Konnor Griffin vs Bobby Witt Jr.: Bowman Chrome 1st Auto Card Showdown
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As Konnor Griffin's stock has surged during early spring training, baseball card collectors have taken notice, and the value of his cards has risen across the board. Particularly, his Bowman Chrome Draft 1st Auto. With prices climbing, quickly collectors have begun to ask whether this card should really be valued on par with other established MLB stars like Bobby Witt Jr. Let's take a closer look at the numbers and explore why their cards are currently selling at such similar levels.
Can Konnor Griffin Live up to the Hype?
Griffin's 2024 Bowman Chrome 1st Auto PSA is currently selling for around $2,000. With a population of 552 in a Gem Mint PSA 10 copies, the card is rare but not unattainable for most collectors. Just last summer, however, it was readily available in the $600-700 range. What explains the threefold jump in price? Being named the Top Prospect in all of baseball certainly helped, and Griffin has also shown this spring training that, at 19 years old, he can hit for power against big-league pitching. That combination of elite prospect status and early performance has fueled massive hype and steadily rising prices for the card.
Solidified Superstar
Bobby Witt Jr. is a superstar not only on the field but also within the card-collector community. He is often seen signing cards for young fans and publicly discussing his love for the hobby. From a very young age, Witt has lived up to the lofty expectations scouts and collectors have placed on him. After nearly a decade of hype, he has proven himself to be the player many believed he could become. Witt Jr. now looks poised to be a perennial All-Star and MVP candidate, while also serving as a cornerstone member of Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. Needless to say, the attention and admiration he receives from the hobby are well-deserved.
Witt Jr.'s 2020 Bowman Chrome 1st Autograph PSA 10 is currently selling for around $2,000. With a population count of 345 Gem Mint PSA 10 copies, the card remains relatively scarce for such a highly collected modern star. In mid-summer 2023, however, these cards were selling in the $500-600 range as some investors shifted their attention to the next wave of top prospects. Since then, Witt has proven he possesses the hitting ability and all-around skill set that scouts projected, establishing himself as MVP-caliber player and one of the game's most consistent offensive forces.
Whose the Better Investment?
Bowman Chrome 1st Auto prospect card collectors are in a category of their own in the hobby. These fans/collectors/investors passionately research and follow 16- to 20-year-old prospects with laser focus, always searching for the next superstar who will enter the league and become a perennial All-Star, league MVP, and/or World Series champion. However, as collectors have seen over the past decade, the number of players who actually live up to that hype is very limited. Who knows, maybe Konnor Griffin is the next Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani. If he does, paying $2,000 for a Bowman Chrome 1st Auto PSA 10 could eventually look like a bargain. But he still has a very steep mountain to climb to reach that level.
P. Arvin Parker is a lifelong collector of all things sports and pop culture. He is a Minnesotan, a Veteran, and an Ojibwe man who lives and dies by all things Minnesota. After spending the last 20 years working in the mental health field, he has reignited his love for collecting. His passion for the hobby centers on the people and stories of the world of collectibles.