2025 Bowman Mega Box - The Two Box Review
Knowing these cards will be the hottest sellers of the year. Fanatics can do whatever they want. Charge whatever they want. It's always going to sell.
To an increasingly smaller number of collectors.
This is my story and experience with 2025 Bowman.
When I saw the pre-sale specs on the Topps website, I just had to laugh. 24 pack Hobby boxes have increased to $239.99. So we're now looking at a starting point of $10/pack. Great. Topps is also dropping the number of cards per pack to 8, instead of 10, as it has been for years. So 48 LESS cards for the increased price? Awesome job Fanatics. What else are you doing with Bowman to screw people over?
6 pack Hobby Jumbo boxes still guarantee three autographs, but are down to 28 cards per pack, from long standard 32 cards. For all that decreasing in value, the retail price INCREASES to $499.99. Well, it's still under $85/pack, what are you complaining about?
Oh yeah, if you missed the pre-sale, after 2025 Bowman was officially released, the price shot up $10 on Hobby boxes, to $249.99. And a $20 increase on the Hobby Jumbo boxes, to $519.99.
Guess if you want value, you would opt for the "Breaker Delight Boxes". (Good lord...) Apparently, to Delight a Breaker, you sell him a box with only one 10 card pack inside. Inside that 10 card pack is a guaranteed 3 Autographs! I looked at the ebays and 2025 Bowman "Breaker Delight Boxes" are priced between $850-$900. So, on the cheap end, you're paying $85 PER CARD!!
Insanity.
2025 Bowman was officially released on May 7, 2025. For weeks I kept thinking that I should make it a point to go to the local WalMarts that has a decent stock of retail packs and Blasters. Just on the off chance they'd have some 2025 Bowman left. Those are only retailing for $34.99 this year, though I'm sure there's a decrease in the amount of cards you're getting. Because, Fanatics... So it never became a priority.
A full month after 2025 Bowman was out walking the streets, I finally found some in public. One of the local Targets had about fifteen 2025 Bowman Mega Boxes, sitting on the bottom shelf. Underneath a ridiculous amount of Panini Football and Basketball brands, that just never seem to sell. As far as baseball, there were some Value Packs of 2025 Heritage and 2025 Topps Series One. No Blasters of either, but a few 2024 Topps Archives ones remained. That set disgusted me almost as much as the price points of 2025 Bowman.
Hmmm... Two Mega Boxes for $49.99 each... They were $44.99 last year... Oh, fuck it. I've had a shitty day...
Yeah, maybe...
Sure, a top prospect autograph of any of those would be awesome. But I'm looking at this realistically. Going into any retail 2025 purchase, I'm hoping for a just few specific players. As long as I pulled at least two of them (in any form, base or parallel), I'd call this a success. Throwing the price part of things out the window. After I decide on buying them, it's a sunk cost. Never to be recovered. That's just something you have to accept when you roll the dice on buying unopened product these days.
At worst, I'm buying a story for $100...
So here's the story I bought for $100!
2025 Bowman Wrapper, featuring top Colorado Rockies draft pick, Charlie Condon, and Washington Nationals outfielder, James Woods. Decent enough representation of what Bowman is about.
This isn't going to be presented in a traditional Whatever. The spirit of the Whatever is included, in that this is just a selection of the cards I want to talk about. I'm also separating this into the three typical categories that Bowman has used since 2006. Base Veterans, Base Prospects and Chrome Prospects. Bowman was helpful enough to include the words "Veterans" and "Prospects", in this year's card design.
Unlike the traditional Whatever, I'm not ranking these cards. This is just a stream of conscience piece about my feelings on the 2025 edition, of a brand I've loved since 1992.
2025 Bowman - Juan Soto
Topps almost had me fooled with their Photoshoppery here. Until I looked closer at the Mets on the chest, I thought this may have been a new photo. Must have initially blanked on the 22. That's looking pretty terrible. Soto hasn't hit as well in his first season with the Mets. I'd imagine he'll get hot later in the season, but the numbers don't line up with the paycheck yet... With the size of that paycheck, it would pretty hard to post any numbers that justify it.
Meanwhile, back on the team that Soto is digitally covering up...
2025 Bowman - Cody Bellinger
The Yankees partially replaced Soto with Cody Bellinger, in a trade with the Chicago Cubs. Fairly decent Photoshop job here. The New York lettering has to be a lot easier since Nike got white of the white double-stitching. Bellinger has been okay with New York. Nothing spectacular. I remember 2017, being all frustrated with even finding cards in the typical retail stores, because everyone was chasing Bellinger and Aaron Judge rookie cards. Now they're on the same team, but Bellinger hasn't hit like 2017-2019, since then.
