Gerrit Cole Rookie Card: 2013 Topps, Chrome and Bowman

Gerrit Cole's rookie cards all come from 2013, the year he reached the majors with Pittsburgh on June 11. According to Cardboard Connection's set checklists there are four main ones:

• 2013 Topps Update #US150: his base Topps rookie card with the RC logo; the set came out around Oct. 16, 2013.
• 2013 Topps Update #US265: a second base card in the same set, marked "Rookie Debut" rather than RC.
• 2013 Topps Chrome #210: the chrome rookie card; the set came out in late September 2013.
• 2013 Bowman Chrome #30: the Bowman chrome rookie card, released Sept. 27, 2013.

Cole was drafted No. 1 overall in 2011, so he also has Bowman prospect and draft cards dated before 2013. Those are pre-rookie cards: collectors value them, but they are not his rookie cards.

• 2013 Topps Chrome rookie autograph (card code GC): Cardboard Connection lists refractor parallels for the rookie autographs numbered /499, blue /199, black /100, sepia /75, gold /50, red /25, camo /15, atomic /10 and pink /5. Cole also has a Red Hot Rookie autograph, RHR-GC.
• 2013 Bowman Chrome #30: the base card comes in refractor parallels numbered /250, /199, /50, /35, /25, /15, /10 and /5, plus a one-of-one Superfractor and printing plates. Cardboard Connection lists no Cole autograph in this set.
• 2013 Topps Update inserts: a Chasing History autograph (CHA-GC) and a Franchise Forerunners card shared with Andrew McCutchen (FF-4). These are inserts, not rookie cards.

A serial number stamped on the front or back, such as 12/50, is what separates a numbered parallel from the base card. See parallels and refractors for how to read them.

We did not find a dated price source we could verify for Cole's cards when this page was written (Sept. 25, 2026), so this page gives no guide price rather than a guess. To price your card:

• Match the exact card first: set, card number (US150, US265, 210 or 30) and any parallel color or serial number.
• Look up completed sales, not asking prices, for that exact card in the same grade. Raw and graded copies sell at very different prices.
• For a numbered parallel or autograph, compare only with the same print run; a /25 and a /499 are different cards.

For how grade moves the price on other baseball rookies, see the baseball card price guide.

• Draft: taken 28th overall by the Yankees in 2008 out of high school but did not sign; drafted No. 1 overall by Pittsburgh in 2011.
• Trades and contracts: traded to Houston on Jan. 13, 2018; signed a nine-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees on Dec. 18, 2019.
• Awards: unanimous 2023 AL Cy Young; second in the 2019 AL Cy Young vote; six All-Star selections.
• Records: 326 strikeouts for Houston in 2019, a franchise single-season record.
• Injury and return: had Tommy John surgery in 2025 and missed that season; made his 2026 season debut on May 22 against Tampa Bay with six scoreless innings.

All from Wikipedia, read Sept. 25, 2026.

• The Topps Update card number starts with "US" on the back; a plain number without "US" is a different set.
• #US150 carries the RC logo on the front; #US265 is labeled Rookie Debut.
• Chrome cards (Topps Chrome #210, Bowman Chrome #30) have a shiny metallic stock; refractors show a rainbow sheen when tilted under light.
• A Pirates uniform is expected on all 2013 rookies; Astros and Yankees cards are later issues.

Research and drafting for this page were assisted by AI and checked line by line against the sources listed below. Every price names its source and date. If you find an error, tell us and we will correct it.