The 2023 Bowman Draft baseball card set is highly anticipated by collectors as it features the newest crop of amateur baseball prospects selected in the 2022 MLB Draft. Bowman Draft has become one of the most popular modern baseball card releases each year given its exclusivity focusing solely on drafted players and prospects.
The 2022 MLB Draft took place from July 17-19 and saw 80 rounds of players selected by the 30 major league teams. As with every year, the 2023 Bowman Draft set will highlight card images and stats for many of the top picks from the draft along with other prospects selected in later rounds. Some of the most notable names expected to be featured in the set include shortstop Druw Jones (1st overall pick to the Arizona Diamondbacks), catcher Kevin Parada (11th overall to the New York Mets), and pitcher Dylan Lesko (15th overall to the Tampa Bay Rays).
Panini America has produced the Bowman Draft set each year since 2015 under an exclusive license with Major League Baseball. The sets are released in late winter/early spring, giving prospects time to play in their rookie ball seasons before their rookie cards are distributed. This timing allows for any statistical or performance updates to be included on the cards. The 2023 edition is expected to be released in March 2023, following the same release window as previous years.
Like all modern baseball card releases, Bowman Draft is produced in the form of trading card packs, boxes, and cases for collectors to randomly pull cards from. The base set usually features around 150-200 cards depending on the size of the draft class that year. Parallels, autographed cards, and special inserts then add to the overall checklist size. Base rookies are generally printed to orders of magnitude less than mainstream sports releases, making top prospects quite scarce and desirable.
Some key checklist highlights collectors can expect to find in the 2023 Bowman Draft set include:
Base cards for the entire 1st round class and many players from rounds 2-10.
Parallel and refractors of the biggest names in different print runs.
Autograph cards on card stock or sticker autos for top picks.
Patch card autos using game-used fabrics for the cream of the crop players.
Special inserts highlighting top prospect tools and rankings.
International signee cards for high-profile international free agents.
Organization cards featuring a team’s entire draft class photo.
Bonus cards for breakout performers from the previous year’s draft class.
While retail boxes can be found at major hobby shops and online retailers, the true chase cards require buying premium boxes, hobby boxes, or individual cards. Autographs and 1/1 parallel cards regularly command prices into the thousands due to the prospect pedigree and limited print runs. Savvy investors will often purchase unopened boxes or cases of Bowman Draft with the hopes of landing a big hit to grade and hold for maximum future appreciation.
Grading is another huge aspect of the modern Bowman Draft collecting landscape. Top rookies like Wander Franco and Bobby Witt Jr saw their Bowman Draft cards skyrocket in value after debuting in the majors and earning prestigious PSA/BGS gem mint grades. Services like PWCC and Goldin Auctions regularly sell graded Bowman Draft cards for five figures or more. This trend has made the set one of the most lucrative in the hobby for taking risks on teenage prospects before they make the show.
The 2023 Bowman Draft release is sure to be a highly anticipated event for baseball card collectors this coming spring. Featuring the first cardboard for many future MLB stars, the set provides a unique opportunity to acquire low-printed rookie cards of prospects before their careers unfold. For investors, hit pullers, and fans of the MLB draft, Bowman Draft has become a modern cornerstone that blends the allure of prospects with the scarcity of exclusive rookie cards.
