Before I get into the meat of the update, in case you missed it we have an exciting new feature on the PLive+ app suite (60 Tier, $10/month subscription) that uses Hobby+ and drives it together with Bowman autograph sales! It also ties in our Prospect Live scouting grades and Scout the Statline peak projections. It’s fully sortable however you want it – Hobby+, card release, Buy/Sell Index, etc – it really is an amazing tool. The price tracking and Buy/Sell Index information specifically is the brainchild of @dahldoescards and is squarely not my personal wheelhouse of obsession (so ask him those pricing questions!), but it’s clearly extremely useful.
This piece will continue to serve as a companion for when I update the Hobby+ scores, with this update including stats as of 6/23. If you have any questions on what Hobby+ is, or who is and isn't included, reference my Primer. Now let’s get into it!
I know we all love those young Complex players. They are creeping in, but I’d like to quickly note a few things. Most of the players who are at the Complex are there because they're really young, are developmental projects, or both – so on a basic level, we shouldn't expect the world. The best of the performers at the Complex don’t have a 1st Bowman yet, because these breakouts aren’t so easy to predict. Even when you see a player like Tyson Lewis (2024 Draft) who does have a 1st Bowman, flashing great potential and don’t see him in the Hobby+ board, there’s a reason (with him, it’s the extremely low BB%). Accruing counting stats also matters to a lesser extent, and many of these Complex players have less than 10 XBH.
Age-Dependent Power
Here’s where we get a lot of Complex League players (18 total on the board), as you might expect. I’d first like to address the George Feliz (2021 BC) situation. He appears down in this list, but I cannot tell you to disregard him more firmly. Dude is 2.5 years too old for the league. On to some other complex-leaguers.
Among this subset of players, Jhonny Level is clearly the cream of the Complex League crop thus far. 2025 Bowman just keeps looking stronger and stronger. He’s already ripped 15 XBH (7 HR) while maintaining a solid BB% and a K% well under 20%. In short, he’s doing the same things that put him squarely on the radar last year in the DSL. Still impressive to continue it, regardless. It’s still hard to project Level as a future hobby stud because the underlying data isn’t great and his is not the most projectable of frames. But he’s quickly accelerating into a top 150-ish prospect – his card prices already reflect that.
Enrique Jimenez (2024 Bowman) is repeating the Complex, but he’s a catcher so I think that’s fine. Last year he had success throwing out runners – this year only 21 runners have attempted to run on him through 15 games (in the Complex, that’s very low). So he’s coming along nicely on the defensive side, but he’s not yet a lock to stick behind the dish either. That might be OK if his bat continues to impress as it has. He’s showing a newfound ability to elevate the ball more, which has led to better batted ball results and a major jump in his ISO. There’s some swing and miss, but it has not been a concern at all yet. For under $10 for a base auto, you could do far worse.
Regarding a few 2024 Bowman Chrome guys, Yandel Ricardo and Emil Morales are doing what’s expected of them, their cards are priced appropriately, but they deserve mention – so this is it. Not mentioning Joswa Lugo and Paulino Santana in the same breath is speaking to their disappointment from a power perspective, but such is the life of young players with limited samples.
Let’s move away from the Complex for a few players. Roc Riggio (2023 Draft) makes his debut on the board, and man is he making up for lost time. He’s smashed 13 HR in just 145 AB’s – if he was doing that in the majors, that’s Aaron Judge territory. He did show nearly exactly this amount of power at Oklahoma State back in 2023, but to continue it at a higher level (some of this year has been AA) is quite impressive. Let’s bring it back to earth a little though – this is 5’9” 2B prospect who’s a solid defender but doesn’t have much speed, and is squarely average in both K% and contact %. He’s just really good at elevating. I think the best of pitchers can absolutely expose him on that, but there’s some real projectability to the majors now regardless! Being in the Yankees system, there is no "sleeper-ness" to him of course, and this torrid start has moved his base auto prices out of the teens.
Brock Wilken (2024 Bowman) has had a power barrage over the past few weeks, helping his Shuckers team to a 1st Half Championship. Unfortunately in the celebration, he suffered an injury to his knee and now figures to be out for a prolonged period of time. Big bummer for a player who’s leading all of AA with 18 HR on the season.
Hitting Skill
Complex-wise, it’s Robert Arias (2024 BC) and nobody else. But man does he have all the markings of a great player for the hobby. He has a 6’1” slender frame that has room to grow into, clearly plus speed, and makes a fantastic amount of contact. With a little more strength this year, he’s turned the corner to having better batted ball results. Is it possible that he grows into true power while maintaining this hit tool projection? It doesn’t matter what the reality of that answer is. In the hobby we’re all about what could be – and there’s more than a small chance that Arias could be a stud. The hobby hasn’t really reacted to that yet, as his autos are firmly under $20.
This is the category where Chase DeLauter (2022 Draft) shows most highly in his debut on the board. If you only consider what he does on the field, there’s so little doubt that he’ll be a successful big-league regular. He seems to be bored at AAA now that he’s in a healthy stretch. I think if he continues, he should be up with the Guardians in short order. Hobby-wise, there should be only a small call-up spike in a team context, and his power isn’t so loud that the collecting community at large will have newfound interest in his already not-so-affordable cards.
