Bowman Inception is a special baseball card set released annually by Topps that focuses on top prospects and rookie players. The Inception brand was launched in 2017 as a premium high-end product that gives collectors a chance to obtain rare autograph and memorabilia cards of baseball’s future stars very early in their careers.
Inception sets are released each spring shortly before the Major League Baseball season begins. The timing allows for cards featuring players who are expected to make their MLB debuts that year. Sets typically include base cards of over 100 prospects as well as autographed and memorabilia cards inserted at extremely low odds. Autograph cards may be on-card where the signature is on the front of the card, or sticker autos where the autograph is on a separate sticker affixed to the card. Memorabilia cards contain game-used materials like jersey swatches, bat pieces, or other authentic items. Rosters are finalized in the months leading up to release so the absolute top prospects are included each year.
Some of the most valuable Inception cards to date feature players like Ronald Acuña Jr., Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., and Wander Franco. Acuña’s 2017 Bowman Inception autographed rookie card is one of the key rookie cards in the hobby due to his early superstar success in the majors. Soto’s 2018 Bowman Inception autographed card also carries a high premium. Guerrero’s 2019 card was highly sought after as he was considered the best prospect in baseball. And Franco’s 2020 card was the biggest card in the set as the consensus #1 overall prospect. These players all lived up to the hype with their MLB performances, making their Bowman Inception rookie cards some of the most coveted in the modern era.
In addition to top prospect autographs, Inception has produced some of the rarest memorabilia cards ever. Among the most notable are Acuña’s 2017 “Bat Down” jersey card containing a swatch of fabric from his batting practice jersey when he took batting practice on the field. Only 5 of these 1/1 cards were produced. Similarly, Soto’s 2018 “On Deck” jersey card featuring a swatch from the jersey he wore while on deck and waiting to hit also had an edition of only 5 copies. These ultra-rare memorabilia cards of future stars who went on to superstardom are the true holy grails for collectors. They often trade privately for tens of thousands of dollars.
While the biggest stars command the highest prices, Inception also gives collectors the opportunity to acquire cards of future impact players earlier in their careers than any other set. Players like Shane Bieber, Gleyber Torres, Walker Buehler, Bo Bichette, and others had their first Topps-branded cards in Bowman Inception before breaking out in the majors. Even mid-tier prospects who don’t make the majors still have value for team and player collectors. The set is also known for producing rare 1/1 parallel cards in special designs that are true one-of-a-kind collectibles.
Each year, Bowman Inception captivates the baseball card collecting community with its prospect rosters and chase for the rarest hits. With its early access to top talents, premium aesthetics, and ultra-low print runs, the brand has come to represent the pinnacle of the modern baseball card collecting experience. While individual cards can be quite expensive, Inception also offers affordable blaster and hobby boxes for fans to participate in the excitement of chasing stars of the future. As one of the premier baseball card licenses, Topps is sure to continue developing Bowman Inception as a premier high-end product for years to come.
