While flagship helps begin the main MLB collecting year, 2018 Bowman Baseball marks the official start of prospect season. The heavyweight brand again comes in Hobby and Jumbo formats.
The regular Hobby boxes contain one signed card, and Hobby Jumbo HTA bumps that up to three autographs per box.
Update (Feb 6): Topps’ Instagram account confirmed that Shohei Ohtani autographs are included in 2018 Bowman Baseball.
2018 Bowman Baseball Base / Inserts
Although normally viewed as a prospect release, the base 2018 Bowman Baseball checklist also covers veterans and rookies. For many, however, the Top Prospects set is where the bulk of the action gets going. Always offering a sizable rainbow to collect, options include new Sky Blue paper editions, and a large selection of Chrome parallels such as Gold. Green parallels are exclusive to retail boxes. Among the chromium choices, there is one exclusive Chrome Prospect Atomic Refractor per Hobby box.
Taking into account the social media presence that dominates the hobby, the #BowmanTrending insert is for the prospects seeing a considerable surge in interest. In addition, the 2018 Bowman Sterling continuity insert is found one per Hobby box and two per Jumbo box.
2018 Bowman Baseball Autographs
Relying on hard-signed as always, 2018 Bowman Baseball features Chrome Prospect Autographs for key youngsters, and Chrome Rookie Autographs for those players falling under the RC designation in 2018. Exclusive to retail, the Paper Prospect Autograph cards also have a numbered Blue Border parallel.
2018 Bowman Baseball also has several signed inserts that are exclusive to hobby formats. Only found in Hobby or Jumbo boxes, ROY Favorites highlights frontrunners for Rookie of the Year, while 2018 Bowman Sterling Autograph adds an on-card signature to the main continuity insert.
Another debut for the brand, the numbered Dual Bowman Prospects Autograph insert puts one player on each side of the card, with an autograph for both. There is also the mainstay All-America Game Autographs option from earlier high school events.
Release Date: 04/25/2018
Hobby Box Configuration: 10 cards per pack, 24 packs box, 12 boxes per case
Jumbo Hobby HTA Configuration: 32 cards per pack, 12 packs per box, 8 boxes per case
2018 Bowman Baseball Hobby Box Break
- 1 Autograph Card
- 1 Chrome Prospect Atomic Refractor Parallel
- 1 Bowman Sterling Insert
2018 Bowman Baseball Hobby Jumbo Box Break
- 3 Autograph Cards
- 2 Bowman Sterling Inserts