2024 Bowman Draft Baseball Hits

The top cards pulled from a Jumbo box of 2024 Bowman Draft Baseball set.

Happy Bowman Draft Baseball release. Last night, we broke into a Bowman Draft Jumbo Box, and the results were good. One of my more anticipated releases each year as a prospect junkie, the Bowman Draft release is always something I look forward to. This year, for the first time, I bought a box. Previously, I had purchased just one team from other breaks, but this year, I decided to do my own for members of the Dynasty Dugout Discord.

If you are reading this, you know the cards we were likely chasing. Travis Bazzana, Jac Caglianone, Nick Kurtz, and Christian Moore were the big-name autographs to look for. Right off the bat, we started hot and hit on some strong autographs and chrome cards throughout. Here were the best hits from the 2024 Bowman Draft Baseball box I broke.

Best 2024 Bowman Draft Baseball Hits

Travis Bazzana, 2B, Cleveland Guardians

Bazzana is a unique prospect in that he hails from Hornsby, Australia. You would probably be hard-pressed to find a harder worker in this draft class who consistently looks to improve his game while also being a tremendous clubhouse presence.

This led to a major breakout in 2024, and the Guardians drafted Bazzana first overall. Bazzana slashed an impressive .407/.568/.911 with 28 home runs and 16 stolen bases. Not many saw this kind of power output coming from Bazzana, but the underlying data backs it up.

With an average exit velocity north of 96 mph, Bazzana ranks among the best in the draft class, and his 90th percentile exit velocity, while not on Condon’s level, was still a very good 109 mph.

We are looking at one of the more patient hitters in the draft class, chasing just 14 percent of pitches out of the zone and walking twice as much as he struck out(76 to 37). The contact skills are some of the best that you will find in the draft, checking in around 85 percent overall and an 88 percent in-zone mark.

The pro debut left a little to be desired as Bazzana hit just .238 with three home runs in 27 games, but he posted a .369 OBP and had seven doubles. The underlying data was good, and Bazzana made contact on 80 percent of swings with good exit velocities.

Braylon Payne, OF, Milwaukee Brewers

Payne was one of the bigger first-round surprises in 2024, as the Brewers snagged him 17th overall. Being 17 years old at the time of the draft and having a highly projectable 6’2” frame, Payne was lauded for his hit tool and high-end speed. The lefty posted home to first times around 4.00 seconds.

After not utilizing a leg kick often as a prep, Payne debuted in Single-A with the Carolina Mudcats and looked to have made a more concerted effort to get to power. In fact, he posted a 110 mph exit velocity with wood, which is an elite mark for someone who just turned 18 years old.

The swing can get a little long at times and is a bit flat, but the fact that Payne stepped into pro ball putting the ball on the ball, and posting some solid exit velocities speaks volumes to me. I am very intrigued by this profile and how Payne develops long-term.

Blake Larson, LHP, Chicago White Sox

Attending a school like IMG certainly gets you plenty of looks by pro scouts, and Larson performed, working his way to being selected 68th overall by the White Sox in 2024. A tall, projectable lefty, the former TCU commit has a ton of traits that teams love and feel like they can develop.

Having long arms and a lanky frame, Larson gets plenty of extension from a high three-quarters arm slot. With a fastball that works in 92-94 mph range, Larson gets good running action on the pitch. Topping out at 96 mph, you can see him easily ticking up velocity given the projectable frame.

Larson spins his slider exceptionally well with spin rates north of 3000 rpm, slashing good depth and sweeping action. The changeup is still early in the development process and lacks much velocity separation from the fastball. With further refinement, Larson could have a solid three-pitch mix.

His command improved during his senior year, and although there are reliever risks, Larson has some intriguing traits to bet on. The fastball traits are unique and if the velocity ticks up, it could be a plus offering. The slider also flashes plus. He should begin the year in Single-A next year, where he gets a glimpse of what a full offseason of working in Brian Bannister’s pitch development does for Larson.

Gage Ziehl, RHP, New York Yankees

Selected in the 11th round of the 2021 draft by the Cubs, Ziehl opted to head to the University of Miami, where he improved his stock. After pitching out of the bullpen in 2022, Ziehl moved to a starter role in his sophomore and junior years, where he thrived. After posted a 4.30 ERA in 2023 across 92 innings, Ziehl showed to be durable again in 2024, tossing 100 innings with a 3.87 ERA. Though he struck out just 89 batters, Ziehl walked just 28 and most of his damage was allowed via home runs.

Miami is notorious for not being the best in pitch development, and the way they call pitches for their arms has not been the best. Alejandro Rosario was selected in 2023, and he ascended to being one of the best pitching prospects in baseball in 2024 after some tweaks to his mechanics and arsenal.

Ziehl used his four-seam fastball 46 percent of the time, averaging 93 mph and topping at 96. Throwing from a 5’9” release height, Ziehl creates good riding action, having 18 inches of IVB. The pitch has short horizontal movement and a fairly flat VAA of -4.7.

A slider was Ziehl’s primary used secondary pitch, used around 37 percent of the time. Sitting around 85, Ziehl’s slider shows good depth and six inches of sweeping action. It has the highest whiff and chase rate of any of his four pitches in 2024.

The cutter and changeup are used less often, but could become viable offerings. The changeup averaged 18 inches of fade while having nearly ten mph of velocity separation. The cutter could be a solid bridge pitch, sitting near 90 mph.

Ziehl throws strikes and has an arsenal that could thrive with a few tweaks. He has shown to be durable and averaged 6.7 innings per start in 2024. He could wind up being a great grab by the Yankees in the fourth round.

Ryan Johnson, RHP, Los Angeles Angels

Johnson grew up in Dallas and stayed home, pitching at Dallas Baptist University. A three-year starter, Johnson broke out in his junior year, posting a 2.21 ERA across 106 innings. Johnson pitched deep into games, averaging nearly seven innings per start, striking out 151 batters while walking just 14.

It is a deep arsenal of pitches, and Johnson leads with a slider. The slider sits around 80 mph with carry and 13 inches of sweeping action. The pitch had an impressive 53 percent whiff rate and looks like a plus offering.

Johnson throws two fastball variations: a four-seam and a sinker. Interestingly enough, the four-seam averages just 89 mph, while the sinker is up at 93 mph. The four-seam has good carry, averaging 18 inches of IVB from a 5’7” release height, and he creates good extension at 6’8”. The sinker gets good horizontal movement, averaging 12 inches of arm-side run.

The cutter sits around 87 mph with short horizontal movement, and the changeup rounds out his arsenal, but it is not often used. If Johnson can add a few ticks of velocity, there could be plenty to like here.

A heavy strike thrower, Johnson rarely issues walks, and he lives in the zone, maybe too much. He is likely an arm the Angels push quickly through the system, but I would love to see him in a velocity training program. Johnson is a fun arm who definitely has starter upside in the majors.

Other Strong Hits

Hitting on a Noble Meyer Chrome /75 was solid, and Walker Jenkins /50 Plasma Power Chrome is a good-looking card. Tyson Lewis was a base paper card, but still, hitting on a high-upside hitter /50 is fun. Levi Sterling is an arm I love, and Paulino Santana was one of the top international signees in January 2024.

Matt Shaw /125 Aqua Mojo Refractor was another fun hit, as he should spend the majority of 2024 with the Cubs. The Nathan Flewelling refractor /200 was another good-looking card.

This break was a blast! Hitting on Travis Bazzana and Braylon Payne autos was huge, and the other hits were quite strong. Thanks to everyone who participated in the break, and I look forward to doing more of these soon!