Since the hitters have been done, it’s only right we dive into the pitchers in 2025 Bowman Chrome. Pitching prospects don’t become household names as quickly as hitters, which often makes them cheaper and better buys. That creates real opportunities for collectors to see big jumps once these arms debut in the majors. While this product is hitter-heavy, there are still pitchers I think could pay dividends if you time it right.

For a full list of all pitchers and players to chase in 2025 Bowman Chrome visit my Substack.

Top 10

1. Carlos Lagrange (NYY) – 6’7” / 248 (Age: 22.3)

• Hobby Rank: 16
• Signing Bonus: $10,000
• Fastball: 70, Slider: 60, Changeup: 40, Command: 30

My #1 pitcher chase has to be Carlos Lagrange of the Yankees who is one of the biggest movers this season in all of the Hobby Rankings. He started the year not even in my top 100 pitchers and did not make his first appearance until he moved from 109th to 77th in a May 29th update article. In less than four months since then he has catapulted himself all the way to inside my top 20. This is the beauty with collecting pitchers. You can go from being outside the top 400 overall prospects to inside the top 100 with one really strong season where it all clicks. It’s nearly impossible to become an elite hitting prospect when you had zero name recognition prior to the season but these pitchers come out of nowhere man. In 2024, Lagrange had a 6.86 ERA, 5.12 FIP, 11.57 K/9, and 8.57 BB/9 between the Complex League and Single-A. The fastball and slider have always been great pitches but that walk rate was horrendous and he simply put way too many runners on bases to salvage a decent ERA. What a difference a year can make. The 6’7” righty has made 24 appearances this year between High-A and Double-A where he has a 3.53 ERA, 3.14 FIP, 12.60 K/9, and 4.65 BB/9. Everything is trending up but the walk rate dropping from 20% to 12.3% is massive because last year he looked like he had zero chance of sticking as a starter. This year hitters are batting just .189 against him and he’s striking out 33.4% of those he faces. He still has a little work to do to improve the control more but this is one of the better one year improvements you’ll see. He routinely touches 100 with his fastball and his slider/sweeper is absolutely nasty now that he can throw it for strikes. The development of his cutter and changeup will be crucial though if he’s going to be an elite starter but they’ve looked much better this season. If the command backs up on him I think worst case scenario here is you have a nasty reliever (probably closer), but if he continues to improve the command you’re talking about a top of the rotation type talent. And I think you have to be hopeful that’s the direction he’s trending given how much he improved in one offseason.

2. Alejandro Rosario (TEX) – 6’1” / 182 (Age: 23.7)

• Hobby Rank: 29
• Signing Bonus: $438,000
• Fastball: 60, Slider: 60, Splitter: 60, Command: 50

Injuries suck. If you take away health concerns Rosario would be my #1 because what he showed on the mound last year was insane. Whichever Rangers scout wanted to draft him deserves a raise because his final two seasons at the University of Miami were rough. Though his FIP’s were a couple of runs lower Rosario’s ERAs in 2022 and 2023 were 7.05 and 7.11 respectively. In 2023 his K/9 was under 8 and the following season his BB/9 was almost 5. That didn’t stop the Rangers though from seeing the potential and drafting him in the 5th round and the changes they made to his mechanics produced shocking results. In 2024 between Single-A and High-A Rosario threw 88.1 innings where he had a 2.24 ERA, 1.49 FIP, 13.14 K/9, and 1.32 BB/9. Video game numbers. How insane was this season? Well he was the #1 ranked pitching prospect on Scout the Statline for quite a bit despite throwing less than 100 innings professionally and he’s still their #6 overall. Here’s where it gets weird. Rosario tore his UCL and the team announced he would need Tommy John to repair it. That statement was made seven months ago while getting ready for Spring Training. As of the most recent reports at the end of July he apparently still has not had surgery. To my knowledge nobody is sure why or what is going on. Classic Minor League baseball injury news. So while he originally was going be my #1 chase because by the time we get these cards we’ll be planning for 2026, now it sounds like he might not even be pitching next year. Based on what we saw last year from a talent perspective I don’t think you can deny that he has the highest upside in this release. He has three plus pitches including a fastball that reaches 100 and an absolutely disgusting splitter, and despite having control issues in college he walked only 3.7% of the hitters he faced last year in his professional debut. Since we still aren’t sure when he’ll be back or what he’ll look like when he comes back it makes him kind of a shaky chase so I won’t be too surprised if he’s not overly sought after, but based on the things you can do on a mound that make your cards sell nobody on this checklist has had a Minor League season even CLOSE to what Alejandro Rosario did last year. Stash him away and hope for the best because I think the ceiling is massive.

