MLB The Show 25: Paul Skenes Takeover Program Breakdown

This week in MLB The Show 25, Diamond Dynasty gets a new Takeover program featuring one of the cover athletes. We got an Elly De La Cruz program a while ago, and Paul Skenes is the latest to receive the honor.

Not only do we get the program, but you'll notice in-game menus and graphics featuring Skenes, truly lending to the spotlight treatment.

Paul Skenes Takeover Program

The 94 OVR Cover Athletes Paul Skenes arrives with thunder—Double Outlier on a 4-Seam Fastball and Splitter, making him one of the best SPs in the game.

Debuting at #7 according to True Overall, Cover Athlete Paul Skenes is earned with some grinding and probably slots into most rotations. Double-Outlier with pretty solid Control is a nice combo, and it's nice to see a card like this available for free without being hidden behind packs.

How to Unlock (30 Stars):

Earned through missions and gameplay objectives.

Program Missions (3 Stars Each):

• 5 Wins with SPs
• 30 Innings with Pirates
• 30 Hits with Shortstops
• 30 Hits with Pirates
• 3000 / 4000 / 5000 PXP with Pirates (each tier earns 3 stars)

Skenes-Specific Missions:

• 15 Innings Pitched with any Paul Skenes (including 20th Anniversary edition)
• 25 Strikeouts with any Paul Skenes

Rewards:

• 94 OVR Paul Skenes
• 12,000 XP
• 2x Show Packs

Closing Thoughts

It's refreshing to get programs like this, as they feel like a bit of a throwback to Shows from years past. There's more premium packs and expensive cards than ever, but this is still an exciting card and doesn't take too much to unlock.

It's also probably worth noting the potential of a Cover Athletes collection tab coming. We've seen the card series before, and these Takeover programs specifically reward cards with that series header.