2018 Bowman Draft Baseball | Checklist, Autographs, Inserts, Box Break, and Review

As the new year rushes in, baseball fans are at the crossroads of anticipation and despair while they wait for spring training to commence. Bowman seeks to pump excitement into that space by debuting this year's draftees in 2018 Bowman Draft.

Collectors annually salivate at the opportunity to get their hands on the first official cards and certified autographs of the freshest talent in minor league baseball. Judging by the early positive responses to 2018 Bowman Draft, collectors are flocking to the product to get ahead of the curve on 2019's breakout prospects.

2018 Bowman Draft Base Set

The 200-card base set features the top 2018 draftees including the first overall pick Casey Mize, Alec Bohm, and Jarred Kelenic. Mixed in with the new draftees are the crop of 2017 Bowman Draft's featured players that just finished their first full minor league campaign.

2018 Bowman Draft Base Cards / Bowman

The jumbo box provided for this review yielded a complete set with an additional 25 doubles, giving collectors a valuable opportunity to familiarize themselves with every player in the 2018 Bowman Draft. In traditional Bowman fashion, both the base and chrome set have a variety of parallels, including serial numbered colored versions that will further provoke player collectors to corner the market on their favorite upstart. Click here for a complete 2018 Bowman Draft checklist.

2018 Bowman Draft Parallels / Bowman

2018 Bowman Draft Inserts

Bowman taps into nostalgia with the 1998 20th anniversary inserts, fashioned with the distinct black bottom border and vertical signature on the side to force the attention to the on-card action shot. The Sterling inserts also tap into familiarity, taking a horizontal highlight of the top ten draft prospects in the set. While Bowman hits the mark with these two single-player inserts, the dual-player Franchise Futures and Recommended Viewing inserts are a bit crowded and do not give these newcomers their proper space to shine.

2018 Bowman Draft Inserts / Bowman

2018 Bowman Draft Autographs

Each jumbo box guarantees three autographs, allowing collectors a dice roll to land a low serial numbered autograph of a can't-miss prospect. With 2018 Bowman Draft offering the first official certified autographs in their franchise uniforms, these signatures have quickly become coveted commodities in the market. This box landed a Chrome autograph from Los Angeles Angels first-rounder Jordyn Adams, a Class of 2018 Brady Singer autograph #/250, and a Chrome refractor autograph of St. Louis Cardinals slugging third base prospect Nolan Gorman #/499.

2018 Bowman Draft Inserts / Bowman

As baseball fans wait with great anticipation for 2019 spring training and the new baseball cards that come with it, 2018 Bowman Draft is a satisfying treat for those looking for fresh faces until pitchers and catchers report.

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2018 Bowman's Best Baseball Review | Checklist, Autographs, and Box Break

Bowman made collectors wait until year’s end for 2018 Bowman’s Best to show that the baseball card manufacturer had one last ace up its sleeve. The high-quality chrome finished cards have a surprisingly soft finish that makes 2018 Bowman’s Best an attractive upgrade to 2017 Bowman’s Best en route to collectors’ must-have lists of the year.

2018 Bowman’s Best Base Set and Checklist

The 100-card base set consists of 70 current stars and rookies, as well as 30 top prospects. The prospects include Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Royce Lewis, Alec Bohm, and Eloy Jimenez, while the current MLB stars feature both Rookies of the Year in Ronald Acuña Jr. and Shohei Ohtani, as well as hobby mainstays Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw. The parallels include Bowman’s Best’s signature Atomic Refractor parallels which come one per master box. Click here to view the entire checklist.

2018 Bowman’s Best Inserts

Bowman’s Best tips their cap to the 1998 design with their Best Performers inserts, which highlight a blend of prospects, emerging stars, and veterans. Bowman’s Best dedicates their minor league focus to their Early Indicators subset, while collectors will also enjoy the Neophyte Sensations and Power Producers inserts. All have Atomic Refractor and gold parallels. Highlights for this box break included a Christian Pache Early Indicators Gold parallel numbered to 50.