But what are the Cubs doing without Bellinger?
2025 Bowman - Kyle Tucker
They made a trade with the Houston Astros for outfielder, Kyle Tucker. I'm completely ignoring the bad Photoshoppery here, because that dude's sweater in the stands is WAAAY too distracting. Tucker is having one of his best seasons, leading the Cubs to first place in the NL Central. Enjoy him while you can Chicago, he's not re-signing for what you'll offer.
2025 Bowman - Yordan Alvarez
Back in Houston, the dynasty is starting to fade, despite still sitting in first place. They look a lot more beatable this year. Alvarez himself has missed a good chunk of the season to injury. When he's played, hasn't hit like Yordan Alvarez at all. His 2025 OPS is over 300 points lower than his career average.
See where Yordan Alvarez ranked when I Said Something Nice About the Houston Astros.
2025 Bowman - Carlos Correa
Correa was chosen as the Twins token veteran representative, for the 2025 Bowman checklist. A coin flip between him and Buxton. I'd prefer Buxton, but I'm fine with Correa... Would have liked to see Royce Lewis step up and become the next Twins token veteran representative, for small sets like this.
Which brings up another cloud to yell at... Fanatics could get a little more mileage out of their base cards by pumping up the number of veterans. 100 cards is just not enough. I get that the point of Bowman is (now) to just flash a bunch of prospects, but if the number of veteran players in the checklist were doubled to 200, it would be a much stronger set. Of course this is coming from someone who LOVED the 700 card Bowman sets of the early 1990's. When each team got 20-30 cards allocated to their prospects and major leaguers.
2025 Bowman - Zach Neto
I really think Neto is going to become one of the best shortstops in baseball.
Too bad he plays for a team incapable of winning.
2025 Bowman - Elly De La Cruz
Forget that he's only 23 years old. Still plenty of time to cut down on the strikeouts. Probably about the time he signs a massive free agent contract with the LA Dodgers... But in the meantime, he's a really interesting power/speed guy, still putting it all together. Hopefully the Reds can figure out what they're doing, while Elly is still in town.
2025 Bowman - Shohei Ohtani
Which makes me wonder if Elly's future teammate will have the same success when he fully recovers from Tommy John Surgery, and tries pitching again. Can't imagine the media coverage that will gather. I do look forward to seeing it, whenever it happens. In his favor, it's probably beneficial that he's not human.
In all actuality, the number of "veterans" in 2025 is a lot less than 100.
Because there's another 30 or so of that 100 dedicated to 2025 rookies...
2025 Bowman - Heyseong Kim
I was watching the Dodgers play the Mariners, in a spring training game on MLB Network, that had Heyseong Kim playing second base. There was a (likely) drunken Dodger fan loudly heckling Kim, every time he came to the plate. What made it hilarious was this guy had no clue that Heyseong Kim, of the Dodgers, was NOT Ha-Seong Kim of the Tampa Bay Rays. Ha-Seong Kim played the last four seasons with the San Diego Padres, before signing with Tampa as a free agent. This guy was shouting very Padre-specific taunts. "Come on Kim! You can hit now! You aint a Padre anymore!" Heyseong Kim of the Dodgers, played his previous six seasons with Kiwoom of the Korean Baseball Organization.
"Kim!!! Swing the bat! This isn't San Diego!"
2025 Bowman - Jackson Jobe
Through early June, the Detroit Tigers have the best record in baseball. Didn't have that on my preseason Bingo card... I still don't buy into them being the best team in baseball. Jobe is injured as I'm writing this, but he's been a member of the Tigers starting rotation all season. Still only 22 years old, he'd been holding his own. The strikeouts are a little low, and the walks are way too high. But it's easy to see what the Tigers like with him.
Uh oh! The day after I wrote that, the Tigers announced that Jobe caught a nasty case of Tommy John Surgery, and now out until late in the 2026 season, at the earliest.
2025 Bowman - Spencer Schwellenbach
The Atlanta Braves may have two pitchers named Spencer in their rotation, but they're about 15 games out of first place. And that just warms my heart! As much as I hate to compliment a Braves player, Schwellenbach has been really good since his May 2024 call-up.
2025 Bowman - Connor Norby
Norby's hometown is directly across the Mississippi River from mine. That's kind of cool. He's not hitting as well as he did in 2024. Which wasn't all that great to begin with. Lucky for him, the Marlins are a self-induced dumpster fire, so he should have plenty of opportunity. Who knows, if enough things go right, perhaps they could overtake the Atlanta Braves for 4th place!
