The 2023 Bowman baseball card set is one of the most highly anticipated releases each year from card manufacturer Topps. As the flagship rookie card set in the hobby, Bowman provides collectors their first chance to obtain cards featuring the top prospects in minor league baseball as well some of the biggest young stars currently in the majors.
The 2023 edition of Bowman is set to hit shelves in late April/early May 2023, continuing Topps’ tradition of releasing the set just prior to the start of the minor league baseball season. Like past years, the base set will feature 300 cards including prospects, recent draft picks and young major leaguers. Parallels, short prints, autographs and memorabilia cards will also be available through the base set and special inserts.
Some of the top prospects expected to be featured in the 2023 Bowman set include shortstop Jackson Holliday (2021 #1 overall draft pick), outfielder Druw Jones (2022 #2 overall pick) and catcher Elijah Green (2022 #3 overall pick). All three players are considered consensus top 10 prospects in baseball already and will likely be some of the most sought-after rookie cards in the set.
Other highly-touted prospects collectors will search packs for include catcher Henry Davis (2021 #1 pick), infielder Jordan Walker, outfielders Drew Waters and Estevan Florial as well as pitchers Grayson Rodriguez, George Kirby and Emerson Hancock. Each of these players have All-Star upside and their Bowman rookie cards are sure to be hot commodities.
In addition to prospects, the 2023 Bowman set also highlights some of baseball’s rising young stars currently making an impact in the majors. Shortstops Bobby Witt Jr., Oneil Cruz and Jeremy Peña should receive prominent cards after their impressive rookie campaigns in 2022. Pitchers like Hunter Greene, George Kirby and Joe Ryan who had success in their first MLB seasons will also be featured.
Parallels are always a big part of the Bowman set each year. The 2023 release is expected to include the standard Chrome, Rainbow Foil and Gold parallels along with some new insert sets. Topps usually keeps a few parallels and inserts a secret until release, so collectors will be on the lookout for surprises. Autograph and memorabilia cards of the top prospects will be the most sought-after parallel and insert variations.
Release date, product configuration and checklist details have not officially been announced yet by Topps. Based on past years, here are some educated guesses about the 2023 Bowman release:
Release Date: Late April/Early May 2023
Product: Hobby boxes will contain 12 packs with 5 cards per pack for a total of 60 cards
Blaster/Rack Packs: Will contain either 8 or 10 packs
Jumbo Packs: Likely to include 24-30 packs
Hobby Box Price: Estimated $90-100 per box
Checklist: 300 base cards plus parallels, short prints and inserts
The Bowman Draft set released in summer 2023 will feature the players selected in the 2023 MLB June Amateur Draft. Top prospects expected to be chosen high in next year’s draft class include shortstops Termarr Johnson and Anthony Sorce as well as outfielder Justin Crawford. Their rookie cards will be hot commodities in that set too.
The 2023 Bowman release is one of the most highly anticipated cards sets each year. As the flagship rookie card set, it provides the first chance to collect cards of tomorrow’s MLB stars. With another strong crop of prospects led by Holliday, Jones and Green, combined with rising young talents in the majors, the 2023 edition is sure to be a hit with both casual collectors and serious investors. The release will kick off an exciting year of prospecting and chasing the next generation of baseball stars.
