We’ve finally arrived. It’s 2026 Bowman season. This article has been a grind and I’ve done my best to give you what are in my opinion the top 25 or so hitters with autographs to chase in the new product plus a long list of sleepers that will help you decide which under the radar guys to buy based on the type of player you generally go for. What’s funny is that this was going to be one article but the website cut me off for a character limit so we’re going to run this as two separate parts. Originally I was going to just shorten up the scouting reports but figured it would be more helpful to you all if I include everything! The hitters have been broken down into five tiers, in this article you will get the first three and in the next article you’ll get the remaining two plus some sleepers based on a number of categories including big money signings, players who have had productive minor league careers per Scout the Statline, prospects with great hobby tools, and others with lower ceilings but higher floors. Trying to bring a sleeper of every kind to all of you who may have different collecting preferences.

For those who haven’t been with us before my rankings are aimed at finding you value when it comes to hopping in breaks or buying singles. These aren’t your standard prospect rankings, they are which players I think should have the most expensive autographs. Each player in the top three tiers will be assigned an ‘expected base autograph value’ that shows where I’d expect that card to be priced one month from release. Of course you never know how the market is going to react on some of these guys and there are often surprises in every release that we don’t see coming but I try to stay true to my rankings and player evaluations when I break down products. Some guys might get slept on early because they’re off to a poor start in 2026 but if I believe in the player, I believe in the tools, and I believe in the ceiling of that card I’m going to rank them based on that.

Here we go.

I’m not sure how it could be anybody else and to be honest with you it’s not even particularly close to me. The gap between how much I’d want Florentino’s cards and the next hitter on this list is bigger than the gap between the second best and fifth best. When these singles hit the market I won’t be overly shocked if Ethan Holliday is the most expensive autograph, and I do really like his tools for the hobby, but the two aren’t even close at this stage in their development. Last year between the CPX and Single-A, Florentino hit .290 with 16 HR and 35 SB at age 18. What?! Seeing a .259 ISO and159 wRC+ on a player his age is one thing but how about it coming with a 81.5% contact rate? Crazy. I was pretty aggressive with my movement of Florentino first putting him inside my top 10 in September of last year. These are hobby rankings after all and his combination of skills is one that should easily support a $200+ base autograph in my opinion.

He’s a 6’4” lefty who has plus power AND above average speed, obviously the scout grades are accounting for him slowing down as he matures which is fair but for now he can move very well. Homers sell in Bowman and few teenage prospects will hit more than Florentino. Usually at this age you’re missing one of the pieces, could be the exit velocity, could be the pitch selection, could be the bat path and ability to hit balls in the air. Florentino is borderline elite at all of those for his age. Last year he had a 94th percentile EV, 96th percentile walk rate, 92nd percentile chase rate, 99th percentile pull air %. Crazy for a player who was 18 in Single-A. The Pirates obviously see it too and promoted him last week to High-A where he’ll be tied for the fourth youngest Bowman hitter at the entire level (him and Nathan Flewelling have the same birthday). There were 30 prospects last year who got 300+ PA at age 18 or younger. Florentino had the second highest ISO (.259) AND the second lowest SwStr% (7.5%). To give you an idea of how strongly I feel about him, he’s ranked six spots higher in my Hobby Rankings than Jesus Made was when 2025 Bowman came out last year. This is going to sound a bit insane but based on my target prices I’ve come up with that coincide with my hobby rankings, I personally would be willing to spend twice as much money on Edward Florentino’s autograph than any other player on this checklist. This kid looks unreal.