Now that would be cool!
My two Mega Boxes worth of 2025 Bowman Mega Box Packs. Next to only one of the Mega Boxes, because I wanted to confuse people. And I bet it worked. But in reality, I'm using this picture as a bumper between my coverage of the selected veteran cards, and the selected prospect cards that I pulled from these packs.
In no particular order...
Whatever...
2025 Bowman - Fabian Lopez
Lopez does not rank in the Marlins top 30 prospects. Digging deeper into his stats show that is a proper non ranking. He hasn't shown that he can hit, doesn't have a lot of power, and his fielding hasn't been great. He does have speed, and could maybe become a 30 stolen base a year guy. But as the cliche goes, you can't steal first base.
2025 Bowman - Sebastian Walcott
Big time prospect out of the Bahamas, ranking #1 in the Rangers system. He's playing in AA Frisco, after turning 19 in March. He projects as a power hitter, and if he can cut down on the strikeouts, could hit for average as well. Wonder what will happen with the Rangers infield all stars, and who moves for Walcott's arrival?
2025 Bowman - Elvin Garcia
Elvin currently ranks as Baltimore's 27th best prospect. Athletic and toolsy, he just turned 18, so he could either develop into a decent prospect, or peak at AA. However this card sold me with the chain link fence and trees background.
2025 Bowman - Edgleen Perez
Ed Gein? Figures he'd sign with the Yankees...
Perez is a strong defensive catcher, for a 19 year old. His offense hasn't shown up yet, but he's drawn a lot of walks, to go with a lot of strikeouts. There's tools there, and he's young enough to allow the Yankees to bring him along slowly.
Most likely he's traded to a rebuilding team, willing to offer what the Yankees need in any given July.
2025 Bowman - Blake Wolters
Need to dig through whatever box I put the cards of unsigned amateur players from Panini Team USA cards in. Blake Wolters is one of those players. Now he's the 9th ranked prospect in the Royals organization, after his second round selection in the 2023 MLB Draft. Still learning, and only 20, he's got to figure out the high number of walks, yet his batting average against is pretty low.
2025 Bowman - Gary Gill Hill
Gary Gill Hill wins as my favorite name in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Gill Hill alone would be cool enough, due to the whole rhyming deal. Then you tack on a third first name, and you're really onto something. So were the Rays in signing an above-slot deal in 2022. After starting off poorly in his first season, Gill Hill has improved his numbers by a great deal. MLB ranks him as the 12th best prospect in the Rays system, but I think it should be higher.
Because I know...
2025 Bowman - Anderson Brito
Anderson Brito signed out of Venezuela in 2023, for only $10,000. The Astros appear to have a steal at that price. Already the 5th ranked Houston prospect, Brito projects as a #4-5 starter, with excellent strikeout to walk ratios. Though he could dominate out of the bullpen, if durability comes into question. But what appealed to me was the strange background of this card. Starting to think Brito is just posing in front of a green screen, and Topps took care of the rest...
2025 Bowman - Cade Horton
Chicago's top ranked prospect has already made his major league debut, on May 10th of this year. He's stayed in the Cubs rotation ever since. While not dominating, his numbers are strong enough that he's proving he belongs in a big league rotation. He'll turn 24 later this summer, but he should be a reliable member of the Cubs rotation for the next few years.
And that's all of my prospect cards I feel like talking about. Well, at least of the base variety. Because there are Chrome parallels of all 150 prospect cards. For Chrome cards of the veterans, you have to wait for Bowman Chrome to come out. And that set will have another crop of Chrome prospects. Bowman evolved the brand into this format since 2006.
I'm not a fan, but it has clearly worked for them.
My eight 2025 Bowman packs, from the two Mega Boxes, would give me 16 Bowman Chrome cards. I feel like talking about half of those. But before I start, I have to briefly flash back to the day I learned of the 2025 Bowman pre-order deal. I also found a tentative checklist on the Becketts website. Now I needed to know which Minnesota Twins made the cut.
2025 Bowman Baseball Checklist – Minnesota Twins
Base:
Carlos Correa is the sole Twins veteran representative. David Festa and Brooks Lee are recognized with Bowman rookie cards. I wonder if Festa will get a 1st Bowman logo on his card, since he was inexplicably not included as a prospect in any previous Bowman release.
Bowman may have thought he wasn't a legit prospect, but he's looked good -at times- during his major league starts, so far. With Pablo Lopez and Zebby Matthews injured, and Baily Ober throwing nearly 8 mph slower than last season, we need Festa to take a step forward now.
