⚾ Graded 2009 Upper Deck USA Baseball Gerrit Cole #USA25 USA Star Prospects Rookie RC Baseball Card – PSA 10 Gem Mint – The Yankees' Ace Before He Was a Yankee, Preserved at the Hobby's Highest Grade in a Pre-Draft USA Baseball Prospect Card

⚾ Long before Gerrit Cole stood on the mound at Yankee Stadium as the franchise's ace, he was a highly touted amateur prospect making his way through the USA Baseball pipeline – and this 2009 Upper Deck USA Baseball card captures him in that pre-professional moment, ranked among the USA Star Prospects, the nation's top amateur players, at a point when the entire baseball world was already paying attention to what he might become. Cole was drafted by the New York Yankees in the first round of the 2009 MLB Draft, elected to attend UCLA instead, developed further at the collegiate level, and was then selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the first overall pick in the 2011 draft – beginning a professional career that has led to a Cy Young Award, multiple All-Star selections, a World Series ring with the Houston Astros, and a return to New York as the marquee signing the Yankees built their pitching future around. The 2009 Upper Deck USA Baseball #USA25 USA Star Prospects card is the earliest licensed trading card of Gerrit Cole's career – a pre-draft, pre-professional collectible that predates every MLB-licensed issue and captures the pitcher at the very beginning of his path to becoming the best starter in the American League. Graded PSA 10 Gem Mint: four sharp corners, perfect centering, a surface free of scratches and print defects, and full original gloss preserved. Condition: NOS.

⚾ Upper Deck USA Baseball has produced pre-draft prospect cards for decades, capturing the nation's top amateur talent before the MLB Draft and creating some of the hobby's most sought-after pre-professional first cards for the players who go on to greatness. A PSA 10 of this Cole USA card is the best possible preserved example of his earliest cardboard. Condition: NOS.

⚾ Gerrit Cole. 2009. Upper Deck. USA Baseball. USA Star Prospects. Rookie RC. #USA25. PSA 10. Gem Mint. Baseball Card. Graded. New York Yankees. Hall of Fame Sports Memorabilia. Condition: NOS.

⚾ Graded 2009 Upper Deck USA Baseball Gerrit Cole #USA25 USA Star Prospects Rookie RC Baseball Card – PSA 10 Gem Mint. Hall of Fame Sports. Condition: NOS.