2024 Bowman Draft: Which players are most likely to debut? Part 1
Now that the hobby is heavy into Bowman Draft season I thought I’d take a look at the players in the product who will most likely make their debut sometime during the 2025 season. A player's big league debut often comes with a price increase for collectors so this date can often be equally as important as their product debut. This will be a part 1 of a two part series.
Christian Moore 2B Los Angeles Angels
Christian Moore had an incredible college season at Tennessee where he absolutely crushed the ball year. He set a school record with 34 home runs this past season but he does couple that with a good batting eye and the potential to hit for a solid average. His signature moment this year came when he hit for the cycle on Tennessee's run to the national championship. What makes Moore a likely candidate and probably the earliest candidate from Bowman Draft 2024 to make their debut is a result of landing with the Angels for a few reasons. First the Angels like to push their first round draft picks aggressively. Second while Moore is defensively limited the Angels are fairly devoid or talent so there are no true roadblocks in his path to the big leagues. If all goes well I expect collectors to see an early to mid season call up with the corresponding value bump, So far Moore's base chrome auto cards have remained in the $165-170 range on 130 point since Bowman Draft dropped earlier in December, a solid debut for a first auto. I do expect that value to decrease slightly as we get closer to when Bowman 2025 drops but expect that to be offset by the previously mentioned call up value bump later in 2025.
Travis Bazzana 2B, Cleveland Guardians
Travis Bazzana made history as being the first Australian born player to be picked first overall. While not playing a premium defensive position ( a factor that can hurt real word value as well as collector value) there’s still a lot to like about Bazzana, specifically his very complete offensive package. In the batter’s box he does everything at minimum well and at best elite. The only knock on Bazanna is his defensive limitations as previously stated. At the Winter Meetings the Guardians surprised some by trading three time gold glove winner Andres Gimenez who was locked in at second base until a trade to the Blue Jays. This could potentially clear a spot for Bazzana so a post call up value bump could be sooner rather than later for collectors. Currently Bazzana bases cards from Bowman 2024 Draft are checking robustly at $215-220 on 130 point. As usual I would expect his value to go up if he breaks camp on the big league roster.
Nick Kurtz 1B A’s
I’m a big fan of Nick Kurtz aka Nicky Nukes not just because of the college he went to (I went to Wake Forest and as a baseball nerd followed his career there closely). Kurtz was getting buzz as a possible top overall pick prior to the start of the collegiate season until a shoulder injury derailed his momentum. However, once he returned to the field he picked up right where he left off dominating ACC pitching. Several factors could affect Kurt's Bowman Chrome autograph value to collectors. One thing benefiting Kurtz and his card value is that he really isn’t road blocked with the A’s creating an easier path to the majors. On the other hand, I’m not entirely convinced the A's are looking to compete at a high level. For that reason I could see the A’s playing the service time game with Kurtz especially if he gets off to a slower start as he adjusts to the upper minor league levels. This would end up delaying his call up value bump for collectors. On the other hand, there is an equally good chance he forces the A’s hand and ends up getting the call sometime in the mid to late summer months. Kurtz autos are checking in more modestly than the two players listed above settling the $100 range on 130 point. This could represent a good investment for those collectors who are patient enough to wait for the bump in value that could happen if Kurtz makes his debut this year.