But that's reality. This is baseball cards.
More importantly, which Twins prospects made the 2025 Bowman cut?
Bowman Base & Bowman Chrome Prospects
All Chrome Prospects have multiple Refractor, autographed and multiple Refractor autographed parallels.
Because that's baseball cards now...
Inserts:
Bowman Scouts’ Top 100
Walker Jenkins has cards in the following insert sets: Anime, Crystalized, Greatness Loading, Very Important Prospects.
Brooks Lee has cards in the following insert sets: Etched in Glass Variations, Greatness Loading, Rockstar Rookies.
There's probably multiple parallels and autographs of all that too.
One name stood out to me among the Twins prospects...
2025 Bowman Chrome - Khadim Diaw
And the top card I wanted out of 2025 Bowman, was in the very first pack that I opened.
I first read his name among the Twins 2024 draft picks, and wondered how it was pronounced... Diaw looks similar to Diaz, which is a common Spanish name. Commonly accepted pronunciation being "dee-AHZ". Replacing the Z with a W, would mean his name would be pronounced: "dee-AWW". Which is kind of clunky to say. Earlier this year, I heard his name spoken out loud over highlights of a home run. Turns out, the K in his first name is silent (which I'd assumed), and the "Di" of his last name is actually pronounced as a J sound. So his name is actually pronounced: "Ha-DEEM Jaw".
Nor what I expected...
Diaw was the Twins 3rd round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. Signing for under-slot money because he missed a great deal of his first two seasons in college, due to injuries. When he played, he hit well. That has carried over to his pro career. He's playing with high A Cedar Rapids, and has a near .900 OPS in 40 games. Coming into the 2025 season, Diaw was ranked as the 29th prospect in the Twins system. His development so far will certainly move him up in the next rankings.
He's my deep sleeper pick for a decent major league career.
2025 Bowman Chrome - J.J. Wetherholt
My lasting memory of Wetherholt is of him being interviewed on MLB Network, just before the 2024 Draft. All of his answers were recited in the most cliche "golly gee shucks" good ol' Christian country boy character. I find that act so nauseating, I was glad he would be drafted far before the Twins would pick. I don't want to see that kind of behavior rewarded by our local media. Nothing against him personally, he's a good prospect, already having success in AA. But that over the top act is so fake, it's hard to take serious. Doesn't matter if it's athlete or politician. Comes across as manipulative garbage.
St. Louis is a good place for him.
2025 Bowman Chrome - Konnor Griffin
Pittsburgh's first round pick in last year's draft, 9th overall. He's off to a great start, posting a .341/.398/.540 slash, through his first 54 games. 50 of those coming in low A, before a recent promotion to High A. Griffin is a Greensboro Grasshopper now!
2025 Bowman Chrome - Aiden Smith
Smith was a 2023 fourth round pick by the Seattle Mariners. Tampa took him as the key piece in the Randy Arozarena trade, last summer. The Rays 6th ranked prospect is having an average season in High A. With an OPS nearly 150 points lower than he put up in Low A ball last season. He's only 20, so there's time to figure things out.
2025 Bowman Chrome - Colt Emerson
Before drafting Aiden in the 4th round, the Mariners picked Colt Emerson in the first round (22nd overall), in 2023. He's Seattle's top ranked prospect, and has not been traded to Tampa. However, the results for Emerson haven't even been as good as what Aiden Smith has done. There must be something beyond the numbers that hypes the scouts over Colt. I'm seeing too many strikeouts and not a lot of power...
2025 Bowman Chrome - Lazaro Montes
Seattle has Emerson as their #1 prospect, with Montes at $2. Doesn't take a very deep dive to find his hitting skills are further along than Emerson. Difference being, Montes big league futures depend almost entirely on his power. He's likely to hit a big buncha home runs, but his defense isn't going to be a strength. It comes down to how his bat develops. Can he do more than hit a big buncha home runs? A player like Emerson has a more rounded skill set, and more opportunity to grow his game.
As with all prospects, check back in 5 years and see where they're at...
2025 Bowman Chrome - Chase Hampton
Sixth round pick in 2022, how did Hampton not have a Bowman card until 2025? He's a Yankee! A Yankees 18th round pick will get Bowman autographs if they hit above .200... I got a nice serial numbered, gold Prizmy Prizm parallel of Chase Hampton, from a pack of 2024 Panini Prizm, last year. It was peachy!
