The day that all the prospectors have been waiting for is finally here! 2013 Bowman is live, and there are a lot of reasons that people should be excited based on the first auctions we are starting to see. I have said for the first time in a few years, this class of rookies on the checklist isnt as much of a tentpole, with one guy holding up the entire product. It was very much like that with Bryce Harper, and to an extent Stephen Strasburg, but this year it looks to be a bit different.

Here are the big hits posted so far (HUGE prices indeed):

2013 Bowman Chrome Byron Buxton Base Auto – This is plain crazy.

2013 Bowman Chrome Carlos Correa Base Auto – See previous description.

2013 Bowman Carlos Correa / Byron Buxton Dual Auto

2013 Bowman Jurrickson Profar Base Auto

2013 Bowman Chrome Taijuan Walker Auto Refractor RC

2013 Bowman Manny Machado Orange Refractor Auto

I also think that this year is a very good year for the design of the product, even though the autographs dont look as cool as they did on the sell sheet because of the crazy white ghosting. I think that Bowman has been one of the better baseball designs of the calendar over the last few years, and this looks to be true again. Additionally, there is a lot of content that Topps has added to the product, including some very interesting autographs and other inserts.

To think that there will also be blue wave cards that will be available with the wrapper redemption, it kind of takes the sting out of a steadily rising box price. With Correa and Buxton leading the rookie class in their autographs, and other rookies also commanding some big bucks, I definitely think that there is good reason for a guy like me to take a look at buying a box or two. When that happens to a football collector, its obvious that the price is high for a reason.

There was one addition I think is really cool, and that is the addition of the social media auto refractors /10. These cards are a new subset in which the players sign their twitter handles, from what it looks like. I am always in favor of new inscription cards, and these look to be the first planned inscription subset of the bowman set.

Bowman is one of the biggest sets of the year each and every year, and is waited upon by a ton of different types of collectors. Team collectors, player collectors, prospectors, and even the casual people who just like opening packs. That should showcase the reason why Chrome is king, and will continue to be the benchmark as long as it is produced the way it is.