Right now, the rookie that everyone is talking about is not Bryce Harper, as shocking as that may be. Its also not Yu Darvish or even someone like Yoenis Cespedes. Mike Trout is raking like his yard is covered in leaves, and being that he plays alongside Albert Pujols in Los Angeles, there are more collectors than usual to buy his cards. In fact, his Bowman Chrome 1st autos may be selling for more than any “non-Harper like” player has ever sold for.

These are some prices Harper fans should be familiar with, however:

2009 Mike Trout Bowman Chrome Orange Refractor Auto /25

2009 Mike Trout Bowman Sterling Black Refractor Auto /25

Even his non-rookie stuff has been on fire:

2012 Topps Tribute Mike Trout On Card Auto /50

2012 Topps Museum Collection Mike Trout Jumbo Patch Auto /10

Trout was a first round pick in the draft, but he was not a guy that everyone had stamped a sure thing like Strasburg or a guy like Evan Longoria. In fact, until his tear during the first half of this year, I wasn’t really familiar with him. Although I am not a prospector, I know more than the normal person, and the only guy on my radar who’s name was Mike was Stanton, not Trout. Obviously my knowledge is not the prospect benchmark, but if I don’t know him, Im sure there are quite a few others.

Since his call up, the guy has hit everything in sight, which is saying something considering who he plays with. Its not often that someone plays with a guy like Pujols and they are the headline on MLB.com more than he is. Trout is also taking his talents to Kansas City next week in the all star game, which is definitely something rare for a rookie hitter. It really takes a lot to reach that level that quickly in your first full big league season.

Being an all star in baseball means more to card values than it should, if not only because of the role fan voting plays in the team’s makeup. Trout wasn’t voted in, which does add some credibility to his selection, but this is only ONE half of ONE season in a game each team plays 162 times before the end of a year. Is that type of potential worth spending 400 bucks on? Most prospectors don’t buy in when cards are this expensive. They buy in WAAAAAY before that. Fans buy in on this level, and that is what the true adopters of the prospecting game count on, and so far many of them who invested early have made serious cash.

The question, as always becomes, is this enough for sustained value? From what we have seen so far, its on a promising level that isn’t usually experienced this early on.