2024 Bowman Chrome: MLB Prospects, Rookie Cards We’re Hunting
At the epicenter of the baseball card collecting hobby is the rookie card.
No brand in baseball card collecting has stronger associations with the rookie card—or rather, a prospect’s first card—than Bowman and its parent company, Topps. Long have collectors placed the utmost value on a player’s Bowman First card, which, while not quite a rookie card, is still a must-have for diehards.
This week marks the release of 2024 Bowman Chrome. Along with an extensive list of current prospects, this year’s product is chock full of autographs of some of the biggest names in the sport and an exclusive chase from the latest rendition of the line’s popular Retrofractor set featuring none other than Yankees legend Lou Gehrig.
Below, we’ll offer insights on prospects & rookies in the set that have our attention for Baseball America subscribers.
The second legend of the game joins Gehrig in this year’s Retrofractor set is Dodgers great Sandy Koufax. Not only is Koufax one of the greatest lefthanded pitchers of all-time, he’s also one of the most popular. And, unlike the cards of Gehrig, 81 of his Retrofractors are signed. There’s a good chance that an autographed Sandy Koufax Bowman First is the best single card you could pull from this product in 2024.
Top Prospects In The Set
Of the flagship Bowman releases, Bowman Draft is typically the most anticipated in regards to the prospect checklist.
The collection of players with Bowman First autographs in the 2024 set do not hold a candle to the 2023 checklist, at least upon initial release. In 2023, Alfredo Duno (Reds), Ethan Salas (Padres), Felnin Celesten (Mariners), Yoendry Vargas (Dodgers), Rayner Arias (Giants) and Samuel Basallo (Orioles) headlined one of the better Bowman Chrome First autograph checklists in recent memory.
Top 30 Prospects For Every Team
Check out our latest updates and scouting reports for the top 900 prospects in baseball.
The 2024 checklist leans heavily on the likes of Leodalis De Vries (Padres), Thayron Liranzo (Tigers) and Echedry Vargas (Rangers). The bottom-line is that many of the players in the prospect autograph checklist are teenagers with limited or no success stateside. From a pure probabilities stand-point, Bowman Chrome is the most boom-or-bust of the Bowman flagship releases.
While looking to pull one of those future booms, here are a few more names to note:
- Eduardo Tait (Phillies)
- Jeremy Rodriguez (Mets)
- Eduardo Beltre (Twins)
- Emil Morales (Dodgers)
- Braylin Morel (Rangers)
An Autograph Checklist Bursting With Star Power
While it is important to note the boom-or-bust nature of the prospect checklist in Bowman Chrome, there are loads of rookie autographs of highly-sought after current big leaguers in this product, including up-and-coming stars like Elly De La Cruz, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jackson Merrill, Jackson Chourio and Jasson Dominguez.
The names keep going, as you’ll find the signatures of Baseball America’s newly-announced No. 1 prospect, Roman Anthony, just-graduated top prospect Junior Caminero, a Cubs lefty who will receive Cy Young votes in Shota Imanaga and a pair of heralded Rangers prospects in Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter and recent top five draft picks in Dylan Crews and Walker Jenkins.
Beyond the top crop, you have Cardinals stand-out rookie shortstop Masyn Winn and a quartet of notable Orioles rookies: Colton Cowser, Jordan Westburg, Jackson Holliday and Heston Kjerstad.
The New Garbage Pail Kids Insert Set
Topps is introducing a cross-over between Garbage Pail Kids and some of the top prospects in baseball. Collectors of Bowman Chrome can chase down some of their favorite prospects creatively illustrated in David Gross’ familiar GPK style. While they won’t be for everyone’s taste, the GPK inserts will likely be hard to find and have a chance to carve-out a high-value niche.
