I have been following Wander Franco’s career since he debuted in the Appalachian League in 2017 while also analyzing Wander Franco Rookie Cards and Prospect Cards since “Wander-Mania” in 2019 when Franco’s 1st Bowman baseball cards were released.
I have already invested ~$600 between 2019 -2020 in Wander Franco 1st Bowman cards and believe there is a high probability that I will see a positive return on my investment. If only his cards became as valuable as Mike Trout rookie cards. Although Wander Franco rookie cards are not yet available, Franco’s 1st Bowman cards are.
Let me share with you what you need to know before you buy a Wander Franco Rookie Card or 1st Bowman card.
Wander Franco Player Profile
Wander Franco is a prospect in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization and as of January 2021 is playing in the Dominican Winter League. Franco is only 19 years old but is already ranked as the #1 baseball prospect according to MLB.com. He is expected to make is Major League debut in 2021.
Franco’s minor league performance has been strong, which has contributed to high prices for 1st Bowman cards and will likely translate to high prices for Wander Franco rookie cards. Franco has hit .331 with .405 OBP and .523 SLG over 3 seasons in the Minors and Foreign League baseball, according to baseball-reference.com.
Franco’s talent is real, and his performance supports that, but the past provides a reason to be cautious. Jurickson Profar (2013 #1 Prospect) and Byron Buxton (#2014 #1 Prospect) are recent reminders of talented baseball prospects who never lived up to the hype. Check out this article from Baseball America for more detail and discussion before buying Wander Franco rookie cards or 1st Bowman cards.
Below are the top 8 Wander Franco prospect cards to buy now.
1. 2019 Bowman Wander Franco 1st Bowman Card #BP100 (Buy on eBay)
The 2019 Bowman Wander Franco RC #BP100 and #BCP100 are the flagship Wander Franco prospect cards. I started with buying both the Paper and Chrome version of this card and I recommend this card to new Wander Franco Rookie Card collectors and investors.
This Wander Franco card is popular because it features the “1st Bowman” logo, indicating this is the first official Wander Franco baseball card from Topps / Bowman. The card features Franco in a Devil Rays’ jersey jogging the base path. The “1st Bowman” logo is on the top left of the card and the Bowman or Bowman Chrome logo is on the top right.
2. 2019 Bowman Wander Franco 1st Bowman Mega Box #BCP100 (Buy on eBay)
The 2019 Bowman Mega Box Wander Franco RC is almost the exact same card as the 2019 Bowman Wander Franco but features a slightly different “mojo” background. This card will also be among the most popular with collectors and investors and is another good Franco card to buy.
As of December 2020, both the Bowman Mega Box and Bowman Chrome 1st Bowman Wander Franco RCs cost ~$175 for a PSA 10 graded card.
3. 2019 Bowman Draft Wander Franco Rookie Card #BD93 (Buy on eBay)
The 2019 Bowman Draft Wander Franco RC will likely be among the more popular prospect cards. The card features Franco fielding in an all-grey Rays jersey. It is important to note that this card does not include the “1st Bowman” logo which explains the reason the card is less popular and valuable than the “flagship” cards.
As of December 2020, the card cost ~$55 for a PSA 10 graded card, about one-third the price of the Bowman Chrome “flagship” cards.
4. 2019 Bowman Sterling Wander Franco Rookie Card #BPR31 (Buy on eBay)
The 2019 Bowman Sterling Wander Franco RC is another Franco Bowman prospect card option. The card features Franco batting left-handed in a light blue Rays jersey with a sleek grey boarder.
As of November 2020, the card costs ~$55 for a PSA 10 graded card, about one-third the price of the Bowman Chrome “flagship” cards.
5. 2019 Bowman’s Best Wander Franco Rookie Card #TP1 (Buy on eBay)
The 2019 Bowman’s Best Wander Franco RC is yet another Franco Bowman prospect card option. The card features Franco batting right-handed (recall he is a switch hitter) in a light blue Rays jersey. I prefer the design of other Bowman cards, but that is personal preference.
The Bowman’s Best card is priced lower than others and I was not able to find a recent auction for a base version of the card. That said, an Atomic Refractor PSA 10 graded card sold for $56 in December 2020.
6. 2019 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball Wander Franco Rookie Card #1 (Buy on eBay)
The 2019 Topps Heritage Minor League Wander Franco RC is one of two Topps prospect cards featured in this article. The card follows the standard Topps Heritage design and features Wander Franco in his Bowling Green Hot Rods uniform (this team is an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays).
Thus far, this card has not been popular with collectors and investors and can likely be purchased for relatively cheap.
7. 2019 Topps Pro Debut Wander Franco Rookie Card #50 (Buy on eBay)
The 2019 Topps Pro Debut Wander Franco RC is the second of two Topps prospect cards features in this card. This card follows the same design as the 2019 Topps Series 1 baseball cards and includes a “pro debut” logo on the card. The base version of the card shows Franco in an all-grey Rays jersey and blue helmet, pointing up and smiling, presumably after getting a hit.
A PSA 10 graded version of this card sold for ~$65 in April 2020.
8. 2019 Donruss Optic Wander Franco Rookie Card #7 (Buy on eBay)
The 2019 Donruss Optic Wander Franco RC is the only card from Panini included in this list. The card features Franco in an all-white jersey batting left-handed preparing to swing at a pitch. Given Panini does not have an MLB license, the card does not include any MLB or affiliate logos.
As of November 2020, the card cost ~$55 for a PSA 10 graded card, about one-third the price of the Bowman Chrome “flagship” cards.