2018 Bowman’s Best Autographs

Bowman’s Best set high expectations by guaranteeing four autographs per master box. The extra fortunate can score coveted dual autographed cards such as those of Derek Jeter and Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout; however, a majority of the offerings is of the prospect variety. Going into the 2019 season, Bowman’s Best allows collectors to score an attractive on-card autograph of the next Rookie of the Year before their stock doubles. This review box drew two prospect autographs of Noah Naylor and Nick Schnell, a MacKenzie Gore Early Indicators autograph, and an Estevan Florial Best Performers Gold autograph numbered to 50.

2018 Bowman’s Best Wrap Up

Bowman's Best cuts through the endless filler that flood 5,000 count boxes across basements everywhere to offer a focused and condensed collecting experience. With a focus on only the top major and minor league talents, 2018 Bowman's Best is a rich journey that is worth putting money aside for a post-holiday purchase.

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2018 Bowman Chrome Baseball Review - Do two star crossed rookies have what it takes to push 2018 Bowman Chrome to the top?

With the regular season wrapped up, fans are looking towards the 2018 Bowman Chrome Baseball release for their favorite stars and Rookie of the Year candidates on their chromium-embossed cards. The boxes feature the ROY frontrunners Ronald Acuña Jr. and Shohei Ohtani, drawing in collectors with the hope of scoring limited edition autographs and parallels of the cream of 2018’s rookie class.

2018 Bowman Chrome / Bowman

Each master box contains two six-pack mini-boxes, guaranteeing that at least two autographs and one shimmer refractor parallel will be uncovered in the 12-pack journey. Those who indulge in 2018 Bowman Chrome will also find themselves about a quarter of the way towards the completion of the 100-card base and prospect sets.

2018 Bowman Chrome Base Stars and Prospects / Bowman

Bowman entices collectors with their autograph selection, offering an opportunity to snag signatures of top prospects such as Estevan Florial, Luis Urias, and Enyel De Los Santos. Rookie autographs include the aforementioned Acuña Jr. and Ohtani, as well as Gleyber Torres. For those with a lucky hand, even Mike Trout, Kris Bryant, and Russell Wilson (yes, the Pro Bowl quarterback) are among the extensive list of signers for this year’s edition.

The box provided for this review drew two prospect autographs. One of Minnesota Twins outfield prospect Akil Baddoo, and a refractor autograph of Boston Red Sox pitcher Travis Lakins, numbered to 499.

2018 Bowman Chrome Autographs / Bowman

While this box did not yield an autograph nor a base card of the two cover boys (Acuña Jr. and Ohtani), it did turn out some attractive colored limited edition parallels that are sure to capture collector’s eyes. This master box a green parallel numbered to 99 of Chicago Cubs prospect Aramis Ademan, a purple shimmer refractor of Pavin Smith, and a base refractor of Cardinals mainstay Paul DeJong.

2018 Bowman Chrome Parallels and Refractors / Bowman

Bowman keeps consumers on their toes with a variety of insert sets, highlighting different facets of minor league stardom. Arizona Fall League stars have their own set, while the Peaks of Potential set features the next wave of top prospects. Another nifty touch by Bowman for 2018 Chrome is the return of the Sterling inserts, which were a favorite in the earlier 2018 Bowman release.

2018 Bowman Chrome AFL and Sterling Inserts / Bowman

2018 Bowman Chrome Peaks of Potential Inserts / Bowman

As the postseason is in full bloom, 2018 Bowman Chrome gently reminds collectors that while the big league stars are writing the history books right in front of us, there is another talent pipeline ready to create their own record setting paths. You can get on that next train to MLB stardom right now by digging into your own box of 2018 Bowman Chrome Baseball.

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2018 Bowman High Tek Box Break | Review, Patterns, Autographs & More

The sophomore season is one for making adjustments, and Bowman has done just that with 2018 Bowman High Tek Baseball. Following up last year’s debut, Bowman has upgraded the design of the multi-patterned acetate cards for a more palatable user experience.

