Beyond the flashy design elements, countless refractors, multiple inserts, and high-powered autographed cards found within packs of 2024 Topps Chrome baseball, one subtle element may go unnoticed by most:
the 300-card base set is substantially larger than the 220-card base set of 2023 Topps Chrome.
That increased footprint leaves lots more room for superstar talent and well-hyped rookies.
A trio of "Jacksons" in Jackson Chourio, Jackson Holliday and Jackson Merrill all make rookie card debuts in this set, among other big names like Elly De La Cruz, Jasson Dominguez, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Wyatt Langford and more.
As one of the most anticipated baseball products in the hobby, 2024 Topps Chrome should give collectors plenty to be excited about.
And in this guide, we'll take a look at the 15 most valuable.
Let's jump right in!
2024 Topps Chrome #44 Elly De La Cruz Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $55
Elly De La Cruz was the most aggressive player in Major League Baseball during the 2024 season.
The Cincinnati Reds superstar stole an MLB-leading 67 bases during the regular season.
It wasn't for a lack of volume.
The 22-year-old shortstop also led baseball with 16 attempts caught stealing.
That's not all.
De La Cruz ran on 8.7% of his stolen base opportunities during the '24 campaign, tied for the most in Major League Baseball.
The first-time All-Star also lapped the field in stealing third with 17 net bases gained.
Only three players reached double digits during the year.
De La Cruz also didn't need much of a lead to get the bases he wanted.
The Reds phenom joined Colorado's Brenton Doyle as the qualified baserunners with the shortest average lead (8.9 feet) per stolen base attempt.
Even removing his traditional hitting production (25 home runs, 76 RBIs), De La Cruz was as fun as baseball gets, an athletic marvel that made the game more enjoyable to cover.
2024 Topps Chrome #1 Shohei Ohtani
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $45
Ronald Acuna Jr. broke the internet with his 40/70 season in 2023.
Shohei Ohtani, never to be outdone, got the one-up in 2024.
Held off the mound while rehabbing an elbow injury, Ohtani intensified his focus on the batter's box in 2024 in his first season of a massive free-agent deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It didn't just have great returns.
It brought about a historic third MVP season in four years.
Ohtani posted an NL-best 54 home runs to go along with 59 stolen bases in 2024, becoming the first 50-50 player in MLB history.
Acuna's maiden 40/70 campaign was suddenly forgotten, justified or not.
Ohtani didn't just crush the regular season in 2024.
He also won a title, putting away the disappointment of his time with the Angels with his first career ring.
A World Series title and a third MVP in four years: Shohei Ohtani's 2024 was indeed a one-of-a-kind phenomenon.
2024 Topps Chrome #161 Jackson Chourio Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $40
Signed out of Venezuela in 2021 at the age of 17, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio quickly established himself among the most dynamic prospects in baseball.
By the time the 2023-24 offseason rolled around, Chourio was ranked #2 by MLB Pipeline with a starting job waiting for him in Milwaukee.
Rather than letting his rookie contract roll and risk getting priced out down the road, the cost-conscious Brewers took a swing, signing Chourio to an eight-year deal for a guaranteed $82 million.
That's the highest guarantee for a player with no MLB service time.
No baseball player is ever a sure thing.
So, when Chourio scuffled through the first two months of the 2024 campaign to a .575 OPS, Brewers fans braced for the worst.
Instead, they got the best.
Finishing third for NL Rookie-of-the-Year, Chourio hit .305 from June 2nd on with a .887 OPS and 16 of his 21 home runs.
The Brewers won the NL Central for the second consecutive year, largely thanks to Chourio's late-season star turn.
2024 Topps Chrome #207 Jackson Merrill Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $40
Despite playing just five games in the outfield at the professional level, San Diego Padres rookie Jackson Merrill was given the keys to center field to start the 2024 season.
"It just looked right," Padres manager Mike Shildt said.
It didn't just look right.
It was right.
Named Sporting News NL Rookie-of-the-Year and runner-up to Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes for the traditional award, Merrill put together the most impressive debut season in San Diego history.
Merrill led all rookies in hits (162), batting average (.292), slugging (.500), OPS (.826), and RBIs (90) among other categories.
The first-time All-Star and outfielder also acclimated well in the outfield, using his considerable speed to cover ample ground at Petco and lead all NL center fielders in assists (8).
Toss in five game-tying or go-ahead home runs in the ninth inning or later, and you see why Merrill earned a top-ten MVP finish and widespread acclaim as one of the best young stars in the game.
"This guy was so much better than me at that age," teammate Xander Bogaerts gushed.