From his first season going on, Hampton looked like a serious pitching prospect, on the fast track to Yankee Stadium. For his minor league career, he's put up a 3.45 ERA over 125 innings, walking 46, but only giving 96 hits. The walks are high, but they come against 161 strikeouts. It should be noted his walk rate shot up in 2024, just before he came down with Tommy John Surgery. So his arm was messed up, and it will cost him the 2025 season as well.
2025 Bowman Chrome - Cobb Hightower
Sounds like a character in one of the old Smokey and the Bandit style movies... "Sheriff Cobb Hightower is the LAW of this here county!" And then his pants fall down...
San Diego Padre hopeful, Cobb Hightower, is a 5'11", 180 pound, middle infielder who hasn't hit much in Low A. He does take a lot of walks, and doesn't strike out very often. So far he's shown no power, but his game has potential. And if baseball doesn't pan out, perhaps a future in law enforcement in the deep rural south is his calling?
At exactly half of the Chrome parallels, I feel this is a good representation of 2025 Bowman Chrome.
Looking at what Bowman Chrome has evolved into, from it's initial release in 1997, illustrates just how much of a cash grab it has turned into. Back in 1997, it was one series. A partial parallel of the entire 1997 Bowman set, minus about 100 cards. There was no Draft Picks set, to update the base at the end of the year. There were no autographs to chase. You had Chrome versions of the base 1997 Bowman Set. You had Chrome versions of the insert set, packed in with 1997 Bowman. You had an International parallel set with a flag, behind the player.
You got base Refractors, Refractors of the insert sets and Refractors of the International parallels.
That was the big chase.
1997 Bowman Chrome Refractor - Adrian Beltre
I pulled this card from a pack, in late 1997. The only card you could have gotten from 1997 Bowman Chrome, better than this one, would be the International parallel Refractor of Adrian Beltre.
Knew it was special as soon as I saw it in the pack.
******
Beyond your prices, how did you lose me Fanatics?
Well, how about that every Bowman Chrome card now has an absolutely ridiculous number of parallels. To illustrate my point, here's a list of all the different Refractor parallels available in 2025 Bowman! (Along with the serial numbering, if noted on card.)
Mini Diamond Refractors – X-Fractors – Reptilian Refractors
Refractors /499 – Lava Refractors /399 – Wave Refractors /350 – Speckle Refractors /299
Purple Refractors /250 – Purple Geometric Refractors /250 – Purple RayWave Refractors /250
Fuchsia Refractors /199 – Fuchsia Wave Refractors /199 – Fuchsia Reptilian Refractors /199
Blue Refractors /150 – Blue Geometric Refractors /150 – Blue RayWave Refractors /150 – Blue Shimmer Refractors /150 – Blue Reptilian Refractors /150
Aqua X-Fractors /125 – Aqua Shimmer Refractors /125 – Steel Metal Refractors /100
Green Refractors /99 – Green Geometric Refractors /99 – Green Grass Refractors /99 – Green Shimmer Refractors /99 – Green Reptilian Refractors /99
Yellow Refractors /75 – Yellow Geometric Refractors /75 – Yellow Wave Refractors /75 – Yellow X-Fractors /75
Gold Refractors /50 – Gold Geometric Refractors /50 – Gold Shimmer Refractors /50 – Gold Reptilian Refractors – /50
Orange Refractors /25 – Orange Geometric Refractors /25 – Orange Shimmer Refractors /25 – Orange Reptilian Refractors /25
Pearl Refractors – Gumball Refractors – Peanuts Refractors – Popcorn Refractors – Sunflower Seeds Refractors
Rose Gold Refractors /15 – Rose Gold Mini Diamond Refractors /15
Black Refractors /10 – Black Geometric Refractors /10 – Black X-fractors /10
Red Refractors /5 – Red Geometric Refractors /5 – Red Lava Refractors /5 – Red Reptilian Refractors /5
Firefractors /3
Printing Plates 1/1 (Each has Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow versions)
Superfractors 1/1
Bear in mind that many of the players on the checklist will also have an additional set of ALL OF THESE parallels, that they autographed by hand.
Oh... And image variations...
This is just stupid.
And the reason the price keeps going up (as do the press runs).
Which brings me to this...
About a month after 2025 Bowman was released, Fanatics re-released 2025 Bowman, specially packaged with their own exclusive insert set(s). The 2025 Bowman Mega Box was unleashed on the collecting world, on May 28, 2025. I found my two Mega Boxes on June 7, 2025. Exactly one month after the first time 2025 Bowman came out.
