One of the best things about the hobby is that you never know where a chase card is hiding. A Mississippi man can attest to that, as he recently pulled a Paul Skenes baseball card out of a 2025 Topps Chrome pack from his local GameStop. And the end of his story is a dream come true for many collectors.
He put the card up for auction, and it sold for $58,800. Not bad for a shopping trip that only happened because Walmart was out of stock.
Editor’s Note: Looking to Sell Sports Cards? Here’s How to Do It Quickly & Easily
A GameStop Run Turns Into a $58,800 Windfall
According to a report from SuperTalk Mississippi Media’s Caleb Salers, David Aven of Batesville, Mississippi, was in Grenada running errands when he decided to pick up some baseball cards. He came up empty-handed at Walmart because there was nothing on the shelves. Instead of calling it a day, Aven swung by GameStop to pick up some cards, and that proved to be a life-changing idea.
Inside that GameStop sat five packs of 2025 Topps Chrome. Aven grabbed four of them, and upon opening up his haul, he found a Paul Skenes Gold MLB Logoman Patch redemption card. Aven had claimed he never sold a card before, but he brought this one to auction. The final hammer eventually fell at $58,800 after 31 bids. That’s a pretty good return on investment, I’d say!
As for what he plans to do with the money? Aven told SuperTalk he’s putting it toward his daughter’s student loans, as any good dad would.
The Cool Story Behind Paul Skenes’ Legendary Debut Patch Card
The $58,800 sale is impressive on its own, but it’s almost modest when you look at what other Paul Skenes cards have done at the top of the market. His 2024 Topps Chrome Update MLB Debut Patch Auto (a 1-of-1 card featuring a patch from his debut on May 11, 2024, along with his signature) sold at auction for $1.1 million in 2025. Dick’s Sporting Goods purchased the card and now has it on display at their House of Sport location in Pittsburgh’s Ross Park Mall.
The chase for that debut patch card became a compelling storyline in the hobby. The Pirates offered whoever pulled it 30 years of season tickets behind home plate, a meet-and-greet with Skenes, and a private tour of PNC Park, among other perks. Skenes’ girlfriend, Livvy Dunne, even offered to host the finder in her suite for a game. An 11-year-old Dodgers fan from Los Angeles ended up pulling the card on Christmas morning and ultimately sold it through Fanatics Collectibles, with proceeds going to LA fire relief efforts.
Despite the card not being around for too long, it’s already considered one of Topps’ most iconic baseball cards.
What Cy Young Encore Does Skenes Have in Mind for 2026?
Skenes’ on-field performance since his 2024 debut with Pittsburgh has obviously been a big driver for his baseball card market being so strong. After winning the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year Award off the strength of a 1.96 ERA with 170 strikeouts in 133 innings, he turned around and won the NL Cy Young Award in 2025. The right-hander went 10-10 with a 1.97 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 216 strikeouts in 187.2 innings of work.
The hurler won the Cy Young unanimously, as if he needed to make his accomplishment any more impressive than it already was. After a dominant two-year stretch to begin his MLB career, what does Skenes have in store for us in 2026?
He’ll be suiting up for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic before the Pirates kick off their 2026 regular season against the New York Mets on March 26. Based on his previous track record, Skenes is already a top Cy Young contender, and his season-long projections back that up. FanGraphs’ ZiPS is projecting Skenes for a 13-6 record to go along with a 2.75 ERA, 204 strikeouts, and 5.0 fWAR in 179.2 innings. That fWAR projection is tied with Logan Webb for the highest among NL pitchers.
For collectors, his trajectory and 2026 projections mean one thing: the window to get into Skenes cards at a reasonable entry point keeps shrinking. Aven found his at a GameStop in rural Mississippi, which proves this stuff really can turn up anywhere. The hobby is full of surprises, so you need to keep your eyes peeled and your head on a swivel as much as possible.
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