Welcome to Wax Watch — The Hobby Wire’s quick-hit preview of upcoming releases before they hit shelves. We break down what it is, who you’re chasing, and whether it’s worth ripping, stashing, scooping singles, or skipping altogether.
We're coming up on the halfway mark of the 2026 season, and we're still cracking cards for last year. At least we're near the end. Today, right on time for release, we're putting a bow on 2025 with Topps' last major drop of the cycle: 2025 Topps Chrome Platinum Baseball.
The Lowdown
Release Dates:
Hobby Box — Out Now!
Blaster Box — Out Now!
Topps Chrome Platinum is still a relatively new release for the hobby. It first showed up in 2021, and the whole concept is an homage to Topps sets of the past. Every year, the product pays tribute to the set that came 75 years before it, printing today’s players on that vintage design and modern chromium stock. It’s been a simple release so far, built for set collectors and rainbow chasers. And when a product is this simple, it usually lives or dies by its rookie class.
This year, Chrome Platinum carries a 500-card base set: 2025’s best and brightest rookies, established vets, and a handful of all-time greats, all on the 1955 design.
And 1955 is an interesting year. That base set was completely horizontal, and in the modern era, horizontal cards just aren't as coveted as their vertical counterparts. We're curious what that does to the product's value long-term.
Chase Cards to Know
We said this is usually a simple set. But this year, Topps couldn’t help sprinkling in a few short-printed variations. The one with the most heft is the City Variation. Same general look as the standard 1955 card, but with the skyline of the team’s city worked into the design.
There’s some real potential here.
The other chase is a set called "Cards That Never Were," featuring players who didn't make the original 1955 checklist. We're about as excited about that as we are about the 1st Bowman cards for MLB-drafted athletes from other sports that Topps keeps slipping into Bowman releases. In other words: not much.
Talent Watch
A real “best of” for 2025
Nick Kurtz, 1B - Athletics
2025 Stats: 5.4 WAR, .290 Average, 36 HR, 86 RBI, 173 OPS+
2026 Stats: 2.6 WAR, .284 Average, 11 HR, 43 RBI, 154 OPS+
You don't hit 36 dingers at a .290 clip in your rookie year and go unnoticed in this league. Kurtz has the profile of a modern slugger, and 2026 is tracking right alongside it.
James Wood, OF - Washington Nationals
2025 Stats: 3.7 WAR, .256 Average, 31 HR, 94 RBI, 132 OPS+
2026 Stats: 2.5 WAR, .264 Average, 16 HR, 39 RBI, 164 OPS+
For the hobby, Wood checks the big boxes: prototype size, left-handed power, and the athleticism to stick in the outfield long term. If 2025 was proof of concept, 2026 is about consistency. So far, he's living up to it.
Roki Sasaki, SP - Los Angeles Dodgers
2025 Stats: 0.3 WAR, 4.46 ERA, 28 SO, 94 ERA+
2026 Stats: 0.0 WAR, 4.59 ERA, 50 SO, 88 ERA+
Roki still needs a lot of polish. If you're buying his cards right now, you probably liked what you saw out of the bullpen. LA still seems willing to make the starter thing work, especially after landing one of the game's best closers in Edwin Díaz. The high-90s heater and that splitter can be a dominant combination, once he gets his location under control. Halfway through 2026, he's still finding his footing.
Drake Baldwin, C - Atlanta Braves
2025 Stats: 3.4 WAR, .274 Average,19 HR, 80 RBI, 128 OPS+
2026 Stats: 2.5 WAR, .303 Average, 13 HR, 38 RBI, 165 OPS+
Last year's NL Rookie of the Year took his game up a notch. More consistent at the plate, and halfway through the season he's already closing in on last year's home run total. Catcher has never been the most sought-after position in the hobby. But if Baldwin keeps climbing, he might force collectors' hands.
Ben Rice, 1B/C - New York Yankees
2025 Stats: 2.2 WAR, .255 Average, 26 HR, 65 RBI, 130 OPS+
2026 Stats: 2.3 WAR, .300 Average, 17 HR, 44 RBI, 184 OPS+
The former utility piece has forced his way into a starting job. Rice sharpened his eye at the plate, which is bad news for the league, because the power was always there. If he turns into a steady 30-homer bat, he's a cornerstone of the pinstripe lineup for years.
Honorable Mentions:
Cade Horton (Cubs), Moisés Ballesteros (Cubs), Jackson Jobe (Tigers), Marcelo Mayer (Red Sox), Cam Smith (Astros), Dylan Crews (Nationals), Brooks Lee (Twins)
💰 Box Breakdown
Not all boxes are created equal — especially at these prices. Here, we break down the formats available for this release, the MSRP or pre-sale price for each, how many cards come in a box, and the resulting $/card. If there are any guarantees per box, we crunch the $/Hit, excluding inserts.
Hobby Box: $279.95 / 80 cards → $3.50 per card
1x Autograph & 4x Inserts per box
Value Box: $29.99/ 32 cards → $0.94 per card
1x Insert & 3x Prism Parallels per box
Only two formats for this release. That's usually worked out in the collector's favor, with a steady flow of numbered hits coming out of the value boxes. Pack odds haven't dropped yet, so we'll have to wait to see if that holds.
🎯 Verdict: Rip, Flip, or Skip
At The Hobby Wire, we like to keep it simple.
Rip → The checklist, price, and excitement all line up. Bust down the door.
Flip → Solid class, but prices are too high to rip comfortably. Buy singles on the players you want. For wax, grab a box or two to sit on and sell in a year or two once the rookie class starts to prove itself.
Skip → Junk Wax. Hard pass. Overpriced, overproduced, or saddled with a weak class.
We said it at the top: Chrome Platinum lives and dies by the rookies on the checklist.
The 2025 crop is good, but not great. Maybe it’s getting sandwiched between two monster years for baseball rookies, but we’re just not that interested in what this class has to offer.
We’re also skeptical about the 1955 design on modern cards. Vertical cards just look better standing up in a graded slab, and we think other sets will end up more sought after.
Then there’s the price. Hobby boxes are running $279 on the secondary market when they opened around $150. That’s a tough ask. We’d lean toward value boxes based on their track record.
But honestly? We just don’t think there’s enough here to run out and buy a box. We might catch a little FOMO watching everyone rip today. For now, we’re saying skip it.
👉 Verdict: Skip
🏆 Most Valuable Format: Value Boxes
Drop your thoughts in the comments. Would love to know what you’re planning to rip and which rookie you’re chasing hardest.
Disclaimer: The content in The Hobby Wire is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Commentary, analysis, and opinions on sports cards, rookies, and the hobby are not financial, investment, or professional advice. Collectors should always do their own research before buying, selling, or trading cards. Market values are volatile and can change rapidly—past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
Unless specified, all pricing references are based on the Prizm/Refractor parallels of an athlete’s Chrome rookie card, with prices from market movers, alt.xyz & 130pt.com.
Any odds mentioned were derived from DraftKings Sportsbook.