Baseball's number one prospect Bryce Harper has been the catalyst behind sales of 2011 Bowman Baseball cards - and while the set is no where near as explosive as last years 2010 set - prices for rare Harper cards have come out hot.  Many casual baseball fans have probably not heard of Harper which could mean collectors will have to wait several years for their investments to materialize. In 2010 - early sales of Bowman boxes and single cards were modest until Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg reached the MLB and started to light it up. 2010 Hobby boxes got to as high as $200 in June '10 on the secondary market - but were only $75-80 around the May release date.  In the 2011 Bowman set, no other player besides Harper has gained serious traction in the hobby world.  By early June 2011 - boxes could be found for around the release date price of $75-80 a box.

Besides the Superfractor 1/1 Autograph - the Red /5 Autograph parallels are the most rare auto's in 2011 Bowman. Harper has lived up to the enormous hype so far in the lower levels of the minor leagues. He has displayed power and hit near .350 during the first half of the season.  The success has not come without some controversy.  In June, Harper hit a mammoth HR during a minor league game and subsequently "blew a kiss" to the pitcher as he crossed home plate.  The video footage was shown on national media outlets including ESPN.  Players like Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez have seen their card values decline in part because a large segment of fans dislike them.  In order for Harper to ever become a hobby stalwart he is going to have to tone down the bad boy image. His talent on the baseball field remains unquestioned at this point - but he is still probably at least two full years away from playing for the Washington Nationals which would put a date on his arrival in the bigs around 2013.

2011 Bowman Baseball Checklist