The base packs are just that. All base cards. None of the insert cards in the first wave of 2025 Bowman will be found here. That's because the Mega Box has its own exclusive line of inserts, that are wrapped seperately. Two 5 card packs of ALL insert cards. So it works out.
You wouldn't (well, shouldn't) pay $50 for 10 insert cards, so it needs padding. Four packs of 10 Bowman base cards (surprised these weren't cut down to 8 cards), are another excuse used to print tens of thousands of more base cards. So they're all completely worthless.
Right-O Bowman! What else have you got for us?
Well how about a completely new slate of Mega Box parallels! Like...
Fuchsia Mega Refractors /299 – Burgundy Mega Refractors /275 – Purple Mega Refractors /250
Pink Mega Refractors /199 – Navy Mega Refractors /175 – Blue Mega Refractors /150 – Aqua Mega Refractors /125
Green Mega Refractors /99 – Yellow Mega Refractors /75 – Gold Mega Refractors /50 – Orange Mega Refractors /25
Black Mega Refractors /10 – Red Mega Refractors /5 – Rose Gold Mega Refractors 1/1
Do we really need all of this?
Just stop.
Unlike the base set, I did scan all 20 Mega Box Refractor cards. No matter what Topps calls them, either Mega Box or Silver Pack or ParquetfFlooringFractors, I've always been a fan of these parallels. All 20 of them will stay in my various team collections, as I go through the time consuming work of sorting all of them. Even the commons look nice.
Again, in no particular order...
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Charlie Condon
As I mentioned earlier, Khadim Diaw was the card I wanted most out of 2025 Bowman. Charlie Condon was the second place finisher in that mental list. Held out from 2024 Bowman Draft, that meant I would have a shot at pulling his 1st Bowman cards from packs. Going into the 2024 MLB Draft, the Colorado Rockies had the 3rd overall pick. Condon was many scouts guess as the player drafter first overall. That was Cleveland's pick, and they went Bazzanas instead. Cincinnati opted for pitching, leaving the top college hitter available for the Rockies at #3.
And they didn't even botch it!
Colorado has a decent selection of young talent either at the big leagues, or not far from it. Something they do need is a young superstar player to anchor the team. With Condon's power, combining with the thin atmosphere of Denver, he could be a legitimate 50 home run a year guy. (And here comes Dick Monfort to screw everything up...) His power hasn't yet translated in High A, but his numbers look good enough that I'm not to concerned about that.
Yet...
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Adael Amador - Rookie of the Year Favorite
The Rookie of the Year Favorite insert actually does date back to 1997 Bowman Chrome. This year, it's die-cut, which is a nice touch. Though, including Adael Amador as a Rookie of the Year contender is quite the stretch. And I like Adael Amador...
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Kumar Rocker - Rookie of the Year Favorite
Now, Kumar Rocker seems like a more likely Rookie of the Year candidate. Unfortunately, he's battled shoulder problems of late, and given up far too much hard contact when he has pitched. Back in the majors after a rehab stint, I'm hoping he's healthy and can figure things out. Rocker is immensely talented, and I wanted to see what he can do.
Doesn't really matter as far as the theme of the set goes, it's Jacob Wilson's award to lose. Sacremento's shortstop is the runaway winner as far as I'm concerned. But he did not make Bowman's cut in the Rookie of the Year Favorite set.
2025 Bowman Mega Box - James Wood
Wood was one the top rookies last year, and his numbers have increased across the board. With the exception of a slight reduction in stolen bases. That's more of a situational stat than reflective of player skills, these days. The only thing standing between Wood and superstardom would be any unseen health issues popping up. You have to admire what the Padres were thinking in July 2022, but that franchise will be forever haunted by the players they sent to the Nationals for Juan Soto.
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Jackson Chourio
Not as enamored with Chourio, plain or Honey Nut. Granted he's in only his second full season, at age 21, but the lack of walks is rather alarming. His overall batting numbers have gone up, but walks are far below last years standard, and the strikeouts are up slightly. You'd like to see those numbers going the opposite direction. Again, still plenty of time for him to figure it out, but he has more work to do than Wood.
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Jackson Holliday
I worked with a guy that called everyone Jackson. It was kind of weird. The rest of us would try to come up with one-liners including variations of the word Jackson, while conversing around him. He didn't get it.
Jackson (Wagon) Holliday has seen a nice improvement on his 2024 numbers, when he debut at 20 years old. At a much wiser age of 21, his batting average has gone up over 60 points, on base by over 50 points and slugging by a massive 110 points. He's also settling in at second base for Baltimore
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Aaron Judge
He's good.
