It wouldn’t be a weekly content drop without Diamond Duos. Somehow we’re onto set 21 already (!) and we get a souped-up Eric Davis to roam the OF and one of John Smoltz’s 37 yearly cards.

MLB The Show 23 Diamond Duos 21

SP Kaiju John Smoltz (Atlanta Braves)

Meta Overall rating: 87.26 – 49th best SP

Every time we see a John Smoltz card in Diamond Dynasty, it’s safe to assume another one is right around the corner. Smoltz first appeared this year as the Atlanta Braves’ Live Series collection reward but gets a 99 overall here in June. Despite being a legendary member of the Braves’ Big Three and despite a resume packed with Strikeouts, playoff excellence and massive success as a starter and reliever – John Smoltz cards simply aren’t good in Diamond Dynasty.

Smoltz throws hard and will touch 100 MPH, but he does not get Outlier. Despite being known for his disgusting Splitter and Slider, Smoltz doesn’t even get Break Outlier on this card. What Smoltz does get is 101 H/9, which is rather pedestrian at this point with some of the SP we’ve seen. The 106 K/9 looks pretty but doesn’t do much on All-Star difficulty where most people play. I’m a bit surprised that Smoltz gets 103 BB/9, which will help his PAR size, but ultimately that’s not going to save this card. Factor in the 97 Clutch for one of the most clutch postseason pitchers in history and you get a card that doesn’t come anywhere close to sniffing a competitive rotation.

Smoltz’s pitch mix is highlighted by the fearsome 4-Seamer that comes with 99 Control and 99 Break, the Slider with 98 Control and 99 Break and the Splitter with 93 Control and 99 Break. Those disgusting trademark pitches are nice with the attributes, but unfortunately backed up by a Circle-Change and Curveball that just aren’t going to bring about a ton of success in MLB The Show.

CF Incognito Eric The Red! [Eric Davis] (Cincinnati Reds)

Meta Overall rating: 101.98 – 30th best OF

The other featured card this week is Eric Davis in Incognito form. Davis is often heralded for his combination of speed and power and that combination shines bright here.

122 CON L/92 CON R/125 POW L/100 POW R is a very tasty offensive profile on an OF with 99 Speed and 99 Stealing that also gets Diamond defense in CF at Parallel 2. The worst part of Davis cards is the trademark batting stance, which turns many players off from using him. It’s never really bothered me, but I’ve only used Davis in short spurts and have never given him an extended look. Part of that reason is due to the sheer amount of high-caliber OF that are typically available in Diamond Dynasty. That’s especially true now with how content has shaken out in this new era of Diamond Dynasty. Davis ranking as the 30th best OF drives that point home.

I actually quite like this card. I used Charisma Rickey Henderson until Lightning Aaron Judge came out, and this Davis is a better card than Henderson for me. With more Power, Davis has a bit more upside offensively and might put more liners in the gaps for extra bases. They both have max Speed which I think is crucial in the OF and Davis’ ability to earn a Diamond shield with just a couple Parallel levels gives him a slight advantage on Rickey for me.

Do either of these cards make your squad? Let us know in the comments!