Welcome to Wax Watch — The Hobby Wire’s quick-hit preview series where we break down upcoming releases before they hit the shelves. We cover what the product is, who you’ll be chasing, how the formats stack up, and whether it’s worth ripping, stashing, or skipping. Think of it as your pulse check on the newest wax — fast, focused, and collector-first.
Today, we’re going to look over 2025 Topps Update Baseball.
The Lowdown
Release Dates:
Hobby - 11.12.25
Retail - 11.19.25
The MLB season is a marathon, not a sprint — and a lot can change along the way. Players get traded and rookies get called up. That’s why, toward the end of every season, Topps drops its Update Series — a continuation of Topps Flagship Baseball that captures all the late signings, trades, and rookie call-ups that missed Series 1 and 2.
This product tends to live or die by the strength of its rookie class, and 2025 looks to have a decent foundation.
This year’s Update features a 350-card base set that mixes new rookies, All-Star Game cards, veteran updates, and season highlights. Insert designs appear to nod to the late ’90s, including nostalgic additions like Bleacher Reachers.
Chase Cards to Know: Like the rest of the Flagship line, Update brings back the typical case hits like Home Field Advantage and Heavy Lumber. It also continues to feature Black Gold, a long-running crowd favorite exclusive to update series.
New this year is the Golden Mirror Autograph, a tougher pull than the standard Golden Mirror Image Variation — and likely one of the bigger chase cards in the product.
Talent Watch
Here are some of the hottest rookies who will make their first appearance in a flagship product in the release of Topps Update
Nick Kurtz, 1B/OF - Athletics
Everyone thought Jacob Wilson was the safe bet for Rookie of the Year — then Nick Kurtz exploded onto the scene. After a late-April call-up, he hit .290 with 36 HR and a 1.001 OPS, good for over 5 WAR. Expect Kurtz to be one of — if not the — most sought-after rookies in this checklist.
Cade Horton, P - Chicago Cubs
The Cubs took Horton high in the 2022 draft, and his big-league debut didn’t disappoint. After the All-Star Break, Cade was hurling the pill like 2015 Jake Arrieta, finishing 11–4 with a 2.67 ERA.
Cam Smith, RF - Houston Astros
Best known as the prospect the Cubs traded for Kyle Tucker, Smith’s strong spring had Chicago fans nervous they’d made a mistake. His regular season cooled off a bit, but at 22, there’s still plenty of hobby upside. Smith was a short print in Series 2 but gets his official rookie card here — much like J-Rod and Bobby Witt Jr. in 2022.
Matt Shaw, 3B - Chicago Cubs
Another guy who made a brief appearance in Series 2 as a short print, Matt Shaw worked hard to become the every day third baseman for the Chicago Cubs. While the offensive numbers never seemed to get there, his defense was surprisingly good. Expect him to be the regular starter at the hot corner for the next few years as the Cubs bank on his offense coming around.
Dalton Rushing, C - Los Angeles Dodgers
Rushing might be one of the most underrated names in the set. He’s good enough to start for 27 of 30 MLB teams — but he happens to play behind Will Smith. The Dodgers rarely sit still, so don’t be shocked if Rushing becomes trade bait. If he moves, he’s cleared for takeoff.
💰 Box Breakdown
Not all boxes are created equal. 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.
Hobby Box: $199.95 / 240 cards per box → $0.84 per card
Guaranteed 1 Auto or Relic Card & 1 Silver Pack
Hobby Jumbo Box: $384.95 / 400 cards per box → $0.97 per card
Guaranteed 1 Auto, 2 Relics & 2 Silver Packs
Blaster Box: $25.00 / 84 cards per box → $0.30 per card
No Guarantees, Look for Retail Exclusive Parallels
Super Box: $35.00 / 140 cards per box → $0.25 per card
1 5 Card Foilboard Pack, 1 Exclusive Oversized Card and Companion Card, 1 Exclusive Enamel Trading Card Pin
Hanger Box: $13.00 / 59 cards per box → $0.23 per card
Diamante Parallels
🎯 Verdict
Is this Rippable, Stashable, or Junk Wax?
At The Hobby Wire, we keep it simple:
Rippable → A product you should bust down the door of your local shop or retail store to rip right away. The checklist, price, and excitement all line up.
Stashable → Not the flashiest release, but worth grabbing a box or two to tuck away. Time will tell if the rookie class or prospects pan out.
Junk Wax → Hard pass. Either overpriced, overproduced, or saddled with a weak class — leave it on the shelf.
👉 Verdict: Very Rippable
The dollar-per-card math always makes Flagship feel like a safe rip. Anything under a buck a card hits our value threshold — though Jumbo is creeping right up to that line at $0.97. Expect prices to spike during release-week hype, then settle as the market cools.
We like this rookie class — don’t love it — and we think most of the hobby will eventually agree. Prices should dip heading into the 2026 season, especially with next year’s rookie crop looking stacked.
We’ve locked in a few Hobby boxes for review, so stay tuned — we’ll share our hands-on look soon.
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 alt.xyz & 130pt.com.
Any odds mentioned were derived from DraftKings Sportsbook.