It's July, we're a couple weeks away from the All-Star Break, and that means June's Spotlight content has fully wrapped. All the grinding throughout June was certainly worth it for Lightning Juan Soto, but let's take a look at the entire program.
June Spotlight Program 4
One big change happening within the program itself is the removal of Topps Now cards. As the year has progressed, lower-rated Topps Now cards were typically the first cards earned in each Spotlight Program. Program 4 changes that to exclusively Spotlight cards.
Overall, the program structure is largely the same. There's some variance in the missions and grinding intended to make the program progress quicker, but it's still the blend of Moments and stat/PXP grinds. There's a handful of general stat missions, like Steals with SS and HRs with 1B that you can accumulate as you grind the specific cards.
There's also two optional Extreme Moments, each worth 30 stars each.
Spotlight Jo Adell is the final Spotlight reward from the program itself, and collecting him along with the previous three final Spotlight rewards will unlock 97 overall Juan Soto.
97 Spotlight RF Juan Soto (New York Mets) - #3 RF True Overall
Talk about a worthwhile reward.
Juan Soto is one of the most revered players in Major League Baseball today, and by extension in Diamond Dynasty as well. Soto has a sweet swing regardless of attributes, but a 97 overall Lightning Spotlight is going to have tasty attributes.
100/115/108/115/102 splits look good on anyone, but wrapped up in a Juan Soto card with Bad Ball Hitter, Dead Red, and Breaking Ball Hitter elevates it even more. Soto can also play LF where his attributes actually rank out a bit better due to the depth at that respective position.
We're not using Soto for defensive prowess, but 63 Fielding and 69 Reaction are worth looking at with the 53 Speed he brings. If you can get away with DH'ing Soto, he'll be aces. Still, you're probably going to see plenty of people running him in the outfield to take advantage of the elite offense.
How To Unlock Retro Lightning 2B Bobby Grich - #1 2B True Overall
New legend to MLB The Show 25, Bobby Grich gets a 97 overall Retro Lightning that soars him to the top of True Overall's rankings at 2B. Debuting as the top option at the keystone, Grich features elite Contact and Clutch with 113/116/120 splits and also features 96 POW L/106 POW R. With solid enough Fielding and 70 Speed, Grich might not have the same "staying power" in terms of name value that many other cards like this will have. That's part of the excitement of new legends getting big cards like this, as it offers a whole new experience for those jumping into the Retro Lightning collection.
June Spotlight Pack 4
Unlocking Bobby Grich requires cards from the Spotlight packs that have been dropping, though this month is quite easier than before. You will only need to collect 8 June Spotlight cards to unlock Grich, including from this week's Pack 4 drop that features:
- Jazz Chisholm Jr., 3B, New York Yankees (96 OVR)
- Adrian Morejon, RP, San Diego Padres (96 OVR)
- Wenceel Perez, RF, Detroit Tigers (95 OVR)
- Cristopher Sanchez, SP, Philadelphia Phillies (95 OVR)
- Justin Wrobleski, RP, Los Angeles Dodgers (95 OVR)
- Chase Burns, SP, Cincinnati Reds (93 OVR)
- Josh Naylor, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks (93 OVR)
- Coby Mayo, 1B, Baltimore Orioles (93 OVR)
- Carlos Narvaez, C, Boston Red Sox (93 OVR)
Remember: only the Spotlight cards from the pack work towards the Retro Lightning collection. Those cards are highlighted. You will also earn a June Spotlight pack as you begin collecting the June Spotlight cards, potentially reducing the number of cards you'll need to buy from the marketplace.
Closing Thoughts
Juan Soto is an elite Lightning Spotlight reward, and new legend Bobby Grich gets some deserved shine with his own elite showing as the Retro Lightning. As we inch closer to the massive All-Star Game content we're going to see, it's impressive to see SDS still firing out big-time content. With the baseline card levels hitting around 97 overall now, we're ever so closer to the fabled 99 overall onslaught. I suspect that will begin in earnest with the All-Star Game content, but we're still getting amazing content until then. So big kudos to SDS.
Cory Wayne Dell
Cory has been writing about all things baseball and gaming since 2022 and has been featured at Operation Sports as well as cited by Forbes. Cory is also a multi-instrumentalist and founder of the band Cargocastle. Cargocastle's latest single, "Truth and Reconciliation," is available on Spotify and all major streaming platforms. Cory is also the author of Shadow of a Monster, a personal memoir currently seeking publication.
