You know the drill. A new week, another new Diamond Duos set. This week we get Signature Series Harmon Killebrew and Prime Mark Prior.

Let’s dig in.

MLB The Show 23 Diamond Duos 38

SP Prime Mark Prior (Chicago Cubs)
Meta Overall rating: 101.73 – #27 SP

The second iteration of Prior’s Prime card, this version is easily the best Mark Prior card we’ve seen in Diamond Dynasty. Attributes-wise, Prior is fine. Possessing 105 H/9, 114 K/9, 102 BB/9 and 125 Pitching Clutch, Prior definitely falls on the usable side as long as you aren’t expecting him to dominate. This Prior is actually interesting in that he has been given a fifth pitch for the first time – the Slider.

Within the mix, the Slider is easily the worst pitch but still an interesting variation here. The 4-Seamer will touch 100 MPH though there’s no Outlier. Prior also features a Slurve at 84 MPH with 96 Control and 99 Break and a Curveball at 80 MPH with 93 Control and 92 Break. The Changeup also sneaks in with some decent under-the-hood attributes with 88 Control and 87 Break at 83 MPH.

The huge knock on Prior is that the off-speed all resides around the same speed. The Slurve and Changeup are virtually identical while the Curveball is the slowest offering at 80 MPH. The Slider will be best used as an out-of-zone companion to the Slurve and Curveball as you’re going to have a tough time throwing it for strikes.

Still, this is the most interesting Prior card we’ve seen and I think will be a fun pitcher to experiment with.

1B Signature Series Harmon Killebrew (Minnesota Twins)
Meta Overall rating: 106.96 – #21 1B

The other featured card this week is Harmon Killebrew. Known for his pure power, Killebrew gets it here with 125 POW against both sides and 105 CON L and 101 CON R along with 106 Clutch. Killebrew also gets 75 Fielding which should play fine enough at 1B. He does carry 3B and LF eligibility as well, but if you’re running his 44 Speed in the outfield then I have some serious questions for you.

There’s honestly not much to say about this Killebrew, unfortunately. This is about what we should expect from his cards – decent Contact and max Power. With the advent of the Designated Hitter in Diamond Dynasty, however, I think Killebrew can serve as a fine DH if you’re just looking to mix up who you use there. Killer does have some good Quirks with Dead Red and Breaking Ball Hitter, so this isn’t the worst option you could slot in at DH.

The Closer

Diamond Duos continues to be a somewhat lackadaisical affair. Whereas Headliner packs in the past used to feature consistently better and much-improved cards each week, Diamond Duos just trot out 99 overalls that are more binder fodder than God Squad material. It’s a way to pump more cards out which is great, but the idea of adding these to my lineup seems like a tough ask. If we had a more applicable use of Captains, like a separate playlist that was built around theme teams, then these Diamond Duos releases would be incredibly exciting. At the moment, they continue feeling like Diamond Duds.