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Mike Trout
I'll always have room in the Angels box for Mike Trout cards like this.
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Roanld Acuna Jr.
Speaking of injury sidetracked future Hall of Famers... Acuna is starting to wear the "fragile" sticker on his jersey. Which sucks, as much as I hate the Braves, Acuna deserves to have a decent run to show off his talent.
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Francisco Lindor
Oh look, Nike ruined another photo... That uniform is terrible, and I actually like the Mets uniforms...
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Hard to see if Toronto will reap the rewards of the massive contract Vladimir Jr. signed earlier this year. It's a lot of money, but to Rogers Cablesystems, is it really? There's a great deal of benefit to having the face of the franchise broadcast nationwide. And Guerrero seriously wanted to stay in Toronto, which has a lot of value as well. Can he continue to hit enough to live up to that $500 million deal? I hope so.
After how Montreal ended, I love that there's still a Vladimir Guerrero representing Canada!
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Bobby Witt Jr.
Damn, he's good. And I hate watching him play against the Twins.
With all the talk currently around Kauffman Stadium's future, combined with the Royals buying up a large chunk of developed real estate in suburban Kansas City, Kansas. Witt could find himself not only the face of the franchise, but a key marketing figure for a new Royals ballpark.
And he's going to continue absolutely killing the Twins.
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Nick Kurtz
Kurtz was the last Oakland Athletics draft pick, 4th overall, in the 2024 MLB Draft. Sacramento brought him up toward the end of April, declaring him ready to contribute. And he's hit 6 home runs in 115 at bats. Great! With 43 strikeouts, against only 11 walks. Not great! If you're only looking to hit home runs when you step up to the plate, the 6 you've hit hasn't helped the team nearly as much as the rest of your number are hurting the team.
Not saying Kurtz will never be a productive major league hitter, but he's not ready for anything other than batting practice, at this point. Go back to AAA and learn some plate discipline. Although he might get confused about going back to AAA, look at where the A's are playing, and think he's already there.
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Braden Montgomery
Chicago's #4 ranked prospect was part of the Garret Crochet return, from the Red Sox last winter. He was Boston's first round pick in 2024, 12th overall. He's put up a productive .282/.363/.480 slash over 60 games, between low and high A ball. The White Sox need all the help they can get, and Montgomery is a good start.
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Walker Janek
Janek was the first catcher drafted in 2024. The Astros took him for his strong defensive skills, and a bat with potential. He went direct to high A Asheville after signing and didn't hit. Houston kept him in Asheville to start 2025, and he's played much better.
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Slade Caldwell
Slade somewhat implies a big, strong, power hitting outfielder. In this case, Slade is a scrappy outfielder with great speed and draws a ton of walks. There's a lot of strikeouts mixed in, but he's 18. That could change. And if it does, and he develops more power (14 doubles in 182 at-bats is encouraging for that) he could become an everyday player in the majors.
Just like all of these prospects, if everything works out, they could all be superstars.
But most of them will never put it all together.
But it's fun to watch them try!
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Hyun Seung Jang
Signed as an International Free Agent, from Korea, in 2023. The numbers so far are a mixed bag. Far too many baserunners and walks, against 115 strikeouts in 72 innings. There's a lot there. Where does it go? Well, everything will go right and he develops into a mid-rotation starter. Who will eventually sign a contract for $150+ million, then spend more time on the injured list than on the mound. Just like every other Dodgers pitcher of the last 10 years.
Nothing personal, just how I see it going.
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Lucas Ramirez
An interesting choice for Bowman to include in the Mega Box checklist. Lucas is an unranked prospect, drafted in the 17th round of the 2024 MLB Draft. So far, Ramirez has played about 30 games for the Arizona Complex League Angels. Only 19, he's posting a decent .270/.337/.494 slash, with an acceptable strikeout to walk ratio, for his age. He's one to keep an eye on...
His father, Manny was a superstar outfielder who played for the Tampa Bay Rays, and 4 other teams, over 19 major league seasons. Hitting 555 career home runs, and failing multiple steroid tests. So even if his son doesn't have a long productive major league career, I have a really cool card for him.
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Walker Jenkins
Before I pulled this card out of the last Mega pack of the four, I'd forgotten that Walker Jenkins was in the set. Glad I pulled this card to remind me. Jenkins has been out with an ankle injury for most of the season. Just starting to come back now, he's only played 11 games between Rookie League, Low A and AA. Small Sample Theater line of .235/.381/.324 isn't overly impressive. Let's see how his next month goes before real judgement.
