The June Spotlight content landed today, featuring some interesting names in Topps Now and Spotlight form.
June Spotlight Program Drop 2
Featured Cards:
- 92 Topps Now: Otto Kemp, Roman Anthony
- 94 Spotlight: Evan Carter
Evan Carter is a fun name to me, given his prevalence in Co-Op. As the program reward this week, Carter's Spotlight card actually debuts at #4 in True Overall for CF, but also rates out as #3 in LF. Meta Overall is also a big fan with him landing at #5 in CF.
Absent of any meaningful Quirks, Carter features 100+ in Contact and Power against RHP and Clutch, while maintaining a respectable split of 90/70 Contact/Power against LHP.
Gold Fielding at 82 with 80 Reaction and 95 Speed makes him a pretty solid option in the outfield, and one that has a fairly decent swing that's certainly shown some pop in Co-Op with the Gold version.
How to Progress:
Complete a mix of Moments and Missions with these cards, as well as with last week’s Spotlight rewards like Hunter Goodman.
Optional Extreme Moment:
- Strike out 15 batters with Grant Holmes (Braves) on All-Star difficulty
- Don't allow 3 or more runs
- Reward: 30 Stars
Optional Collections:
- Collect 3 Topps Now cards from June Spotlight Pack 2 = 15 Stars
- Collect both Spotlight cards = 35 Stars
- Collect both Spotlight program rewards (Evan Carter & Jacob Misiorowski) to unlock a free 94 OVR New Threads Rafael Devers
June Spotlight Pack 2 Contents
94 OVR Spotlight Cards:
- Jacob Misiorowski
- Casey Schmitt
The really interesting card in this pack is Spotlight Jacob Misiorowski. Lovingly referred to as "The Mis" moving forward because I'm incredibly lazy, Mis was a fairly popular card as he started appearing in MLB The Show over the last couple years.
The dude throws gas and has nasty stuff, represented with his double Outlier on his 4-Seamer and Slider. I might be wrong, but I think John Donaldson is the only other pitcher we've seen with an Outlier Slider so far.
As if that's not good enough, Mis features 108 H/9, 100 K/9 and 109 Clutch which are incredibly good attributes for a SP. His downside will be the lack of Control and low BB/9. This is a 94 overall card, after all, but if you like big stuff and don't care about PAR size then you might have yourself a new SP.
Spotlight pack cards are hit or miss most weeks, but The Mis debuts as the #4 SP in Diamond Dynasty according to True Overall.
92 OVR Topps Now Cards:
- Cam Smith
- Grant Holmes
- Ian Seymour
Free 94 New Threads Rafael Devers
A fun surprise this week is the addition of a New Threads Rafael Devers in the June Spotlight collection. This card can be earned simply by completing the first two June Spotlight drops, including this week, and pays out a pretty beefy card.
Debuting as the #6 3B in Diamond Dynasty according to True Overall and #4 in Meta Overall, Devers dons his new Giants threads with this card. As surprising as that trade might have been, seeing this card added in the fashion it was might be more surprising. This easily could have been a premium card, but SDS added it into a program collection that most people are already doing.
Not only that, but anyone still working on New Threads collection progress get a free card to assist in that venture as well.
Overall, June Spotlight 2 packs more of a punch than we typically expect from Spotlight programs. As we launch at light speed toward the All-Star break, it'll be interesting to see how quickly the overall-floor rises and how packs and free cards continue to be released.
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.