3. Cam Schlittler (NYY) – 6’6” / 225 (Age: 24.6)

• Hobby Rank: N/A
• Signing Bonus: $205,000
• Fastball: 60, Slider 45, Curveball: 60, Cutter: 45, Command: 45

Here’s your annual “if only he was in the last Bowman release because we could have been rich” guy. Schlittler had a great year last season but nothing could have prepared us for his 2025 season climb which saw him go from Double-A to Triple-A to the MLB where he has been pretty disgusting at every stop. Between both Minor League levels he had a 2.82 ERA, 2.52 FIP, 11.62 K/9, and 3.05 BB/9. I know he’s unranked on the Hobby Rankings but that’s only because he recently lost his prospect status. Prior to that however he was my #8 overall pitching prospect in an August 27th article so it’s safe to say that had we gotten his autographs prior to him getting called up to the MLB he without a doubt would have been my #1 chase. And in a way he still is. His cards should sell for more than Lagrange and Rosario in my opinion because MLB fans, especially all of the Yankee fans, now know who he is. In 12 MLB starts Schlittler has a 3.41 ERA and has struck out 26.7% of the hitters he has faced. That’s a hell of a 60 inning start to an MLB career. The early success coupled with the fact that he’s wearing pinstripes could make his card prices ridiculous and they kind of deserve to be. But for me, most of the prospecting game is holding players as their hype grows and then dumping them once their name explodes in the public, and I think we probably already missed the boat on Cam Schlittler. He’s a great young pitcher that Yankees fans should be stoked about but buying him now would be the equivalent of buying Chase Burns or Jacob Misiorowski cards after they started their MLB career hot and went up 500%. That big price jump is going to be baked into his prices from day one. Love the player, hope I hit his cards because they should sell extremely well, but he’s not a player you’re going to want to buy singles of and hold in my opinion, making his placement in my rankings a bit cloudy.

4. Kevin DeFrank (MIA) – 6’5” / 202 (Age: 17.1)

• Hobby Rank: 96
• Signing Bonus: $560,000
• Fastball: 65, Slider: 50, Splitter: 60, Command: 45

Although Andrew Salas will without a doubt be the #1 chase for the Marlins in this product I beg you to not sleep on Kevin DeFrank. In years past I’ve sworn off Miami hitting prospects because their track record both with international signings and in the draft was abysmal to say the least. But do you know what the Marlins have NEVER struggled with? Developing pitchers. They’re actually one of my favorite organizations when it comes to finding and developing young arms which was part of the reason that I was so high on Thomas White from day one when they drafted him. DeFrank has big time upside, perhaps the highest of any pitcher in this product, but it will definitely be a waiting game. The 6’5” righty is athletic with a somewhat easy delivery that has a good amount of extension to it. He just turned 17 a month ago so he played essentially all of his debut season in the DSL at age 16 and the results did not disappoint. In 10 starts DeFrank had a 3.19 ERA with a 9.87 K/9 and 2.90 BB/9, striking out 24.1% of the hitters he faced and holding opponents to a 68.7% contact rate. There may be pitchers with better stats but doing this professionally at age 16 is crazy, especially when you consider that next year will be the first time he comes stateside to get instruction at the Marlins facility here, a place that has unlocked the maximum abilities of many pitching prospects in the past. As a 16-year-old this season he sat in the mid-90’s while touching 100 mph with a fair amount of carry. The organization has also raved about the feel he has for his changeup at his age and the spin rates on his other off-speed pitches have popped as well. Kevin DeFrank checks almost every pitcher box I look for. Young, great frame, great delivery, electric stuff, and on a franchise I really like when it comes to pitching prospects. There may be some ups and downs in the next couple of years because he is so young but if I had to pick a pitcher on this checklist that I think has the highest hobby ceiling it’s probably DeFrank.

