NL ROY - How the Two Finalists Performed in the Market

The '07 NL ROY race was the closest ever under the current system. Ryan Braun beat out Troy Tulowitzki 128 to 126. Both players had outstanding seasons, and both of their rookie cards experienced tremendous growth throughout the year.

Braun's benchmark 05 Bowman Chrome Draft Auto RC peaked out in August at an average TAC of $172. From August, his batting average dropped from the .340's down to the .320's, and his BCD Auto RC fell in value to $130 in October, then got a little boost to $137 in November when he won the ROY, then fell again to $124 in December. So far in January, it's averaging $128, with it's most recent sales in the low $130's range.

Tulowitzki's 05 Topps Rookie Cup Auto RC (which has quite a few parallels) rose from it's average TAC value of $33 in July, to it's peak of $82 in November, as he helped his team get to the World Series. After he lost the ROY, his rookie cards became quite scarce. I didn't see any for sale in December, and only one so far in January, which sold for $67.04 TAC today (1/20). This card has parallels numbered to 399, 299, 199, 99 & 50.

Offensively, Braun was the better performer. In 113 games, he hit .324 with 34 HR & 97 RBI. In 155 games, Tulowitzki hit .291 with 24 HR & 99 RBI. From a fielding standpoint, Braun committed 26 errors compared to Tulowitzki's 11. It seems that offense typically gets more attention than defense, which is probably why Braun won out.

If you didn't buy into these players last year, it may be too late to find many good deals. One alternative to Braun's BCD Auto RC is his 05 Bowman Sterling Auto RC, which has been averaging $76 TAC this month, up from $68 in December, but still down from it's peak of $105 back in October. As for Tulowitzki, he only has the one Auto rookie, so you'll just have to keep your eye out for misspelled listings, auctions ending at odd times or some other type of opportunity!