How to Find the Best Roster Update Investments in MLB The Show

While flipping is the most well-known method to make a lot of stubs in Diamond Dynasty, investing has always lagged behind a little bit. What even is investing? Are there different ways of investing? Is there a such thing as guaranteed profit? 

In this guide, we’re going to break it down. Buckle up, grab your Companion App in hand and let’s explore it together!

What is "Investing" in MLB The Show?

Investing in MLB The Show is literally like playing the stock market. You’re looking to buy players that have a lot of unrealized profit potential. When talking about investments for a potential Roster Update, there goes a lot of detail, research and planning into it. But, it absolutely is the least effort-intensive way to finish all collections before the game cycle dies.

How to Invest in the Roster Updates: A Step-by-Step Guide

Roster Updates happen every three weeks, and it is meant to adjust Live Series cards to their real-life performance. If a player is doing well, they will go up, if he’s doing bad, it’s likely he’s going down. So how do you spot the best ones? Ideally, you start this process a week or two before the update - the later you start, the higher prices will be. 

1. Go to FanGraphs and filter on time and statistics. Generally, SDS uses the three-week timeframe to decide on upgrades and downgrades. 
2. See a player you like? Head over to the MLB The Show Market to check his card out. 
3. FIRST CHECK: Look at the players’ attributes. Is he doing anything different than his attributes reflect? This is extremely important. If Luis Arraez is hitting .324 with no home runs, he’s actually NOT a good buy. His contact attributes are sky-high already. If 78 Jacob Young with diamond fielding and common hitting decides to hit .289 for a month, he is a good buy. Because his contact attributes have the ROOM to go up. Make sure your picked player passes this first check!
4. SECOND CHECK: What is the player’s overall rating and corresponding price? You don’t want to buy a 65 bronze for 110 stubs. Even if he goes up, you’d need him to go up to 78 or higher to make a profit. The best investments are cards close to their Quick Sell Value with a big chance to go up. These hold the least risk and have the most potential for profit.
5. THIRD CHECK: Is the player a notorious hot-cold hitter (ex. Manny Machado)? And does he have potential for hype? The potential for hype is extremely important, as I’ll explain later. This third check is optional.

If your player passed all checks with flying colors, congratulations! You might have yourself a solid investment towards the Roster Update!

Five Common Investing Misconceptions

1. There is no such thing as diamond locks. SDS have to carefully balance their amount of diamonds to not impact the collections or market. History has shown that players can stay stuck in gold for a very long time. 
2. Holding your 80-rated card that is selling for 1,300 stubs because you believe he’s going to be a diamond is a waste of your stubs and time. You’re tripling your stubs if you bought at Quick Sell Value. You can use those extra stubs to buy other investments off which you can profit again. Believe me, you’re going to get another chance to get that card if he has diamond potential, and you’re going to have a lot more stubs than just holding him overtime. What if he blows his elbow out?
3. It’s probably NOT the best to wait for the update. I tell everyone to sell their 83’s if they hit 3,000 stubs, I tell everyone to sell their 77 silvers for 450 if they get there. If that 83 goes 85 you might miss out on 300 stubs per card. If he goes 84 instead of 85 you’ve lost out on 1,200 per card or more. 
4. Play the hype, not the market. I know that, if Jasson Dominguez has a .1200 OPS over the last 3 weeks, his price will be sky-high. If Oscar Gonzalez does the same thing, their prices will be wildly different. Players with hype behind them are always the best investments. 
5. If your investment that you bought a week ago went 1-24, cut your losses and reinvest. Don’t sit there with your ice-cold Manny Machado’s that are eating up your stub total. It’s better to cut your losses and reinvest, always. 

All of this is a lot of work, but there are PLENTY of resources out there that can make your life easier as an investor!

The Roster Update Tool on ShowZone

The Roster Update Predictor Tool shows you everything you need to know:

• It shows players that fit between certain thresholds that counts them as good potential investments for the update. The thresholds are split in ‘hot’, ‘neutral’ and ‘cold’, giving you an accurate insight in how that player has played.
• Daily trend: It shows the daily price trend of a player’s card in-game. This is valuable to track market movements and playing into the hype we spoke about earlier. 
• It contains two different timeframes. This way, you can assess if you investment is heating up, cooling down or staying around the same performance levels. 
• It contains statistical data, allowing you to just stay on a single web page and do some manual analysis of certain players.
• It includes market prices for each player, allowing you to pick out the over-and-underinvested players and adjust your buys accordingly!

It is the most polished tool out there that gives you an in-depth look at investments, available in one, single place.

However, the Roster Update Predictor does NOT take a players’ attributes OR price into account. If a player is doing well, he will show up there with all other relevant information you need to pass the second and third checks. 

The LouisAnalysis Investing In/Outsider Patreon

The LouisAnalysis Patreon is the place to be if you want investing made easy:

• You get lists of players to buy with specific breakdowns. 
• You get personalized investment planning - I tell you who to buy, how many, and for what price.
• Is a player struggling or did I make a mistake? No problem - the Sell Alerts tell you when to move on from players.
• Flash Sale buys and program profits: Take the profits where you can, play the flash sale, and make more stubs!

To celebrate 5,000 followers on Instagram, the memberships are 50% off until the day of the Roster Update, using code ‘5KIGG’.

You can find it here: https://www.patreon.com/LouisAnalysis

Both resources can be extremely helpful if you’re new to investing, or want to make sure to get the right players in at the right price. Make sure to also check out the #investments channel in the ShowZone discord, where plenty of other knowledgeable members of the community share their insights!

Just always remember: You’re going to make more stubs thinking for yourself than buying what the masses buy.