5. Ethan Pecko (HOU) – 6’2” / 195 (Age: 23.1)

• Hobby Rank: 86
• Signing Bonus: $248,000
• Fastball: 70, Slider: 55, Curveball: 50, Changeup: 40, Cutter: 50, Command: 50

This may be a slight surprise pick here since the Astros have another pitcher on this checklist that is ranked higher by MLB Pipeline but I can’t ignore the improvements I’ve seen from Ethan Pecko this year. The 6th round pick out of Towson in 2023’s draft wasn’t on many radars until his first full professional season last year which saw him climb from Single-A to Double-A where he had a 3.47 ERA, 11.72 K/9, and 3.47 BB/K across three levels. His delivery is athletic and his fastball which is more of a sinker is the pitch that works best for him. Though it was low-90’s in college he’s added velocity to it and has been regularly throwing it 96 this season, which doesn’t sound crazy since we’re so used to these high-90’s guys these days but the arm angle and carry on that pitch make it extremely difficult to hit. Though his secondary pitches need some refining the sweeper/slider has looked great this year and with the improved command he could be a legit rotation piece if he can get that cutter to be an above average offering. This year between Double-A and Triple-A, Pecko has a 4.08 ERA though his 3.43 FIP suggest he’s been pitching better than the box scores would indicate. He’s struck out 28.4% of batter he’s faced this season and has a 10.56 K/9 and 3.24 BB/9 across 75 innings with a 12.30 K/9 in Triple-A since his promotion. MLB Pipeline thinks he profiles most as a number 4 starter and based on what we’ve seen this year I think that’s fair, but with the improvements he’s made in his first two seasons I think there’s a chance at him getting to a no. 3 if he’s able to improve his secondary pitches. Either way he should have a good chance to stick in the Astros rotation when he’s called up and barring injury that will almost certainly be early next year at the latest.

6. Chase Hampton (NYY) – 6’2” / 220 (Age: 24.1)

• Hobby Rank: 122
• Signing Bonus: $500,000
• Fastball: 45, Slider: 60, Curveball: 60, Cutter: 50, Command: 45

If you like scooping up pitchers then the Yankees are going to be the team you want to target in Pick Your Team breaks because they offer 3 of the top 6 pitchers in this entire product in my opinion. There are quite a few things that make me go back and forth on Hampton. After being drafted in the 6th round out of Texas Tech in 2022, Hampton looked fantastic in his professional debut the following year. Across 106.2 innings between High-A and Double-A he had a 3.63 ERA, 3.38 FIP, 12.23 K/9 and 3.12 BB/9 in his first pro season in 2023. Last year added some cloudiness to the equation though as Hampton missed time with elbow discomfort among other injuries and was only able to pitch a total of 18.2 innings. He did not look like himself. Though the ERA looked good on paper he was missing virtually no bats compared to the season prior and his pitch location was noticeably worse. Then the big blow came in February while ramping up for Spring when it was revealed that Hampton would have to undergo Tommy John surgery and miss all of 2025. The positive here is that he does have all of the things that you need to be a starter in the MLB. He has probably four pitches that grade out as average or better, he throws strikes, he mixes pitches really well, and when it’s all working he 100% looks like a pitcher you’re going to see in the rotation for a long time to come. The issue is that we haven’t seen that pitcher since 2023. I’d like to assume that the struggles last year were due to him dealing with injuries but there are no guarantees that when he returns in 2026 he’ll be as effective as he was three years prior. All things considered I do think Chase Hampton is probably one of the five best pitchers in this product but it’s hard to chase an injured pitcher. With that being said he’s not a bad stash because if his 2026 self looks anything like his 2023 self he’ll probably end up in the Yankees rotation next year.

