Top MLB Prospect Baseball Cards To Collect, Future Releases & Budget Options For 2025
Image credit: Roki Sasaki (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Pitchers and catchers have reported, and spring training is in full swing. There’s no better time than the present to stock up on the best cards of your favorite prospects, so we’ve decided to help you out by highlighting the best cards to collect for 10 highest-rated prospects on the Baseball America Top 100 Prospects list.
Now, you may say, “Let me just track down all of their Bowman Firsts.” But what if they don’t all have Bowman Firsts? (Spoiler alert: Some of them don’t!)
This article is going to go beyond the staples and give you an idea as to what a “holy grail” may look like for each player, some cards to anticipate (maybe later this year) and, for the budget collector, make some suggestions on where you might be able to find a cool card without breaking the bank.
1. Roki Sasaki, RHP, Dodgers
Sasaki is going to get the “baptism by fire” treatment in Topps flagship products in 2025. Expect a very similar hobby path to Yoshinobu Yamamoto a year ago. Sasaki is a big name and will toe the rubber immediately for the defending World Series champions. His debut may be the most anticipated debut from a Japanese player since his teammate Shohei Ohtani.
The Card To Have: 2024 Topps NPB Chrome
What A “Holy Grail” Find Might Look Like: Right now, it’s something low-numbered from a Topps product. Sasaki signed a handful of cards for 2024 Topps NPB Chrome.
Cards To Anticipate: Sasaki will be the talk of Topps Series 2 and Topps Chrome, and he may be the headliner of the Rookie Debut Patches in Chrome Update this fall.
Collecting On A Budget: Sasaki has already had two Topps Now cards—one when he first signed, one after his introductory press conference—that can be found on eBay for just a few bucks each, and he’s likely to have at least a few more Topps Now releases once the season starts (especially after the Japan Series next month). If you’re looking for a Sasaki card from a wider release, in 2023, Topps put out a World Baseball Classic product in limited quantities. You can get some good-looking cards of Sasaki pitching for the WBC champs in the $10-$50 range.
2. Roman Anthony, OF, Red Sox
With a different organization, Anthony may break camp with the big league club. If he scorches the ball in spring training, he may do that anyway with Boston. He’s 20 years old, and he torched Triple-A pitching over 35 games to finish his 2024 season. This is going to be a fun player for a long time, and when he does finally arrive, he’ll be injected into a revived Fenway Park in the midst of what is shaping to be the most competitive baseball the Red Sox have played in years. Buckle up for a hobby explosion.
The Card To Have: 2023 Bowman Chrome First Autograph
What A “Holy Grail” Find Might Look Like: A low-numbered variation of the card above is currently the grail for Anthony. If you can find a red parallel numbered to 5, you can check the low-numbered and color match boxes.
Cards To Anticipate: I would think we’ll see Anthony in a Topps flagship this year, but he may be the headliner for Update Series and Chrome Update like Paul Skenes was last year.
Collecting On A Budget: You can find a 2024 Bowman’s Best “Best Of” auto for around $40-$50. It’s a clean looking card and the autograph is on-card.
3. Jackson Jobe, RHP, Tigers
The Tigers were the big surprise of the second half, and they aren’t going away anytime soon. Jobe is armed with big stuff, and he’ll make a devastating righthanded complement to Tarik Skubal for many years to come in Detroit. There are exciting times to be a Tigers fan.
The Card To Have: 2021 Bowman Draft Chrome First Autograph
What A “Holy Grail” Find Might Look Like: Obviously, low-numbered, color-variations of the Bowman Draft card will be grail-level finds for certain Tigers collectors. Jobe was also a featured player in 2023 Panini Immaculate, and that product is loaded with fun “player-worn” patches that could qualify as a “budget grail.”
Cards To Anticipate: Despite his late-season debut, Jobe was not included in 2025 Topps Series 1, so, Topps Series 2 it is!