Wander Franco Rookie Card Value and Price
Wander Franco rookie card values and prices vary significantly depending on the type of card and grade. Rare parallels (e.g., SuperFractors), autographs, 1st Bowmans, and high grades from PSA or BGS all increase the value of a card. That said, let’s take a look at Wander Franco rookie card values for PSA 10 base version, meaning no autograph and no parallel, of cards we reviewed in this article.
*Prices as of January 2021 (or earlier depending on transaction volume)
Most Expensive Wander Franco Rookie Card
The most expensive Wander Franco rookie card sold on eBay is the 2019 Bowman Chrome Wander Franco Red Refractor 5/5 graded BGS 9.5 with autograph graded 10, which sold for ~$56,000 in April 2020.
The second most expensive Wander Franco card sold on eBay is the 2019 Bowman Sterling SuperFractor 1/1 graded PSA 10, which sold for ~$42,000 in June 2020 (though I’ve been told Fixed Price historical prices aren’t always accurate).
Several other Wander Franco cards have sold for more than $10,000 and are either 1/1 SuperFractors or rare parallels of Franco’s 2019 1st Bowman Autograph card.
Wander Franco Autographed Cards
Most of the Wander Franco rookie cards discussed in this article include at least one autograph variation. See below for a list of 21 Wander Franco autographed rookie cards.
| # | Card |
| 1 | 2019 Bowman Wander Franco #CPA-WF Autograph |
| 2 | 2019 Bowman Mega Box Wander Franco #BMA-WF Autograph |
| 3 | 2019 Bowman Draft Wander Franco #BDC-93 Autograph |
| 4 | 2019 Bowman Draft Wander Franco #B30A-WF Autograph |
| 5 | 2019 Bowman’s Best Wander Franco #B19-WF Autograph |
| 6 | 2019 Bowman’s Best Wander Franco #FFA-WF Autograph |
| 7 | 2019 Bowman’s Best Wander Franco #99FFA-WF Autograph |
| 8 | 2019 Bowman Sterling Wander Franco #BSPA-WF Autograph |
| 9 | 2019 Bowman Sterling Wander Franco #SDCA-WF Autograph |
| 10 | 2019 Bowman Sterling Wander Franco #DRA-FH Autograph |
| 11 | 2019 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball Wander Franco #ROA-WF Autograph |
| 12 | 2019 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball Wander Franco #72 Autograph |
| 13 | 2019 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball Wander Franco #RODA-FL Autograph |
| 14 | 2019 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball Wander Franco #FOSA-WF Autograph |
| 15 | 2019 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball Wander Franco #BA-WF Autograph |
| 16 | 2019 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball Wander Franco #SB-WF Autograph |
| 17 | 2019 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball Wander Franco #MR-WF Autograph |
| 18 | 2019 Topps Pro Debut Wander Franco #50 Autograph |
| 19 | 2019 Topps Pro Debut Wander Franco #FCA-WF Autograph |
| 20 | 2019 Topps Pro Debut Wander Franco #LB-WF Autograph |
| 21 | 2019 Donruss Optic Wander Franco #7 Autograph |
One Response
I am wondering if the 2022 wander Franco rookie cards that Carry the logo on the front that shows it is his rookie card. Do you think his 2022 cards will be worth anything maybe one day I know his base card want but I am wondering about some of his paralles cards and his auto and his 1 of 1 and some of the SSP cards. I believe that Julio Rodriguez rookie cards are the cards to try to find but you can only find his 2022 tops series two and that is his SSP cards there are no base card I think all of it is a mess you tell me I am old school I never seen so many cards the same just different colors it’s about in possible to collect all of some one cards that is counting all of their auto but I guess good luck but I been buying cards for a while and I still have not found a color parallel of wander Franco I just not having no luck I thought about trying to find some 2019 cards of him and see if I can’t find a auto or a very rare parallel maybe a orange or a green they seem to have a pretty good price I have a few cards off this guy that is what I do I collect nothing but the best players I don’t need cards that was not even worth putting their face on the card I just pulled a 2020 Luis Robert rookie card my very first one not worth a lot but I believe it will be one day but this wander Franco I don’t know if he is going to be anything or not the Ray’s might have jumped the gun I hope not because I am going to have a lot of different cards he has specially his rookies I don’t believe I will not collect none of his cards next year I don’t like second and third cards you have to be special now a Michael Jordan or something like that I will take a third or even fourth cards but they have to be in graded shape I have some but I want let go of his cards plus I need to send them off they will grade very high. But I was just wondering about this wander Franco if he even going to be anything cause Julio Rodriguez is making him look bad right now hek bobby Witt Jr is making him look bad you can’t come out and get your self hurt and then take for ever to get back in this is hurting his rookie cards there done going down and they want be worth nothing when the season is over not less you find a one of one or a nice color auto and it needs to be a small number of them the base cards are not worth anything by them doing all the different colors it ruin ever body base card and they make too many of these cards I wish they would stop that if they would start only making a hand full of his cards man do you know how much his cards would be worth but know they have to make thousands of them every pack I opened I am pulling a wander Franco rookie card that tells me what there worth nothing that is what happened in the 80s and 90s they should have learned but they have not and all these colors ones most of them ant worth anything don’t even make no sense even collection they will never be worth worth holding on to and that is a shame finally find some good rookie cards and then they go and make ten thousand of them never they should make that many it should take you days and days of opening packs of cards before you ever pull one of these really good guys that has come up this year there is about 10 good players that came through on.