Spotlight on 1st Bowman Cards: Key MLB Prospects (2020–2025)
For years, Bowman prospect cards featuring the 1st Bowman designation have been among the most sought-after in The Hobby. A 1st Bowman is a player’s first official baseball card, released before their official rookie card. The fact that the card is a player’s earliest is of obvious appeal to collectors, adding to the excitement of the chase.
On the heels of the exciting recent release of 2025 Bowman Baseball, we’re taking a look at some of the great 1st Bowman cards in recent history, including some of the prospects to collect in this year’s product.
2025 1st Bowmans
Every year, the release of Bowman Baseball cards is met with much anticipation, as prospects who’ve already earned attention make their Hobby debut. Among the Class of 2025, Charlie Condon, the third overall pick in last year’s MLB Draft, has undoubted potential.
A star at the University of Georgia, Condon is considered a future franchise cornerstone for a rebuilding Colorado Rockies organization. His 2025 Bowman Baseball Spotlight Superfractor 1/1 is, at writing, one of the top sales from the set so far, fetching $12,500 on May 15.
18-year old shortstop phenom Jesus Made has emerged as another one of the hottest chases in 2025 Bowman Baseball. The Milwaukee Brewers prospect has jumped all the way to #23 on the most recent MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospects rankings. A Bowman Chrome Prospect Autograph /150, with a nice Brewers color match, has sold for as much as $2,000. Other 1st Bowmans of note include Slade Caldwell and JJ Wetherholt.
2024 1st Bowmans
Who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned slugger? Enter Jac Caglianone, MLB Pipeline’s #10-ranked prospect. The Royals prospect is destroying baseballs down on the farm, proving worthy of his elite 70/80 power grade. Already promoted to AAA, Caglianone has become one of the showpiece prospects in the Class of 2024.
Leo De Vries is a case study in the power of the 1st Bowman. One of the biggest risers of the past year, the Padres shortstop has leapt 14 spots to #3 on MLB Pipeline. Only 18, De Vries’ 1st Bowman Auto /50 sold for $2,705 in November 2024 and $4,700 in May 2025.
2023 1st Bowmans
A couple years out, 1st Bowman cards will feature players at different stages in their careers, some of whom have already taken MLB by storm, and others who are waiting for their chance to show off their talents. 2023 brought us Paul Skenes’ 1st Bowman, which, unsurprisingly, is one of the most sought-after 1st Bowmans in recent history.
Roman Anthony’s time is coming, and probably soon. The #1 MLB Pipeline prospect, Anthony’s 1st Bowman card has only heated up as he dominates in the minors. Named the top hitting prospect by Baseball Prospectus, he joins a list that includes Jackson Holliday, Bobby Witt Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Bryce Harper. Not bad company.
2022 1st Bowmans
The very nature of 1st Bowman prospect cards means their desirability can grow as a prospect develops into a star. Elly De La Cruz, now widely considered to be the top of the class of 2022, was ranked only #76 on MLB Pipeline’s 2022 rankings. A year later, he’d risen to 10th. A year after that, he was an All-Star, and maybe the most exciting player in the world.
This 1st Bowman Superfractor 1/1 is the most sought-after De La Cruz card of all-time, selling for $360,000 in September 2024.
A 1st Bowman of a prodigy like Jackson Chourio makes any collection pop. In 2023, Chourio signed the biggest contract in history at the time for a player who had yet to debut in MLB.
Still only 21, he’s got the security of a long-term deal to aid in his development, which can give collectors reason to believe great things are ahead. His 1st Bowman is also among the hottest of recent years.
2021 1st Bowmans
Bubba Chandler has looked like a top-of-the-rotation talent since he was in high school. Now the #2-ranked prospect in MLB Pipeline, he could be in the big leagues shortly. The most recent sale for a PSA 10 version of this Chandler Bowman Chrome Prospect Auto /199 came on May 2, 2025 for $599.
Marcelo Mayer had a ton of buzz from the minute he was picked 4th overall by the Red Sox in 2021. A six-figure sale of his 1st Bowman Chrome Prospect Auto Superfractor 1/1 months after the draft is a testament to the expectations. While injuries slowed his progress some, Mayer has been on an absolute heater to start this season, and rumors are swirling that he will join the Red Sox anytime now.
2020 1st Bowmans
Pete Crow-Armstrong was drafted 19th overall in 2020, suffered an injury in 2021, and got traded from New York to Chicago before working his way through the Cubs’ system. He’s been exceptional in his second season in MLB, becoming one of the top chases from this set.
Bobby Witt Jr. was a highly-touted prospect drafted second overall in 2019. By 2022, he had arrived in Kansas City. After finishing fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting, Witt followed with a 30-30 season in only his second go-round.
Before Crow-Armstrong had even made his MLB debut, Witt Jr. was on his way to superstardom, signing an 11-year, $289 million contract. He finished second in AL MVP voting. Witt Jr.’s 1st Bowman saw its first six-figure sale this March, when his 2020 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autograph Red Refractor /5 went for $114,680.
Watching top prospects develop into stars on the field and in The Hobby is one of the great joys of collecting. 1st Bowman cards are an essential piece of that puzzle. Who do you think is next?