2018 Bowman High Tek / Bowman

The series focuses on top rookie and prospects, keeping in stride with Bowman’s reputation for highlighting the next wave of talent in the baseball pipeline. Each box contains ten cards, four of which are on-card autographs, an appealing proposal for those in search of adding to their prospect stash.

2018 Bowman High Tek Patterns / Bowman

One thing that sets 2018 Bowman High Tek apart from its more traditional trading card counterparts, are its ten, that’s right, ten different base card parallel variations. (Click here for detailed guide of each pattern.) Compared to last year’s release, Bowman increased the size of the player’s name and team in a way that further accents the photo and make the player easily identifiable. While the box provided for this review did not yield any of the rare patterns, it did feature a Jake Burger Orange Magma Diffractor numbered to 25.

2018 Bowman High Tek Serial Numbered Parallels and Inserts / Bowman

The tipping point for Bowman High Tek is the four guaranteed autographs in each box. This year’s signers list is strong, featuring over 45 different prospects, including Ronald Acuña Jr., Gleyber Torres, Rhys Hoskins, and Royce Lewis. Noticeably absent is Washington Nationals upstart Juan Soto; however, with an abundance of top tier talent, fans are rather likely to catch at least one rising star, if not more.



Cincinnati Reds power prospect Ibandel Isabel (pictured with the Dodgers) and Chicago Cubs pitching phenom Adbert Alzolay led the way for the four autographs in this box. Aside from Isabel’s penmanship, the other three players who signed cards for this box could use a lesson in cursive, as their signatures amounted to undecipherable scribbles, a seemingly growing trend in the minor league ranks.

2018 Bowman High Tek Autographs / Bowman

With boxes settling in under $100, collectors are primed to take a chance at the four autographs 2018 Bowman High Tek offers, with any of the rare base card patterns serving as the icing on top of an already heavily layered cake. Click here to get a hold of a box of 2018 Bowman High Tek.

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2018 Bowman Baseball Review – How 2018 Bowman is setting a fever pitch in the industry

Immediately following the release of 2018 Bowman Baseball, prominent sports card dealers were placing five-figure bounties on the coveted Shohei Ohtani Superfractor card. As of this writing, Blowout Cards has ignited the offer to $100,000; therefore, it is of little surprise that collectors nationwide are posting photos of empty retail shelves in their quest to hit the big time.

While Ohtani has provided the necessary mania to give the sports card industry a shot in the arm, Bowman shows that their 2018 release can stand well on its own despite the hype surrounding one vaunted card. With a clean design and attractive inserts, 2018 Bowman Baseball furnishes a product that has staying power for years to come.

The 100-card base set features the aforementioned Japanese phenom, as well as a keen mixture of rookies and veterans. Ronald Acuña, Hunter Greene, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. all lead the charge of the 150-card prospect set, with their chrome cards serving as sought after treats for those lucky enough to get their hands on an entire box.

Digging into the parallels and inserts, traditional serial numbered colored parallels will keep fans busy tracking down their favorite player’s rainbow, while the new Bowman #Trending and Bowman Birthdays insert sets give a new flavor for collectors to dine upon. Equally pleasing are the Bowman Sterling, ROY Favorites, Scouts Top 100 and Talent Pipeline inserts, with each providing another nuance for consumers to pour into while digging for their golden ticket.

Even though this box did not add six figures to my annual income, it did yield a complete base set, a host of inserts, three numbered parallels, and a refractor autograph of New York Mets prospect Andres Gimenez. Just going through each pack was exhilarating, as there was tremendous excitement on social watching many post stories of their frantic searches for the product.

With box prices trending near $150 due to the increasing reward placed on the Ohtani Superfractor, 2018 Bowman Baseball is still worth diving into just for the exciting ride that could end with a life-changing hit.

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