MLB The Show 23 Diamond Duos 40

SP Retro Finest Christy Mathewson (San Francisco Giants)
Meta Overall rating: 99.97 – #40 SP

No, Christy Mathewson did not finally get a good card. With a Meta Overall rating of 99.97, Mathewson barely cracks the top-50 though I’m surprised he landed that high to begin with. The reason Mathewson’s cards typically do not perform in Diamond Dynasty is the velocity differential. When you look at the primary Screwball sitting at 77 MPH and the 4-Seamer touching 100 MPH, you might think that’s actually a positive. But generally, with the 72 MPH 12-6 Curveball and Changeup in the arsenal as well, it’s just really easy for hitters to either look fast or slow. Mathewson has rather exceptional Control and Break on all of his pitches, but all the off-speed offerings just sort of float at a slow speed. Even if it takes an inning or two to adjust, most hitters begin to time Mathewson up and he ultimately doesn’t last long on the mound.

Still, I think Diamond Dynasty is better for having legends like Mathewson in the game. Just because he doesn’t translate to “uber-elite” SP online doesn’t mean he doesn’t belong in the game. He might not belong in your starting rotation, however. Then again, cards like this can be dumb-fun when taken into Ranked with low expectations.

SS Future Stars Jordan Lawlar (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Meta Overall rating: 105.99 – #17 overall SS

The other featured card in this Diamond Duos set is Future Stars Jordan Lawlar. Where Mathewson is nothing more than a filler card, Lawlar actually looks fairly solid and should be a reliable contributor on most squads unless his swing causes problems. Lawlar features 125 CON L, 109 CON R, 108 POW L, 102 POW R and 118 Clutch. Those are very solid offensive attributes for a SS. Yes, there’s plenty of cards that are better than Lawlar but again – not every card that releases has to become the number one card to be useful or relevant.

Not only does Lawlar’s offensive profile check out, he also features 92 Fielding with 90 Arm Strength and 88 Reaction. He also features 99 Speed with 95 Stealing. Diamond Fielding with max Speed at SS is nothing to sneeze at and the fact that Lawlar has 100+ in every major offensive category makes him even better. He has a bit of pop, but if you’re able to rifle balls into the gaps then you’re looking at a steady diet of extra bases which should fuel your run scoring. Lawlar also has 2B and 3B eligibility and his attributes actually play up a bit at 2B so there’s some utility here to get the most value from Lawlar’s talents.

There’s Diamond Duos 40! Are you going to bravely take Mathewson online or add Lawlar to your squad and test the mettle of the latest Future Star? Let us know in the comments!