2 The Bigs

By Sal Corso & Chris Corso: Dec 15, 2023

Bowman Draft has been, and always will be my favorite baseball release of the year. I went on a (literal) tear of 2019 Bowman Draft boxes throughout the pandemic. I picked the right set considering the prospects included (Adley, Gunnar, Carroll, Abrams, Greene, Jung, and more).

However, this year is different. Let’s start with this: Bowman Draft 2023 is OVERPRICED. $450 for a jumbo box (3 autographs) and $750 for a super jumbo (5 autographs). The actual MLB Draft wasn’t too deep this year. The biggest names were the first two picks: Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews. Skenes doesn’t hold much value and not to his own fault. The card market just doesn’t value pitchers enough.

If you go to look up Dylan Crews on the Bowman checklist… you won’t find him. Crews is one of those holdouts that Topps will use in a future release (likely 2024 Bowman Baseball in a few months). You may wonder why I didn’t mention Bobby Witt Jr. or Anthony Volpe in the list above for the 2019 Draft set. Topps did the same with them, and added them to bring some much-needed depth to the Jasson Dominguez led 2020 Bowman Baseball set.

So, what did Bowman (a.k.a. Topps a.k.a. Fanatics) do to make up for the lack of depth in this years’ set? They pivoted to a quick money-grab strategy and added a Tom Brady Expos “prospect card” and autograph. I’m not going to go into any more detail, mainly because you’ve probably already seen it. But that card alone does not justify the cost of the box, and it’s hurting the consumer.

However, if you have the money to spend on a box of Bowman Draft (I recommend you spend it elsewhere, specifically on the Topps Chrome Update Sapphire set for nearly half the price), or you hunt for singles from the set, we’re going to give you four prospects who are low-price, high-potential names from 2023 Bowman Draft.

The rules are simple, the player must:

1. Be taken outside the 1st-round
2. Have a 1st Bowman Base Autograph < $50

Cole Carrigg, Colorado Rockies: Competitive Balance Round B (65th Overall)

Carrigg is a tall 6-foot-3 athletic catcher that was drafted out of San Diego State. He’s also a switch-hitter who has experience playing in centerfield (Daulton Varsho-like?). He’s a very talented defensive backstop and has a cannon of an arm, which will likely keep him there throughout his professional career.

Carrigg instantly made a splash in the Rockies organization. He hit .396/.464/1.152 and added 13 RBI in a quick 13-game stint in Rookie Ball. In his first week at Fresno (Single-A), he went 12/23 with a homer, three triples and three RBI in five games. What’s most impressive, he finished top-70 in OPS across all minor-leaguers, adding 5 homers, 13 stolen bases and 29 RBIs across 36 games. Cole is a 21-year-old who spent three years at San Diego State. Expect him to move quickly through the organization, given he can impress at the Double-A level. The best part? His 1^st-Bowman autograph is currently going for $37. You can grab a Gold-Shimmer Refractor (/50) for 1/3^rd of the price of a Jumbo Box (last sale $148).

Luke Keaschall, Minnesota Twins: Round 2 (49th Overall)

Another west coast college attendee; Luke Keaschall was drafted in the 2^nd Round out of Arizona State. He had a massive year after transferring from the University of San Francisco, posting an 18/18 HR/SB season with a 1.168 OPS.  We’ll ignore his three games in Rookie Ball, where he only had a measly seven at-bats. In his remaining 28 games in his debut season, he hit .295/.414/.902 across two levels (A/A+). Keaschall does two things very well. He makes contact, and he gets on base. Luke had a <20% strike-out rate, but a way more impressive 14.2% walk rate.

He has some power-potential, but needs to bulk-up. Keaschall will most likely land at second base, which leads me to comp him in the likes of Whit Merrifield or Jonathan India. With a 1^st bowman autograph currently going for $25, he’s a low-risk add for a player in an organization that most-definitely has holes to fill at the major-league level.

Andrew Pinckney, Washington Nationals: Round 4 (102nd Overall)

Card collectors care about some positions over others. When looking for steals in draft sets, it’s good to start with those, especially the centerfield position. Andrew Pinckney was one of the top outfielders in the country at the University of Alabama and a mainstay in the Tide lineup. He started all 64 games as a red-shirt junior.

Pinckney has speed, can hit for average, plays a great center field, and has a face for the MLB. He also has some budding power at the position. Pinckney was selected in the fourth round by the Washington Nationals, who have a history of finding outfielders in the MLB Draft and through international signings. Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, the list goes on and on. Pickney hit for a .339 (79-233) average during his red-shirt junior season last year which included a team-high 12 doubles to go with three triples and 18 homers for 151 total bases. He had 58 RBI, 55 runs, 40 walks, seven hit-by-pitch, and eight stolen bases. He led the team in total bases and had a slugging percentage of .648. Andrew transitioned those tools from college to pro ball extremely well. In his first pro-season he slashed .321/.415/.889 across three levels (A/A+/AA). The only issue, he struggled at Double-A. Let’s see how he performs in a fresh season at Double-A to start 2023. One thing to note, Pinckney is already 23-years-old, so we’d like to see a jump to the majors within the next 1-1.5 years tops. But his first bowman autograph falls in the $20 range as well, so easy to take a chance on the kid.

Ethan O’Donnell, Cincinnati Reds Round: 6 (168th Overall)

O’Donnell may be the latest round draft pick on this list, but he’s been the best pro-hitter to date. The 21-year-old outfielder was drafted out of UVA (where he absolutely raked as well). Ethan hit .354 with 13 home runs and 57 RBI across 65 games, leading to a +1.000 OPS. What’s more impressive is that he slashed at an even better OPS in his first true test at Single-A (1.047). He also added 4 home runs and 19 RBI over that 23-game stretch, which was topped off with Florida State Player of the Month honors for the month of September. From Sept. 3-7, Ethan hit a homer in four-straight games and added a four-hit night in between.

O’Donnell has a smooth, left-handed swing that led to a 41% hard-hit % (finishing top-50 across all minor leaguers in 2023). I LOVE his value here, as his 1^st-Bowman autograph is going for only $15. He’s another player who’s gold shimmer refractor went for $150, compared to the $450 price of the box.