Top Prospects to Watch for 1st Bowman Autos (Fall 2026)
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Part of my Bowman 1st section.
This is my working list: the prospects whose 1st Bowman autos I check on eBay most weeks. It's a mix of 2024 and 2025 draft picks and international signings, and it's the same list I use when I scan auctions for cards going under their recent sales.
Read this first: prospects are risky. Most don't become stars, and some never reach the majors. Nothing here is investment advice, and I'm not listing prices because they change every week. Each player has links to live listings and sold prices so you can check the market yourself. Player details are from Wikipedia, MLB.com and Baseball America as of late October 2026.
How I pick who to watch
- Age for level. A teenager holding his own in full-season ball is a better sign than a college senior doing the same thing.
- Real production, not just draft slot: awards, promotions and Futures Game selections.
- Position. Up-the-middle bats (catcher, shortstop, center field) tend to get the most hobby attention, and hitters usually carry more card value than pitchers.
- A clear 1st Bowman Chrome auto I can identify by card number.
The list
| Player | Why I'm watching | 1st Bowman Chrome auto | eBay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainiel Rodriguez Cardinals, C/1B | Signed out of the Dominican Republic on April 1, 2024, for $300,000. Wikipedia lists him as the Cardinals' top prospect. In his 2024 DSL debut he posted a 1.145 OPS with 10 homers in 42 games. | 2025 Bowman Chrome, CPA-RR (Cardlines, MonsterPull) | Live · Sold |
| Alfredo Duno Reds, C | Venezuelan catcher, signed January 2023. He was named to the Futures Game in 2025 and again in 2026, and Wikipedia notes MLB Pipeline and Baseball America both had him as the Reds' No. 1 prospect in mid-2026. | Check the Bowman checklists for his first Chrome auto | Live · Sold |
| JoJo Parker Blue Jays, SS | Drafted 8th overall in 2025 out of Purvis High School in Mississippi and signed for $6.2 million. Wikipedia lists him as Toronto's No. 1 prospect in MLB's 2026 rankings. | 2025 Bowman Draft (Cardlines; Topps lists him in the Spotlight and In Action autograph inserts) | Live · Sold |
| Theo Gillen Rays, CF | 18th overall pick in 2024 out of Westlake High School in Austin. In 2026 he hit .342 with 12 homers in 57 games at High-A, was promoted to Double-A Montgomery in June and played in the Futures Game. | 2024 Bowman Draft, CPA-TG (COMC, Sports Card Investor) | Live · Sold |
| Caleb Bonemer White Sox, SS | 2nd-round pick in 2024 out of Okemos High School in Michigan, signed for $3 million. He won the 2025 Carolina League MVP after hitting .281 with 10 homers and 27 steals for Kannapolis. | Check the Bowman checklists for his first Chrome auto | Live · Sold |
| Juneiker Caceres Guardians, OF | Signed out of Venezuela on January 15, 2024, for $300,000. MLB Pipeline ranks him Cleveland's No. 3 prospect, and Baseball America had him No. 4 in 2026, calling him a bat-first lefty with a mature approach. | 2025 Bowman Chrome, CPA-JUC (Cardlines, MonsterPull) | Live · Sold |
| Eduardo Quintero Dodgers, OF | Venezuelan outfielder, signed January 2023. He was the 2025 California League MVP and the Dodgers' minor league player of the year, hit .309 in 111 games for Great Lakes in 2026 and homered in his Double-A debut. | Check the Bowman checklists for his first Chrome auto | Live · Sold |
| AJ Ewing Mets, OF | 4th-round pick in 2023 out of Springboro, Ohio. He stole 70 bases across three levels in 2025 and made his MLB debut on May 12, 2026. Because he's debuted, his RC era has started too, so his 1st Bowman is now his pre-rookie card. | Check the Bowman checklists for his first Chrome auto | Live · Sold |
| Josiah Hartshorn Cubs, OF | 6th-round pick in 2025 out of Orange Lutheran High School in California. He competed in the 2024 All-Star High School Home Run Derby and debuted in 2026 with Myrtle Beach. | 2025 Bowman Draft, CPA-JHA (Beckett) | Live · Sold |
| Brady Ebel Brewers, SS | 32nd overall pick in 2025 out of Corona High School in California, where his teammates included first-rounders Seth Hernandez and Billy Carlson. He's the son of Dino Ebel and the brother of Trey Ebel. | 2025 Bowman Draft, CPA-BE (Beckett) | Live · Sold |
| Justin Gonzales Red Sox, OF | Signed out of the Dominican Republic in January 2024. He hit 17 homers in 89 games for High-A Greenville in 2026 before a promotion to Double-A Portland in August. | Check the Bowman checklists for his first Chrome auto | Live · Sold |
| Max Williams Marlins, OF | 3rd-round pick in 2025 out of Florida State. He climbed three levels in 2026, from Jupiter to Beloit to Double-A Pensacola. | Check the Bowman checklists for his first Chrome auto | Live · Sold |
| William Bergolla Phillies, SS | Signed out of Venezuela in January 2022 for a $2.05 million bonus, per MLB.com. Check his current team before you buy. | Check the Bowman checklists for his first Chrome auto | Live · Sold |
Where it says "check the checklists," I couldn't confirm the player's first Chrome auto from a source I trust, so I'm not going to guess the card number. Search the player in the Topps checklists for each Bowman product, or on a checklist site, before you buy.
A few notes on the names
- Rodriguez and Duno are both young catchers with power, which is rare. Catchers can take longer to reach the majors because of the defensive workload, so be patient.
- Parker, Ebel and Hartshorn are 2025 draft picks, so their 1st Bowman autos are newer and haven't had much time to build a sales history. Prices for new draft-pick autos can swing a lot in the first year.
- Ewing has already debuted for the Mets, so his 1st Bowman is now competing with his rookie cards for collectors' money. That's a different market from the true prospects on this list.
- Gillen and Bonemer are 2024 high school picks who moved up in 2026. Promotions are often when their cards get attention.
How I'd use this list
- Pick one or two players you actually like to follow. It's more fun, and you'll notice news before the market does.
- Pull up their sold listings and get a feel for the base CPA's normal range.
- Watch auctions ending at odd hours or with weak titles and photos. That's where I've found my best buys.
- Use my eBay buying guide to set a max and bid late.
Shop: 1st Bowman autos on eBay · Bowman Draft boxes · 35pt toploaders · penny sleeves
New to prospecting? Start with What Is a 1st Bowman Card? and Chrome vs. Draft vs. paper.
Sources: Wikipedia: Rainiel Rodríguez, Wikipedia: Alfredo Duno, Wikipedia: JoJo Parker, Wikipedia: Theo Gillen, Wikipedia: Caleb Bonemer, Wikipedia: A. J. Ewing, Wikipedia: Cubs minor league players (Hartshorn), Wikipedia: Dodgers minor league players (Quintero), Wikipedia: Brewers minor league players (Ebel), Wikipedia: Red Sox minor league players (Gonzales), Wikipedia: Marlins minor league players (Williams), MLB Pipeline: Juneiker Caceres, Baseball America: Juneiker Caceres, MLB.com: Phillies 2022 international signings, Beckett: 2025 Bowman Draft checklist, Topps Ripped: 2025 Bowman Draft checklist, Cardlines: every 1st Bowman in 2025 Bowman Chrome, MonsterPull: 2025 Bowman Chrome CPA-JUC, COMC: 2024 Bowman Draft CPA-TG.
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