Welcome to your list of hopes and dreams, Bowman 1st baseball card fans.
The Athletic’s Keith Law released his annual top 100 MLB prospects heading into the 2025 season earlier this week. I’d recommend marking this time of year on your calendar and celebrate my colleague’s in-depth coverage of all things Bowman 1st cards — I mean minor league prospects.
Advertisement
Law left the cards part of the research project in my hands, luckily.
Below is a look at the current pricing for key players’ Bowman 1st autographed base cards with a PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) 10 grade.
A player’s Bowman 1st autographed card appears in either Bowman Draft, Bowman Baseball, Bowman Chrome or Bowman Sapphire. For example, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes headlined the 2023 Bowman Draft release, while the product makers dropped Washington Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews in the traditional 2023 Bowman set. There are exceptions, though, like with Law’s No. 2 prospect this year.
I dove into the top 10 players on the list, as well as some other notable prospects, meaning I’m bound to miss one or two in this outlook since it’s not easy projecting minor league prospects.
(Last four sales as of Jan. 27, via Card Ladder)
GO DEEPER
Top 100 MLB prospects 2025: Keith Law’s rankings, with Roman Anthony at No. 1
2023 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $481.25
The Boston Red Sox outfielder joined the No. 1 spot fraternity that included the following players in the past couple of years: Jackson Holliday, Corbin Carroll, Adley Rutschman, Wander Franco (twice). Obviously some of those players have panned out more than others.
There’s no denying the level of Anthony interest within the hobby. Three parallels of Bowman 1st auto cards have sold for at least $10,000. The most expensive sale occurred Sept. 5, 2024 at $62,000 for his Beckett 9.5 graded one-of-one Superfractor (defined by Topps as “the rarest type of refractor card. Superfractors are short-printed, one-of-one cards, which means that for any given card, there will be only one superfractor of that card in the entire product”).
2024 Bowman base auto PSA 10*: $165.63
Jackson Chourio, Gunnar Henderson, Bobby Witt Jr. are the last three players to hold the No. 2 spot in these rankings. Why would you not collect Walcott considering his price point?
Walcott is the odd exception with no autographed Bowman 1st cards. His “Bowman 1st” came in the 2023 Bowman Chrome set, which likely affects the card values because collectors tend to gravitate to the autographed card with “1st” in the top corner. Five parallels of the 2024 autographed card have sold for at least $3,000 with the most expensive being a Red auto numbered to five with a PSA 10 grade selling for $9,500 on Sept. 13, 2024.
Advertisement
2023 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $195.38
Catchers tend to hover atop Law’s list each year, and this is another Baltimore Orioles catcher following Rutschman’s footsteps. Fourteen sales of variations sold for at least $3,000, with five of those for at least $5,000. The catcher’s most expensive sale happened this year (Jan. 10) with his red auto, numbered to just five copies, with a PSA 9 grade going for $9,000.
2024 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $278.75
The Minnesota Twins outfield prospect jumped from No. 15 last year to No. 4 this year. Collectors have been in on Jenkins from the jump. Thirteen sales of variations of this base auto went for at least $5,000. Walker’s one-of-one Superfractor hit a price tag of $44,286 on June 29, 2024.
5. Colt Emerson
2023 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $231.33
Another healthy prospect launch includes the Seattle Mariners’ Emerson (No. 37 last year). His Bowman 1st Sapphire auto cards have been the biggest ticket items, ranking Nos. 1-3 on his highest sales list. The red auto card numbered to five in a PSA 10 grade sold for $5,000 on June 18, 2024.
6. Max Clark
2023 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $432
Clark leads in the cards arms race among Dylan Crews and Wyatt Langford ($373.75 latest comp) since Crews, Clark and Langford were drafted Nos. 2, 3 and 4, respectively, in the 2023 MLB Draft. Nine of Clark’s cards — total, not Bowman 1st autos — have sold for at least $5,000. In a similar pattern, though, Clark’s Bowman 1st red auto numbered to five and ungraded went for $8,000 on Dec. 15, 2023.
7. Dylan Crews
2024 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $382.26
The big chase in the 2024 Bowman set, 17 of his cards have sold for at least $5,000 — either coming on his Bowman 1st auto parallels or dual autos with his LSU buddy Skenes. Crews’ most expensive card is his Bowman 1st red auto card in a PSA 9 grade, which sold for $12,655 on June 30, 2024.