7. Trevor Harrison (TB) – 6’4” / 225 (Age: 20.1)

• Hobby Rank: 132
• Signing Bonus: $850,000
• Fastball: 55, Slider: 50, Changeup: 60, Command: 50

Back in 2023 the Rays used their 5th round pick on a local kid from New Port Richey, FL and gave him a touch under $1 million to keep him from committing to Florida State. That kid was Trevor Harrison and he made the Rays look smart last year when in his professional debut he had a 3.34 ERA, 10.78 K/9, and 3.22 BB/9 between the Complex League and Single-A as an 18-year-old. This year in his age 19 season it was a bit more of a mixed bag. Over 107 innings he had an extremely impressive 2.78 ERA but he didn’t have nearly as much success missing bats as he did a year prior. In 22 starts between Single-A and High-A, Harrison had an 8.41 K/9 and 4.12 BB/9 which are both significantly worse than his debut season. He struck out almost 7% few batters, opponent’s contact rates were over 3% higher, AND he issued more free passes. Now the obvious positive, Harrison just turned 20 last month and pitching at age 19 in High-A put him quite a bit ahead of the curve compared to other pitching prospects. There were only 8 pitching prospects this season who threw 20+ innings in High-A at age 19 or younger and his 14.9% swinging strike rate was the second highest of those pitchers. I don’t have any doubts that he’ll develop into a nice rotation piece for the Rays and they’re one of my favorite organizations when it comes to finding and developing talent which is another green flag for Harrison. I love the changeup which is a great offering especially against lefties and the fastball already touched 98 as a teenager. It wasn’t a season that necessarily popped on the stat sheet but he’s extremely confident on the mound for his age and I think as his professional career progresses with the Rays he’ll make some big jumps in the next year or two.

8. Miguel Ullola (HOU) – 6’1” / 205 (Age: 23.3)

• Hobby Rank: 118
• Signing Bonus: $75,000
• Fastball: 70, Slider: 55, Curveball: 55, Changeup: 40, Command: 35

While Ethan Pecko is the 12th ranked Astros prospect by MLB, Miguel Ullola is much higher at 5th so I won’t be too surprised if he’s originally more sought after when this product releases. And I won’t necessarily fault anybody who prefers Ullola, much like Pecko he has a flat release and a ton of carry on his fastball but his is a bit more electric touching 98. The mid-80’s slider has also developed into an above average pitch but the curve and change have never looked consistent enough to grade as any more than average. The one thing that should help Ullola’s hobby presence is the swing-and-miss abilities. In his 2021 debut season he racked up a 14.05 K/9 which he followed up in 2022 with a 15.0 K/9, the only issue is that in both of those years his walk rates were 7.77 and 6.88 BB/9. This has become somewhat of a recurring theme in Ullola’s professional career, though his strikeout ability goes without question his ERA is never exceptionally impressive because he puts quite a few too many runners on base. In Triple-A this year he has a 3.95 ERA but his 4.62 FIP and 5.64 xFIP suggest he’s been a bit lucky, partially because his strand rate has been pretty high. He has a 10.48 K/9 and 6.21 BB/9 over 111.2 innings which spanned 23 starts and 3 relief appearances. I don’t think there’s any doubt that he’s the more exciting of the two Astros pitching prospects, but your hobby relevance is hurt quite a bit if you end up being a reliever and Ullola comes with waaaaay more reliever risk than Pecko. Great stuff but unless he’s able to magically fix his command issues he could debut out of the bullpen.