2024 Topps Chrome #18 Yoshinobu Yamamoto Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $35
One of the most accomplished pitchers to make the jump from Japanese professional baseball to the Majors, Yoshinobu Yamamoto made an international splash by signing a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Dodgers in the 2023-24 offseason.
His six-pitch arsenal promised multiple out pitches for nearly every scenario, giving Los Angeles yet another front-line option on a star-studded staff.
Things didn't go as planned.
Los Angeles was blitzed by starting rotation injuries all year, including a right rotator cuff strain that kept Yamamoto out from mid-June to mid-September.
He pitched just 90 innings in the regular season, finishing 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 18 starts.
Remarkably, the Dodgers strung together a makeshift playoff rotation good enough for a second title in five years.
Manager Dave Roberts was careful not to overextend Yamamoto in his first three October starts but let him loose in Game 2 of the World Series, a one-hit, one-run, 6.1-inning gem against an explosive Yankees lineup.
The Dodgers won 4-2 and won the Series four games to one.
2024 Topps Chrome #50 Aaron Judge
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $35
The best hitter of a generation is the most disappointing playoff hitter of a generation.
What exactly does that mean?
Who knows?
Aaron Judge had one of the greatest offensive seasons ever in 2024, especially considering the era in which he plays.
The 32-year-old New York Yankees center fielder led all of baseball with 10.8 Wins Above Replacement, a number that places him among the 100 greatest seasons of all time.
Considering the pitcher-friendly conditions of mid-2020s baseball, Judge's 2024 campaign pushes into the top 20, if not higher.
He also added MLB bests in home runs (58), RBIs (144), walks (133), on-base percentage (.458), slugging (.701), and more.
Judge's 223 OPS+ sits in rarefied air with Barry Bonds in terms of generation-adjusted greatness.
The playoffs were the diametric opposite.
Despite three essential home runs, Judge hit just .184 in 64 plate appearances.
It was more of the same from the Yankees captain, whose only powerful postseason performance came in a 5-game October stint in 2018.
2024 Topps Chrome #88 Jackson Holliday Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30
There were two monumental debuts slated for 2024 that everyone in the baseball community was waiting for.
One of them lived up to the hype.
One of them, not so much.
Baltimore Orioles middle infielder Jackson Holiday (2022) and Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (2023) were both the #1 picks of their respective drafts.
Both came into the pros with once-in-a-generation hype and entered 2024 ready to live up to it.
Skenes did just that, winning NL Rookie-of-the-Year and finishing third for Cy Young.
Holliday wasn't as fortunate.
The son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday, Jackson Holliday made his MLB debut on April 10th to much fanfare.
The cheers turned to grumbles as Holliday racked up strikeouts and struggled to do much of anything at the plate.
Demoted to the Minors after a prolonged career-opening slump, the 20-year-old hit just .189 in 60 games for the O's with 69 strikeouts in 208 plate appearances.
He went from the next big thing to sitting out Baltimore's Wild Card Series loss to Kansas City.
2024 Topps Chrome #89 Jasson Dominguez Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25
Jasson Dominguez couldn't have hoped for a better start to his MLB career.
On September 1, 2023, the Yankees called up their young phenom for a road game against the Houston Astros.
Facing such a tough club on the road should have been intimidating enough.
And seeing three-time Cy Young winner and future Hall-of-Famer on the mound should have made it downright terrifying.
Yet, Dominguez wasn't fazed.
With Giancarlo Stanton on base and the count at 0-1, Dominguez belted the next pitch over the left-field wall.
With that swing, Dominguez instantly placed himself in the Yankees record books, becoming the youngest player in franchise history to homer.
Incredibly, he didn't let up from there.
In eight games, Dominguez smashed four home runs.
But then, disaster struck.
A UCL tear brought Dominguez's blistering start to a sudden halt.
The injury ended his 2023 campaign and put him on the 60-day IL to start 2024.
An oblique injury also substantially ate into his sophomore season.
Dominguez played in just 18 games for the Yankees in 2024, but he's projected to be the Yankees' starting left fielder in 2025.
2024 Topps Chrome #281 Austin Wells Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25
2024 Topps Chrome #36 Gunnar Henderson
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $20
Put the playoff disappointment to the side.
We haven't seen a Baltimore Orioles player do damage in a single season like Gunnar Henderson since Hall-of-Famers Cal Ripken Jr. and George Sisler in their primes.
The 23-year-old placed fifth in the Majors in batting WAR with 8.0, placing him among Ripken and Sisler at the top of the franchise leaderboards.
His MVP-caliber campaign provided better production than celebrated counterparts like Francisco Lindor Jr., Jose Ramirez, and Vladmir Guerrero Jr.
