Nothing major hit Diamond Dynasty inside MLB The Show 26 this weekend. No major new card series debuts or programs attached. We get the usual May Spotlight content, a new Conquest map that features a player card reward, a new Chase Pack, and a Rivalry Weekend Recap Program that dropped earlier in the week.
Let's dig in.
Free Memorial Day Packs
A free pack is available in both the Show Shop and Road to the Show shop featuring Memorial Day themed aesthetic items.
Pro Tip: If you haven't completed your equipment collections yet, this is a great way to get free equipment to knock out these easy collections.
May Flowers Conquest Map
The graphic above shows the locations of all hidden rewards found on the May Flowers map.
A new Conquest map also lands for offline players. Along with the usual hidden rewards, you'll get a 20-pack bundle of Show Packs by completing the map. This mission is repeatable, meaning you can grind out a handful of quick games and get a 20-bundle over and over.
You'll also earn 93 All-Star Jim Rice by completing the map.
Rice gets a respectable card here that will play in any outfield. If you've played even semi-consistently, this card probably doesn't look more appealing than any other outfielder you already have. Red Sox fans get a key name for their theme teams, and everyone else gets an under-the-radar legend that has a pretty good swing in my experience.
Should you go out of your way to grind for 93 OVR Jim Rice?
I don't know if I'd "go out of my way" but I would certainly recommend completing the map. It's an easy way to grind missions. So you can make progress in Team Affinity if you still need Jolt players, work on Paralleling your cards to unlock better Parallel Mods, or work on old programs that require certain cards to grind missions. This map gives you a free 20-pack bundle that includes the Gold Player pack, a handful of other free Shows packs, some other valuable packs and Jim Rice.
I think this map is more than worth the time.
May Spotlight 3 Program Breakdown
This week's Spotlight program features the following players:
- Nick Kurtz, 1B, ATH (94 OVR) - #15 Meta Overall 1B
- A.J. Ewing, CF, NYM (92 OVR)
- Brandon Sproat, SP, MIL (91 OVR)
Nick Kurtz is the featured player in this week's Spotlight program.
Not much to review here. Big Dog hits big bombs and literally nothing else. I've used his cards a bit and he had a vicious swing for me, but this card is a pure DH if you're looking to field even a somewhat competent defense. Then again, as the power creep continues ticking up, cards like this offer an impactful offensive addition for free just by playing the game. I made no intentional effort to grind the Spotlight program this week, including not doing a single Moment, and I unlocked Kurtz just from the regular stat missions.
May Spotlight 3 Pack Breakdown
Spotlight breakdowns are never complete without the pack breakdown as well. Pack 3 features the following players:
- Henry Bolte, CF, ATH (92 OVR)
- Yohendrick Pinango, LF, TOR (92 OVR)
- Rodolfo Duran, C, SD (92 OVR)
- Daylen Lile, LF, WSH (94 OVR) - #5 Meta Overall CF
- Aaron Ashby, RP, MIL (94 OVR) - #1 Meta Overall RP
Lile is a speedy outfielder with a huge bat against righties that will hold it down against lefties a little worse. He's not a strong fielder, but can play each outfield spot while earning Team Affinity points for the Washington Nationals.
Aaron Ashby, however, is an absolute stud.
This card is actually kind of bonkers. Every major attribute is 100+, and Ashby will dominate both sides of the plate. He also has 108 Clutch which means he won't be phased by runners in scoring position. These attributes combine with an Outlier Sinker, max break 12-6 Curve, 4-Seamer that will hit 100 MPH, a max break Slider, and a Circle Change that has decent depth to it. Ashby debuts as the new #1 relief pitcher in Diamond Dynasty.
This is the type of card that I would actually go out of my way to buy for my bullpen. Premium lefty arms out of the pen are a hot commodity, and there's many reasons why Ashby is the best of the best right now.
Pro Tip: Keep in mind that relief pitcher (RP) and closing pitcher (CP) are considered two different positions in MLB The Show. Ashby is an amazing card, but his stat accrual will not apply to missions for closing pitchers - even if he comes in during a closing situation.
May Spotlight 3 Card Review
I always recommend knocking out the Spotlight programs weekly, that way you're in good shape for the Lightning Player. Those working on collections are always served well to buy the Spotlight cards to make completing the Spotlight programs quicker, while also working towards the Retro Lightning player.
Most weeks, we'll see an interesting card or two but these Spotlight cards (except the last batch of the month) are typically filler. That's true this week outside of Aaron Ashby. I wouldn't buy packs to pull for Ashby, I'd just buy him outright if I really wanted to add another strong lefty to my bullpen. Weekend Classic Warriors will make this card a must-add, and anyone seriously grinding the ladder will want this card in their bullpen.
That means prepare to face him quite a bit, too.
Chase Pack 11 Featuring Ted Simmons
The Chase Pack refresh brings the return of our favorite meme in the community: who's the latest crazy expensive switch-hitter Chase card!?
It's Ted Simmons.
The last two years have brought Chase Packs almost exclusively full of premium switch-hitters. That means the market demands it, and they're certainly getting a doozy here.
Simmons is now the #1 Meta Overall Catcher, while also placing in the top-15 at his other eligible positions: 1B (#13) and LF (#9).
These are amazing offensive attributes for a catcher or even a DH if you decide that's how you'd deploy him. He'll hold it down behind the plate well enough for you, and he has pretty good Quirks attached as well.
What is there to say? Another premium card that is also a premium-priced card that many won't have access to until months from now. Chase Cards are intentionally rare, however, so join me in gawking at this pretty amazing card I'll probably never have a chance to use. I'd absolutely recommend giving this card a shot if you pull it, but I'd personally sell it as quickly as I could and simply work on the collections that reward better cards than this.
Blink and You Missed It
Major League Baseball's Rivalry Weekend took place this past weekend, and Diamond Dynasty celebrates with a dedicated program. Grind through a recap of the Rivalry games to complete the program and unlock the above rewards, which includes the following players:
- Shohei Ohtani, DH, LAD (94 OVR)
- Munetaka Murakami, 1B, CWS (93 OVR)
- Cam Schlittler, SP, NYY (93 OVR)
- Tyrone Taylor, LF, NYM (92 OVR)
- Edgar Quero, C, CWS (92 OVR)
These aren't the most exciting cards, despite the big name power of Shohei Ohtani and Munetaka Murakami. This is now Murakami's second 90+ OVR card since launch, with the first being a 1st Inning Boss card that can only be acquired via Stubs on the marketplace now. The presence of multiple Diamond cards that are comparable overalls can often lead to the Live Series cards dropping in price a bit. This is welcomed as the Live Series collection is still absurdly expensive.
The same can be said for Ohtani, though I'm not sure the same effect will apply for him. This Topps Now card isn't a two-way version, as he's a primary DH that can play right field as well. So, the lack of pitching ability makes this a pretty bastardized version of Ohtani that has balanced offensive attributes and the sweet swing.
Complete this program for collection progress at a minimum. If the players are impactful for your squad, even better!
Download the new ShowZone Mobile App for iOS and Android today! Take your ShowZone account with you and maximize your Stub balance while tracking program progress, collections, and much more!