Collecting On A Budget: Jobe has sticker autos in 2024 Bowman that you can into for $20-$30. Even though it’s unlicensed, 2021 Prizm Draft also had plenty of Jobe. If you’re looking for low-numbered color, that’s a solid option.
4. Kristian Campbell, 2B, Red Sox
Campbell wasn’t always a highly-touted prospect. In fact, his meteoric rise in 2024 is one of the more impressive full-season debuts we’ve seen. A light-hitting fourth-rounder out of Georgia Tech, Campbell hit just four home runs in his draft spring before exploding for 20 across High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A in 2024. When Campbell got promoted to Double-A in early June last year, his 2023 Bowman First autos were selling for a small fraction of the recent $150 to $175 range for an ungraded base variation.
The Card To Have: 2023 Bowman Draft Chrome First Autograph
What A “Holy Grail” Find Might Look Like: You’re looking for some 1/1 variation of a Bowman First. There are a handful of options, like this padparadscha out of Bowman Draft Sapphire.
Cards To Anticipate: If Campbell makes the Opening Day roster, expect 2025 Topps Series 2 to feature his rookie card. And, of course, Topps Chrome.
Collecting On A Budget: 2024 Topps Pro Debut. He doesn’t have autos in this set, but you can find some low-numbered color at a better price point than 2023 Bowman Draft. Plus, Campbell had such a good year in the minors that the minor league uniform adds a nice touch to this particular card, in my opinion.
5. Walker Jenkins, OF, Twins
Jenkins is the heir-apparent to the throne for No. 1 prospect for when the top four here graduate. A lot can change, but he is the young guy who is the furthest from an MLB debut. Jenkins is tooled-up and showing an advanced hit tool early in his pro career. The Twins have a high-ceiling prospect on their hands.
The Card To Have: 2024 Bowman Chrome First Autograph
What A “Holy Grail” Find Might Look Like: A low-numbered, color-variation of the 2024 Bowman Chrome First Autograph.
Cards To Anticipate: None in the near future.
Collecting On A Budget: 2024 Topps Pro Debut is probably the only place you’re going to get into Jenkins auto for under $100 right now. Lucky for you, it’s a good-looking card.
6. Dylan Crews, OF, Nationals
Crews’ quick ascent to the big leagues was overshadowed by that of Skenes and Wyatt Langford. But don’t be fooled—this is a top-five pick who torched college baseball for three years and then got to Washington after just 135 minor league games. Crews and James Wood have a chance to carry the torch for a young and exciting core in D.C. for years to come.
The Card To Have: 2024 Bowman Chrome First Autograph
What A “Holy Grail” Find Might Look Like: After securing a National Championship at LSU, Crews and his college teammate, Skenes, went first and second overall in the 2023 MLB Draft. Both rapidly ascended to the major leagues. As you can imagine, there are plenty of dual autographs floating around that scratch the itch for LSU fans and prospectors alike.
Cards To Anticipate: Crews is an early candidate for top Rookie Debut Patch to chase in Topps Chrome Update this fall.
Collecting On A Budget: Crews has been a headliner for a lot of Panini product, and he’s got some good looking cards in their Boys of Summer release. Also, unlike a lot of Panini product, any time you see Crews pictured in a USA Baseball uniform, the swatches in the card are actually game-worn.
7. Bubba Chandler, RHP, Pirates
Have the Pirates become a pitching factory? Chandler is looking to follow the early success of Paul Skenes and Jared Jones to become yet another dominant options for the Buccos. After being selected in the third round of the 2021 draft and passing on his commitment to play quarterback at Clemson, the two-way prospect quickly dialed in on his future on the bump when all involved in his development realized the potential of his fastball with exceptional shape.
The Card To Have: 2021 Bowman Draft Chrome First Autograph
What A “Holy Grail” Find Might Look Like: A low-numbered, color-variation of his 2021 Bowman Draft First.