There are 23 names on the checklist, so don’t be shocked when you see a Gross illustration of a future superstar selling for a pretty penny:
- Jordan Lawlar (Diamondbacks)
- Druw Jones (Diamondbacks)
- Jackson Holliday (Orioles)
- Marcelo Mayer (Red Sox)
- Pete Crow-Armstrong (Cubs)
- Elly De La Cruz (Reds)
- Max Clark (Tigers)
- Jackson Chourio (Brewers)
- Walker Jenkins (Twins)
- Luisangel Acuña (Mets)
- Jasson Dominguez (Yankees)
- Spencer Jones (Yankees)
- Justin Crawford (Phillies)
- Paul Skenes (Pirates)
- Ethan Salas (Padres)
- Junior Caminero (Rays)
- Evan Carter (Rangers)
- Wyatt Langford (Rangers)
- Dylan Crews (Nationals)
- James Wood (Nationals)
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers)
- Triston Casas (Red Sox)
- Masataka Yoshida (Red Sox)
What We’re Hunting
The Sandy Koufax and Lou Gehrig Retrofractors are cool—there’s no other way to say it. While I can see the perspective of a Bowman purist who doesn’t appreciate their inclusion, I’m not on that side of the fence. I would be overjoyed to land either or both in their base variations (and if it’s a parallel, even cooler).
In terms of the Bowman First autographs on the checklist, I have my eyes out for Eduardo Beltre, a favorite of my friend and BA writer Geoff Pontes. We have a tendency to see eye-to-eye on prospects and we both love big tools. Because, hey, big tools are required to become a super star.
A second name on the checklist that I’ll be tracking down is Mets pitching prospect Brandon Sproat. Sproat is an athletic, right-handed pitcher who has quickly risen up prospect rankings and is now almost universally considered a top-10 starting pitching prospect in the game. While pitchers aren’t the most sought-after in baseball card collecting (or, at least until they’ve had themselves a notable career), they present an opportunity to collect without breaking the bank. Featuring a high-90s fastball and wicked slider, I could see Sproat at the front of a rotation for years to come.
For big league rookie autographs, Cubs lefty Shoto Imanaga is on my list—that guy is a wizard. If you haven’t already, go watch him pitch. He’s really good at it. It bummed me out to see Jordan Westburg get hurt and miss most of the summer. I’m still a big believer in him as well. I love the way he plays the game and goes about his business. He defends at a high level at multiple positions, and he’s got power and speed. Westburg is my favorite of the four Orioles rookies in this year’s Bowman Chrome class.
Where to Buy, Formats & Pricing
As with all Bowman releases these days, there are different buying formats that cater to different types of collectors. Your best bet to track down a hobby box or HTA Choice box of Bowman Chrome is to visit your local card store or visit any number of popular hobby websites. Mega Boxes will be more widely-circulated and should be findable at your local Walmart or Target.
Hobby Box
For the hobbyist who enjoys the inserts, autographs, and putting together the setlist, the standard hobby box is the way to go. Each hobby box features two mini-boxes with 30 cards (six packs with five cards per pack). They will have, on average, two autographs, one Prospect Shimmer Parallel, one My 1st Bowman Insert and four International Impact inserts. Hobby boxes are trending around $300 on popular hobby websites.
HTA Choice Box
For the high-end breaker who is only interested in the hits and doesn’t care to stack hundreds of base cards, the HTA Choice box is your best bet. Each HTA Choice box guarantees three autographs, which are the only cards in the box. This is the most efficient format for Bowman Chrome. It comes with better odds for rare parallels and a number of HTA-exclusive parallels to hunt. HTA Choice boxes are trending around $330 on popular hobby websites.
Mega Box
The Mega Box is the most price-friendly option and, again, will probably be the most accessible. You should see them appearing on shelves in Target, Walmart and other big-box retailers that stock baseball cards in the coming weeks. Each box contains seven packs with five cards per pack. The Mega Box is notorious for containing five “cold” packs and two “hot packs.” The hot packs are the draw, as the cold packs will contain only base cards (no parallels, inserts or autographs). The pair of hot packs are where you’ll find 10 total cards with the famous “Mega” patterning and a chance for an autograph or numbered parallel. While the odds aren’t nearly as good as either the Hobby or HTA Choice formats, the Mega Box provides a much lower price-point for more collectors to get a piece of the action. Mega Boxes are trending around $50.
