded to Toronto for Liriano. He was still a Triple-A player, but he did manage to get into 27 games in the majors – 26 of those with Toronto – and he hit eight home runs and posted an impressive OPS of .908.
In 2018, Hernandez started the season in Triple-A Buffalo. A week into the season, Josh Donaldson was injured, and Hernandez was called up. He emerged as the team’s center fielder and hit 22 home runs in 134 games.
In the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Hernandez played only 50 games but managed to hit 16 home runs and drive in 34 runs. In a full season, his numbers were on pace for close to 50 home runs and more than 100 RBIs. He won his first Silver Slugger Award that year. He followed that up with 32 home runs and 116 RBIs in 2021, and was selected to play in his first All-Star Game.
The Jays traded Hernandez to Seattle after the 2021 season. He spent the 2022 season in Seattle and played in 160 games, piling up 26 home runs and 93 RBIs.
Before this season, he signed a one-year deal as a free agent with the Dodgers. He was named to the NL All-Star Team and also won the Home Run Derby. At years end, it’s likely he’ll have averaged about 30 homers and close to 100 RBI per season over the last four years.
“He’s been invaluable,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of him. “A guy that can go to left field, right field, doesn’t bat an eye where he bats in the order, versus left, versus right, 1s and 2s (top pitchers) – he doesn’t duck anyone. he’s in there. Day game after night game, he’s in there. It doesn’t matter.”
Defensively, Hernandez is one of the best defensive outfielders of our generation, not that the hobby pays much attention to that. He is tied for third among all active outfielders in turning double plays, with 19 in his career. He is tied with Charlie Blackmon and trails only Jason Heyward and Jackie Bradley Jr. Hernandez has led the majors in that category in three of the last five seasons.
Undervalued Cards
Not a single Teoscar Hernandez card has sold on eBay for more than $725–the price paid for his 1/1 2023 Topps WBC Nameplate Patch Auto.
His first baseball cards came during his time in the minors. He appeared in the 2013 Grandstand Quad Cities River Bandits and the 2014 Grandstand Lancaster JetHawks minor league sets. He also had a 2014 Choice card from the all-star game between the Carolina League and California League. He also appeared in 2014 Leaf metal Draft and Leaf Valiant sets.
His First Bowman card came in 2015, as he was card #BP30 in the Bowman Prospects subset. In addition to the multitudes of parallels, he also has autographed cards in that set but most remain very reasonably priced.
The most expensive Hernandez card sold on eBay recently was a 2015 Panini Elite Extra Edition International Gold Autograph serial numbered 2/5 graded by Beckett that netted $599.99.
Early Hernandez cards can also be found in 2015 Onyx, Panini Contenders, Panini Elite Extra Edition, and Topps Heritage Minor League.
Bowman and Topps rookie cards of Hernandez came out in 2017 and you can find autographs and various parallels in Topps Chrome.
So how much would you guess that a Hernandez Beckett Gem Mint 9.5 autographed 2017 Topps Chrome RC would go for on eBay? Maybe $400?
You’re off by a zero.
Not, $4,000, but just $40. That sale was the result of an auction that ended Aug. 4.
On Aug. 19, a PSA 10 2017 Tops Heritage RC went for $29.99 in a fixed price sale.
From there, the prices get lower and lower. Ungraded Hernandez First Bowman and Topps rookie cards can be found on eBay for a buck or two.
So why is Hernandez so extremely undervalued? Possibly because he’s 31 and most collectors tend to gravitate toward younger players but he should continue to play at a high level for several more years.
“I don’t mind at all that his cards are so cheap,” said Stephen Martin, a Hernandez player collector from Toronto who was scouring the floor at the 2024 Spring Expo looking for any and all Hernandez cards. “I’m chasing the rainbow. I am looking for all of the different colored parallels that I am missing.”
Even though Hernandez is long gone from Toronto, he remains a fan favorite there, as he does in Seattle as well.
“He is one of those guys that everyone liked,” Martin said. “All of the focus was always on Valddy Jr. (Guerrero) and Bo Bichette, but day in and day out, Teoscar was the best player on the Jays. He was in the shadows of Julio Rodriguez in Seattle. In L.A., there is Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. Maybe his cards are inexpensive because he is always in the shadows of superstars.”
Before the season, the Dodgers were expected to be historically good. They haven’t been anything close to that, but they are still a first place team likely headed for the playoffs.
Hernandez has never had the opportunity to shine in the playoffs. He has played in four post season games – two with Toronto and two with Seattle. Playing in the World Series was one of the main reasons that Hernandez wanted to sign with the Dodgers.
“They gave me the opportunity to be here. That makes me feel special because they believe in what I can do for the team,” Hernández told KABC Eyewitness News in Los Angeles on Tuesday, which also happened to be Teoscar Hernandez Bobblehead Night.
“They believe that I can help the team win, so it’s really special for me,” he added. “We believe in each other and we believe we can do this – since the beginning of spring training. We’re going to continue to work hard, keep doing the things we know we can do, go to the end and win everything.”
If the Dodgers win, Hernandez will become one of the most coveted free agents on the market next year.
And maybe his rookie cards will be selling for more than a dollar.
You can check out the current ‘most watched’ auctions for Teoscar Hernandez below.
