The 2026 MLB National League MVP race has been something to watch. In one corner you have Shohei Ohtani, the best baseball player on the planet. The reining MVP three years running. He’s mashed 30 homers and is twirling the pill to the tune of a 1.79 ERA. How could anyone possibly measure up to him?
Enter Pete Crow-Armstrong.
He’s spent the whole season proving to fans on the North Side that the first half of 2025 wasn’t a fluke. He’s putting it all out there. He’s paired up a 30 home run, 30 stolen base season with Platinum Glove-level defense and some of the most clutch at-bats we’ve seen from anyone this year. It’s truly electric.
We’ve been quietly stocking up on some 2024 wax for the last couple of months, holding some, but ripping too in the hopes that we pull something of PCA’s. While we’ve mostly stuck to flagship releases, we want to know if we should open our wallets up a little more and start scooping up one of the most liquid releases of that year.
Let’s rip in.
2024 Topps Chrome Baseball
Since it’s release in July of 2024, it feels like there’s been a constant cycle of which rookies in the 300 card base checklist are the the ones people want the most. When Chrome was first released, collectors were salivating over Elly de la Cruz and the Jacksons (Holliday, Chourio, and Merrill). Then, when 2025 rolled around, all four of those guys were old news as everyone jumped on board the Yoshinobu Yamamoto hype train. Now, in 2026, it's PCA. (Remember that Paul Skenes was a later call up that year and only surfaced in Topps Update releases.)
It’s the reason why we’re bullish on the entire 2024 baseball release lineup. Sure, we’re shooting for PCA right now. But with all those other rookies on the checklist, the floor is nice and high too.
Finally passing Shohei as the NL MVP frontrunner has done nicely for Pete’s Chrome card market. A PSA 10 of his base card is selling for $298. His refractor? $425. And don’t forget his rookie auto. Currently selling upwards of $1,875.
Where’s Pete?
Before you pick a box of ‘24 Chrome, you need to know where PCA actually lives on this checklist.
Pete shows up eleven times before you start counting parallels.
Base Cards
#16 — Available in all but Breaker’s Delight
Inserts
Radiating Rookies #RR-7 — Hobby Formats Exclusive
1989 Topps Baseball #89CB-19 — Available in all Formats
1989 Topps Baseball Chrome Layer Variation #89BCL-19 — Available in all Formats
All Etch Rookie Rush #CERR-7 — Available in all Formats
Topps Chrome Exposé #TCE-26 — Available in all Formats
Let’s Go! #LGC-36 — Available in all Formats
Youthquake #YQ-7 — Breakers Delight Exclusive
Helix #HX-15 — Hobby, Jumbo, Breakers Delight, Value Box
Autographs
Rookie Autographs #RA-PC — Available in all Formats
Radiating Rookies Autographs #RRA-PC —Hobby Formats Exclusive
The good news is that most of the PCA cards are spread across every format of this product. The bad? A quick search online will show you that a lot of Pete’s Superfractors have already been pulled.
But we’re realists here at The Hobby Wire. We operate under the assumption that big hits like that are out of our reach anyway. So let’s dive into the odds. Is there still any value in 2024 Topps Chrome Baseball, even though prices have mostly doubled since release?