Henderson placed fourth for AL MVP to follow up on his 2023 Rookie-of-the-Year season, slashing .281/.364/.529 with 37 home runs, 118 runs, 21 stolen bases, 78 walks, and 92 RBIs in 159 games.
The O's went up and down all year long en route to a Wild Card berth, but the second-year shortstop was one of the few true stabilizing forces in a chaotic year.
Henderson bottomed out in a two-and-out Wild Card Series loss to Kansas City, as did the rest of the team.
That doesn't wipe away the shine of his sparkling sophomore showing.
2024 Topps Chrome #62 Bryce Harper
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $20
After winning the National League MVP in 2021, the injury bug bit at Bryce Harper throughout the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
The Philadelphia Phillies superstar missed nearly 100 regular-season games during that timespan.
To help recover from Tommy John surgery, Harper moved from the outfield to DH in early 2023 before settling in at first base later that year.
And to reduce the risk of more injuries, he stayed there full-time in 2024.
The change worked.
For the first time since 2021, Harper remained healthy all season.
Yes, he may have been a below-average defender at first base.
But the downside was well worth the upside.
With Harper regularly in the lineup once again, the Phillies raced to a 95-67 record, finishing six games ahead of the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets for first place in the NL East.
Slashing .285/.373/.525 for the NL East champs with 30 home runs and 87 RBIs, Harper received down-ballot MVP votes, an eighth All-Star selection, and a fourth Silver Slugger.
2024 Topps Chrome #120 Bobby Witt Jr.
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $20
Advanced statistics are a good way of putting things into perspective.
And they do a lot to show just how impactful Bobby Witt Jr.'s 2024 season was.
The Kansas City Royals shortstop placed in the 99th percentile of batting run value, 95th in fielding run value, and 96th in baserunning value.
He joins Mookie Betts (2018) as the only two players to reach the 95th percentile in all three categories since the stats began tracking in 2016.
That's not all.
Witt also hammered 32 home runs and swiped 31 bases, becoming the first shortstop in MLB history with multiple 30/30 campaigns.
He is one of just six shortstops to go 30/30, joining Francisco Lindor Jr., Hanley Ramirez (2008), Jimmy Rollins (2007), Alex Rodriguez (1998), and Barry Larkin (1996).
Most importantly, the first-time AL batting champion (.332) hauled the Kansas City Royals back to contention in 2024, leading the franchise to its first playoff berth and series victory since winning the 2015 World Series.
2024 Topps Chrome #200 Mike Trout
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $20
The Los Angeles Angels had no backup plan after losing Shohei Ohtani to the Dodgers.
Yet, the hope was that a healthy Mike Trout could make fans forget Ohtani's absence at least just a little bit.
In April, that plan seemed to have some legs to it.
Despite hitting just .220 over the season's first four weeks, Trout led all of baseball with ten home runs.
That averaged out to a home run in every 10.9 at-bats.
He may not have hit 60 or 70 home runs over a full season, but it would have been nice to see what the former three-time MVP and Rookie-of-the-Year could have done with that torrid start.
Instead, the Angels lost Trout once again to injury.
The 32-year-old tore the meniscus in his left knee in late April and ruptured it once again during rehab in August.
He played just 27 games for an Angels team that posted the worst winning percentage (.389) in franchise history.
2024 Topps Chrome #278 Colton Cowser Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $20
2024 Topps Chrome #296 Mookie Betts
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $20
Having Mookie Betts's bat in the lineup is a blessing by itself.
Having Mooke Betts's glove along with it is a luxury.
Since beginning his career with the Boston Red Sox in 2014, Betts has racked up lots of mileage in right field, center field, second base and shortstop.
He can seemingly play anywhere.
Heading into the 2024 season, manager Dave Roberts intended to use Betts as a full-time second baseman.
However, Gavin Lux struggled during the spring and Betts moved over to shortstop instead.
Eventually, Betts would split time at short and in right field, once again proving to be one of the game's most versatile stars.
Oh, and Betts continued to rake at the plate.
Despite missing well over a month due to a fractured left hand, Betts picked up his sixth Silver Slugger, slashing .289/.372/.491 with 19 home runs, 75 runs scored and 75 RBIs.
Betts stayed hot when it mattered most, belting four home runs with 16 RBIs and 14 runs scored on the way to a World Series title.
2024 Topps Chrome Baseball Cards In Review
It's tough to pinpoint one thing that makes this set so great.
Topps Chrome always looks great.
And it always contains plenty of autographed cards, refractors and inserts to keep the chase exciting.
And this set is no exception in those areas.
However, the quantity of high-powered rookie cards likely puts it among the best of its era.
Only time will tell just how far these guys go in their careers, but for now, the future is looking extremely bright for several of them.
