Its pretty simple. 13 games so far, .479 average, 10 RBI and 8 multi hit games. Yasiel Puig is lighting it up in a very similar way to what Mike Trout was able to do last year, and its crazy to believe he only has two licensed cards that are live in packs. I have written about him a few times during the last couple of weeks of his meteoric rise to the top, and its not hard to see why 2013 Bowman is finally starting to peak.

These are unheard of prices:

2013 Bowman Yasiel Puig Red Wave Refractor Mini /5 – When was the last time a card like this sold for this much? Strasburg?

2012 Leaf Ultimate Draft Yasiel Puig Red Auto /5

2013 Bowman Yasiel Puig Lucky Redemption #4 Auto Blue Sapphire

Even his memorabilia is getting up there:

Yasiel Puig Game Used Los Angeles Dodgers Bat

Usually, Bowman’s value is tied to the guys that have base or base autos in the product. That means that they have a significant amount of bulk in the checklist, with many having two card programs of color in a product. A base card would have all the parallels up to the red 1/1, and then the Chrome would have all the parallels up to the Superfractor 1/1, plus four plates. Puig, on the other hand, only has the top prospects card, which has two parallels, and the cream of the crop mini which has only 2 parallels and a Super. There is also the Lucky Redemption, but those are capping out at astronomical prices as his first licensed auto.

The rarity of Puig’s cards hasnt stopped collectors from ripping through Bowman boxes to find his cards, and the price has jumped significantly since his call up. Its hard to find a legit unsearched jumbo box for under 175, and that is all considering that the odds of pulling his card are minimal at best. Let’s face it, his hobby super-stardom has been greatly affected by Leaf’s exclusive, but you can bet that when Bowman Inception comes out, things are going to get insane.

Lets say he finishes with a Trout like, MVP caliber season. Do these cards become even more valuable than they are now? I doubt it. This is the top of the mountain for Puig, even if he is selected to the all star game, maybe because the Rookie of the Year trophy doesnt mean as much these days. People call these buyers of Puig’s stuff to be prospectors, but there is no way any prospector would come close to touching these cards.

Topps has already been scrambling to get his cards into every product they can, now its just going to be a matter of supply vs demand, especially after the market gets flooded. Lets hope that he continues this pace, because a rising tide floats all boats.