Cards to Anticipate: Depending on how quickly the Pirates move, Chandler could be in a flagship product as soon as Topps Series 2 this year. More realistically, expect to see him in the fall for Update Series and Chrome Update.
Balling on a Budget: 2022 Topps Pro Debut features sticker autos with Chandler swinging the bat—if you’re into that sort of thing—for around $20. You can also get into an on-card, 2022 Bowman Inception auto for around $50.
8. Chase Dollander, RHP, Rockies
Jacob deGrom comps followed Dollander around ahead of his 2023 spring season at Tennessee. Lacking the same dominance he showed in 2022, Dollander fell to the Rockies with the ninth pick in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft. In 2024, something clicked in his pro debut, and he is very back and very dominant.
The Card To Have: Bowman has now had four chances at a first for Dollander and still nothing; heading into year three of his time as a pro, Dollander still doesn’t have a licensed autographed card. If you’re serious about Chase Dollander, the 2023 Panini Prizm Prospect Signatures card is probably the one to go for at this moment in time.
What A “Holy Grail” Find Might Look Like: Dollander has some fun 1/1 inscription cards with unlicensed brand Onyx that you don’t see for many other prospects. As silly as it sounds, as of today, this may be considered a grail for Dollander.
Cards To Anticipate: Will Dollander appear on the 2025 Bowman checklist? Expect an early 2025 debut and anticipate some Topps flagship love. Unless there’s something we don’t know, expect a rush of licensed Dollander cards in 2025.
Collecting On A Budget: The fact that he’s a pitching prospect for the Rockies and everything he currently has on the market is unlicensed means that you can get Dollander cards in the dollar bin at your local hobby shop. Seriously, if you’re a fan, stock-up on sub-$10 Dollander Panini autos.
9. Andrew Painter, RHP, Phillies
With the 2025 season knocking, the return of Painter is imminent. In 2022, he soared up the Baseball America Top 100 Prospects list after a rapid ascension to Double-A that saw him pitch like a front-end starter at the age of 19. After a successful Tommy John surgery in 2023, Painter returned to the mound in the Arizona Fall League last year and showed that he didn’t miss a beat. If the Phillies are going to get past the Dodgers this year, Painter is going to be a big part of that.
The Card To Have: 2021 Bowman Draft Chrome First. He did not have an autograph in the set.
What A “Holy Grail” Find Might Look Like: If you’re a Phillies fan, try and hunt down the 2021 Bowman Draft Chrome First red parallel numbered to 5. The red-on-red color match is elite.
Cards To Anticipate: Topps flagship in the back half of 2025.
Collecting On A Budget: You can find a 2022 Bowman Platinum Auto for around $50. Painter is a pitching prospect who has already gone under the knife, so for a motivated collector, you can probably build a pretty solid collection without breaking the bank.
10. Noah Schultz, LHP, White Sox
The White Sox have had quite a bit of success with lefthanded pitching prospects in recent memory, notably with Chris Sale and Garrett Crochet. Schultz is fixing to be next in line. He still has some proving to do as his average start in 2024 was less than four innings, but when he hopped on the mound, he was dominant. Expect Schultz to be one of the faces in the next wave of competitive baseball coming to the Southside in the next few years.
The Card To Have: 2022 Bowman Draft Chrome First Autograph
What A “Holy Grail” Find Might Look Like: The team and the fact that he’s a pitching prospect should make a Schultz grail one of the more accessible cards in the Top 10. Low-numbered Bowman is hard to find, but that’s what you’re looking for here.
Cards To Anticipate: Considering his age and relatively-small exposure to Double-A, I don’t expect a debut in 2025 for Schultz, but never say never. If you are looking ahead, you can reasonably anticipate his inclusion in 2026 Topps flagship products.
Collecting On A Budget: You can get into an ungraded, base-variation of Schultz’s 2022 Bowman Draft First auto for around $40-$50 right now.