Advertisement
2021 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $168.75
Law describes the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop prospect as the most enigmatic player in the minors. The price tag for his cards among his peers in this top 10 group exemplifies his point. Williams’ top sale was a Bowman 1st orange auto (numbered to 75) with a PSA 10 grade went for $4,457 on April 29, 2022.
2023 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $357.78
Talk about “stock up” for the Red Sox second baseman/outfielder! The previous four sales for this base auto card before Jan. 16 averaged only $211.88. Campbell’s most expensive so far is his 1st Bowman Gold auto (numbered to 50) with a PSA 10 grade, which sold for $4,000 on Jan. 15.
10. Jordan Lawlar
2021 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $156.18
Prices have expectedly dropped with so much hype and not as much to show for it with the Arizona Diamondbacks infielder. His cards surged in 2022 with highest-priced cards Nos. 2-10 occurring in that year on parallels of his Bowman 1st auto. His top card sale happened Sept. 14, 2023 when a sparkle refractor (numbered to 71) in a PSA 10 grade went for $57,709.
GO DEEPER
MLB prospects who just missed Keith Law’s top 100 ranking: Caissie, Saggese and more
Other high-priced prospects
14. Matt Shaw
2023 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $226.25
The Shaw train took a recent boost with his highest sale happening less than two weeks ago ($3,500 on Jan. 21 — Sapphire red auto numbered to five in a PSA 10 grade). Maybe a sign to come with the Chicago Cubs infielder on the brink of cracking the team’s starting lineup at third base.
17. Ethan Salas
2023 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $191
A drop from No. 3 on the 2024 list might be cause for concern in the market for the San Diego Padres’ catcher prospect. People bought in last year though, with 14 card sales going north of $5,100, two of which sold for five figures. His Bowman 1st Superfractor auto with PSA 8 (card quality) and 10 (auto quality) grades went for $36,600 on Dec. 30, 2023.
22. Jasson Dominguez
2020 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $699.75
In Feb. 2022, Dominguez’s Bowman 1st Superfractor auto with a PSA 10 grade sold for $474,000. For perspective, Aaron Judge’s highest card sale occurred three months later. It went for $150,000 less than the Dominguez card. Let that sink in …
For Dominguez’s cards to stay anywhere near these prices, he might need to be Judge, Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle combined and soon.
Advertisement
25. Travis Bazzana
2024 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $534.49
Bazzana and the Kansas City Royals’ Jac Caglianone headline the 2024 Bowman Draft set, in the same vein as Skenes and Langford. The Cleveland Guardians infielder’s graded cards are still limited since the 2024 Bowman Draft release came in December. His path to the Majors seems like it could take shape this season for the 2024 No. 1 pick. Given the lack of top flight prospects from the 2023 draft, Bazzana’s market should stay high for a while.
28. Marcelo Mayer
2021 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $283.15
Like Lawlar, collectors probably feel like they’ve been waiting forever for the Red Sox infield prospect to stay healthy. He has plenty of history, with 16 card sales of at least $10,000. Mayer’s most expensive sale came on his Bowman 1st one-of-one Superfractor auto with a PSA 9 (card quality) and 10 (auto quality) for $132,000 on March 13, 2022.
2024 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10: $254.38
We might be waiting for the Padres shortstop prospect for a little while given he played in the minors last year as a 17 year old. Prospectors are bullish on De Vries, though. Seven of his card sales went north of $5,000. De Vries’ Bowman 1st red wave auto card (numbered to five) with a PSA 10 grade sold for $12,500 on Nov. 30, 2024.
60. Jac Caglianone
2024 Bowman 1st base auto PSA 10 (only two sold): $583.35
He’s 35 spots lower than Bazzana, but currently carries higher card price comparisons. This could easily fluctuate as we near spring training and yet the hype doesn’t seem to be slowing down for the Royals first baseman. Already there’s been 12 card sales of at least $6,000 and three reaching five figures. His Bowman 1st Sapphire red auto card (numbered to five) ungraded sold for $15,000 on Jan. 19.
The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.
(Top photo of Roman Anthony: WooSox Photo/Ashley Green / USA TODAY NETWORK; card images: eBay)
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