2025 Bowman Mega Box - Jhonkensy Noel - Aqua (1 in 97 packs)
Noel made a big splash with the Guardians last season, hitting a bunch of clutch home runs to lead Cleveland to the playoffs. Those home runs came with a ton of strikeouts. 2025 hasn't been nearly as festive. Power disappeared right along with the plate discipline. Big Christmas was moved from Cleveland, Ohio, to Columbus, Ohio. And Noel has been a much better Clipper, than Guardian.
Noel gives me strong Aristides Aquino vibes, and I have a feeling that in a few years, this card will just be a novely amongst the Cleveland Guardiandians Top Loaders.
And that pretty much sums up my thoughts on 2025 Bowman.
So how does 2025 Bowman feel about 2025 Bowman?
The Origin of Greatness?
Pretty high opinion of yourself...
In reality, you're still Topps, wearing a name that's cool with the kids...
You have another chance to impress me with a 2025 product.
The other morning as I was getting ready for work, the lace on my boot snapped. I was able to make it work for the day, but I should stop for some new shoelaces afterwards. That means WalMarts, and 4 Hanger Boxes of 2025 Topps Series 2. First encounter with it in the wild.
Full of duplicates across all four boxes. Including three cards that were in all four boxes. Wasn't asking for 4 Oswaldo Bido's... Duplicates are to be expected when you are buying 240 cards of a 350 base card set. So this simplest of math doesn't account for insert cards, but the point remains the same. Even more irritating was my entire hope going into this product was to get a good amount of Twins base cards. I got ONE. (Thank you for stepping up Jhoan Duran.) I did get two MLB Stars inserts of Royce Lewis, he of the hamstrings made of tissue paper. But one would have sufficed. I think those cards are pretty ugly.
I did get an orange foily diamondy parallel of Ezequiel Duran, serial numbered /25.
Right card, wrong Duran...
Later that night, I was writing this story and had just finished the piece on Khadim Diaw. Suddenly it hit me. I need to build my own 2025 Bowman Breaker Delight box. Meaning I need to dial up the ebays and choose 10 2025 Bowman Chrome cards. Three of which must be autographs.
Well, here's my pack hit. That was easy. The serial number of 1/99 was worth a slight premium to me.
As far as the rest of my 2025 Bowman Breaker Delight box, Khadim Diaw also represented by a Fuchsia Wave Refractor, a Purple Raywave Refractor, and a Reptillian Refractor. My other two pack guaranteed autographs were a Cory Lewis Blue X-Fractor and Payton Eeles Refractor. For some reason, my 2025 Bowman Breaker Delight box, had a Purple Mega Box Refractor of Kyle DeBarge. That's not supposed to happen. For a simple insert, there was a Walker Jenkins VIP insert! And Fanatics made a mistake and filled out the box with two Walker Jenkins 2024 Bowman Chrome inserts, a Rising Inferno and a 1999 25th Anniversary card.
The cost of my 2025 Bowman Breaker Delight box? Just under $85.
Nearly half of which was Khadim Diaw's autograph.
Rounding out my first ebays spree in nearly a year was 2025 Topps Chrome Black Blue Refractors of David Festa and Zebby Matthews, for current high end Twins rookies. And to give the Expos box some attention, 2025 Topps Silver Pack cards of Larry Walker and Vladimir Guerrero, and finally the 2023 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary Gary Carter card I've wanted and haven't picked up. This one in Topps Logofractor flavoring!
This was a far more satisfying use of my dwindling card related funds.
I've bought very little unopened product in 2025. Some Topps of both series, a little Heritage, and these two Bowman Mega Boxes. Opening all of that brings to mind all of the reasons I don't buy state lottery scratch tickets. There's so much more value in just buying the cards you want. The price for the thrill alone of ripping packs, is far too high to justify anymore.
All right... That's enough of that...
Supervisor Harley is demanding I get back to work on sorting 7,000 plus Oakland (and other cities) Athletics cards.
Those cards in the last photo are far more appealing than anything that came out of the 2025 Bowman packs. ... Also "Bowman Baseball is the only trading card brand that features prospects in their major league uniforms" is a weird badge of honor to wear considering all Topps did was let a computer paint on those uniforms.
ReplyDeleteMake a story of former Burger King in Anoka across from Walgreens in the northwest corner of N Ferry Street & W Main Street
ReplyDeleteI remember tgat Burger King and ate there many years ago. Unfortunately, the only pics I have of it are 3 very low res images I found online years back. Not enough to make a proper story...
DeleteWish I had more on it...