Sorry, another Brewer. Jadher Areinamo has the unfortunate circumstance of having his 1st Bowman in 2023 BC and then his first autographs in 2024 Bowman – the multiple years thing always skews the scope of his hobby interest. But he looks like a guy who could be a really solid big-leaguer in time. There’s a little pop, a solid defensive utility profile, and an excellent feel to hit. In the period since my last update (17 games), he hit .364 with just a 12 K% and 11 XBH. His ascent is definitely worth monitoring, and his 2024 autographs cards can be had for under $5. I’m not saying he has an immense ceiling, but under $5 for a player of this caliber (even though it’s a non-1st auto) seems like a steal.
Don’t look now but Colt Emerson (an obvious name from 2023 Draft, I know) is really coming on. There’s nothing prescriptive to do hobby-wise but despite his mediocre season line, he’s slashing .328/.443/.594 with more BB than K since the calendar has flipped to June.
Hobby+
Samuel Basallo (2023 BC) has separated himself in the past three weeks with his continued excellence at AAA. With Adley Rutschman down due to an oblique, Ryan Mountcastle down due to a hamstring, and Maverick Handley to a concussion, the Orioles are down to Chadwick Tromp to run behind Gary Sanchez. If there’s a need short-term, there simply are not many options left despite the Orioles insistence to hold Basallo down for…whatever reason they’re telling themselves. Even though I have no skin in the game in terms of cards, I’m rooting for his call-up before my next update.
Kevin McGonigle (2025 Bowman) debuts at #3 after overcoming an ankle sprain to start the season. His over-the-fence power is absolutely not as projectable as most, but 23 XBH in 116 AB’s is amazing. He’s a barrel savant, and with an 85% contact rate, he definitely has the look of a truly special hitter. Not in a Luis Arraez sense – more of a Craig Biggio sense, which is better from a hobby perspective. His cards are expensive, but are they too expensive? Perhaps not.
To put it plainly, Konnor Griffin (2024 Draft) and Eduardo Quintero (2025 Bowman) are the two most impressive teenagers in the minors from a performance perspective. It’s all properly valued by the hobby already, but they’re both running sub-25 K% with 15+ 2B, 10+ HR, and .525+ SLG. Griffin just got the bump to High-A, and if the Dodgers had room in their Great Lakes OF, Quintero would be up there in two shakes (especially with his defensive value). Quintero is much cheaper – he’s the easier buy for me.
Luke Adams (2024 Bowman) has finally taken the bat off his shoulder. Since my last update he sacrificed some of his passivity and ran just a 12.3 BB%. More importantly, he slugged .640 in that time span. It’s a really nice sign that perhaps this may be all it’s going to take for him to level up his game. He’s out with a bruised shoulder right now – hopefully this delay to his performance doesn’t disrupt his rhythm too much. With his defensive limitations in consideration, there’s not much value to be had in his current card prices, but he’s certainly not a sell.
Man, Michael Arroyo (2023 Bowman) just keeps getting better – he’s certainly earned the promotion to AA that came this week . He’s slashed .328/.461/.672 since my last update, when I had also called him out for his excellence since May 1. His contact rate is only above average as compared to his excellent K%, but when you’re slugging over .575 for 45 games, does it really matter? There’s not a lot of sales on his Chrome autographs as they creep into the $40’s, but his ancillary autographs in the $8-10 range, as I had mentioned previously, are drying up.
There's no bigger riser than Joshua Baez (2022 Bowman) since my last update. First, consider he only turns 22 on Saturday and has been at AA since June 1. Now I’ll add – in that time he’s hit 6 HR and 4 2B, good for a .783 SLG. He’s always shown power – his K% was just in the 34-35% for multiple years prior. It’s a great sign that even at the new level it’s now under 30%. He’s going to have to keep that in check as he continues, but with this amount of power and a good base-stealing acumen to boot, he should be able to survive even at the highest levels with 70% contact, and certainly has renewed hobby interest that’s already reflected in his cost to acquire.
Alright alright. I’ve only given you guys the hobby have already reacted to, so let’s dig down a little – Luis Suisbel (2024 BC). For most of his career he’s been very inconsistent, and such is the case this year. But he’s been some version of good since the beginning of May now. Last month, he ran a batting average well over .330. This month, he’s hit 9 HR with a SLG over .700. If he was doing it all at the same time it would be super-impressive and deserving of a call-up to AA – but it’s not. He’s only hitting .241 this month, and those 9 HR account for all but one of his XBH. There’s some hope that he can stick at 3B yet, and having just turned 22, High-A is a fine home for now. At around $10 for a base auto, you can do far worse for the amount of pop in his bat.
It finally happened. Roman Anthony was called up! Red Sox fans rejoice, certainly all your sturm und drang has subsided now…right?...right? Other previous players who appeared on leaderboards who have now graduated include Ryan Ritter, Marcelo Mayer, Brady House, and Kyle Teel. Except Ritter, they’re all top prospects, and they’re all well regarded in the hobby at this juncture.
Conclusion
We’re well into the thick of the MiLB season. First halves are over, Complex League play is in full swing, and breakouts are happening. I’ll be here with you all season to keep tabs on the trends, not only with performance, but to tie it back into how everything fits in the hobby context..
Until next time, collect what you love!
Discussion