9. David Sandlin (BOS) – 6’4” / 215 (Age: 24.6)

• Hobby Rank: 120
• Signing Bonus: $400,000
• Fastball: 65, Slider: 45, Splitter: 40, Cutter: 50, Command: 45

Sandlin was an 11th round pick for the Royals back in 2022 who came over via trade prior to the 2024 season. If this same Chrome checklist had dropped one year ago he would have been a top 5 pitcher chase for me without question. Last year between High-A and Double-A, Sandlin had a 5.34 ERA but the metrics suggested he pitched much better than that with a 3.10 xFIP, 12.87 K/9, and 2.83 BB/9 in his first year as a member of the Red Sox organization. His best pitch is his fastball which touches 100 and his secondary slider and splitter have some disagreement as FanGraphs ranks them both below average while MLB Pipeline thinks they’re above average. There are red flags in his delivery and also with his ability to find the zone regularly with all of his pitches, though he did a good job at keeping hitters off of the bases in 2024. The results from this season though have not been my favorite. His K/9 has dropped from 12.87 to 9.03, the BB/9 is up from 2.83 to 3.39 and his strikeout rate went from 33.2% down to 23.5%. On top of that Sandlin has now appeared in 13 Triple-A games since his promotion and 12 of those have been in relief. It appears that for at least the time being the Red Sox intentions are to use him out of the bullpen. Since his move to the pen his K rate is down and his walk rate is up and the results have been extremely inconsistent. I actually really like the stuff though and it’s so good that many evaluators originally thought he could end up at the front end of a rotation. Between his struggles this year and the apparent move to the bullpen he’s probably less exciting for us in the card world than I would have expected entering this year.

10. Henry Baez (OAK) – 6’3” / 175 (Age: 23)

• Hobby Rank: 175
• Signing Bonus: $125,000
• Fastball: 50, Curveball: 55, Splitter: 45, Command: 50

Finishing off our top 10 I’m going to go with Henry Baez who was part of the same package with Leo De Vries that the Athletics received from the Padres in exchange for Mason Miller. Of course at the time only De Vries seemed to get talked about but I always felt like this was another nice piece they got back. Baez was the Minor League Pitcher of the Year last year for the Padres where he had a 2.99 ERA across 126.1 innings between High-A and Double-A. He showed no signs of slowing down this season and posted a 1.96 ERA in 96.2 Double-A innings with the Padres prior to being traded. He was actually the league leader in ERA, WHIP, and AVG against at the time that he was moved to the A’s. Baez sits in the mid-90’s but can touch 99 with the fastball using the curve as his best secondary pitch. He has a splitter as well but it will need some improvement if it’s going to be a good third pitch at the Major League level. It all sounds great but you’ll notice I purposely left out a stat that I find extremely important when determining how hobby relevant a pitcher will be, and that is the strikeout rates. Baez is not a strikeout pitcher. Despite batting just .202 against him this year opposing hitters are actually making contact on 78.5% of their swings. He does have good command and has had a BB/9 under 3 at every level he’s pitched at over the last two seasons but his K/9 in both years has failed to surpass 8.3. While the ERA numbers are great the FIP and xFIP tend to be at about 1 run higher and the fear is that if he can’t put hitters away at the big league level he won’t be exciting. One thing he does have going for him is that he is a ground ball pitcher with a 52.6% ground ball rate this year which helps him be an effective starter. The numbers look great and I think he debuts next year which should help his card value if we get in cheap and hold, but without the big swing-and-miss numbers I do worry about how much the Bowman world will care about him.

2025 Bowman Chrome has way more talent than people were expecting. The edge isn’t just knowing names; it’s knowing where the tiers break, who’s mispriced on release night, and which stashes pop once call-ups start.

Grab my complete list of pitchers and players to chase in 2025 Bowman Chrome on my Substack, Big Bob’s Cards, and tell me who you’re targeting (and why) over on Mantel.