Tarik Skubal Is the May Lightning Player, Bryce Harper Retro Lightning in MLB The Show 25

May Spotlight Drop 5 continues SDS’ renewed commitment to streamlined grinds and generous rewards. This latest Spotlight program brings 93 overall James Wood as the final reward, and the grind path offers players several avenues to stack stars and make progress.

How to Unlock James Wood

• Total Stars Required: 100
• Final Reward: 93 James Wood

Wood debuts as the #5 LF in Diamond Dynasty in True Overall and can play each outfield position. Elite Contact and Clutch with exceptional Power, Wood also has a great swing and immediately becomes one of the best free cards in the game. The Fielding won't be his strong suit and the 60 Reaction is rough, but 78 Speed should hopefully off-set the glove.

Grinding through the program doesn’t just earn you James Wood — the reward path is stacked with value for both collectors and casual players alike.

Full Rewards List:

• 4 Show Packs
• 35,000 XP
• 4 May Spotlight Cards
• 2 Topps Now Cards
• 1 of Each May Spotlight Pack (including the newest Pack 5)
• • These are the standard shop packs, each containing a mix of Spotlight and Topps Now cards
• 1 May Spotlight Any Pack
• • Guarantees a random May Spotlight card without Topps Now dilution
• Blue Lightning Bat Skin

How to Unlock Spotlight James Wood

Moments: 24 Stars Total

There are eight new Moments, each rewarding 3 stars, for a total of 24 stars. These Moments range in difficulty and offer a solid jumpstart toward the 100-star goal.

Drop 5 Missions: PXP Grinds

Grind-focused players will find plenty to chew on here. The core of the program is built around accumulating Player XP (PXP) with the new Drop 5 program cards.

Key Missions:

• 1500 PXP with Drop 5 Program Cards – Rewards 10 stars
• Individual Player Missions (x5) – Earn 5 stars each for:
• • 350 PXP with hitters
  • 500 PXP with pitchers

Legacy Spotlight and Topps Now Missions

For those who’ve kept up with prior programs, Drop 5 provides great synergy with previously earned cards.

Additional PXP Missions:

• 1000 PXP with May Topps Now + Spotlight cards (Drops 1–4) – 5 stars
• Spotlight Drop 1–4 End Rewards (e.g., Caminero, etc.):
• • Same formula: 350/500 PXP = 5 stars each

Stat Missions and Team Objectives

Boost your grind with specific stat-based and team-based missions:

• Total Bases with Left Fielders
• Hits with Shortstops
• Strikeouts with Tigers Pitchers
• Team Missions for Tigers and Nationals
• Extra Base Hits and Ks with May Spotlight Cards (Spotlight only, no Topps Now)

Optional Collections

Two high-value collections return for Drop 5:

• Collect All 4 Topps Now Cards – 15 stars
• Collect All 5 May Spotlight Cards from Pack 5 – 50 stars

These collections can significantly cut down on the grind if you’re completing sets along the way.

Optional Extreme Moments

Two 30-star Extreme Moments offer a serious challenge with major rewards:

1. Junior Caminero Challenge:
2. • Tally 12 Total Bases on Hall of Fame difficulty
3. Nationals Rally:
4. • Score 9 runs before recording a single out using the Nationals on Rookie

Each Extreme Moment grants a hefty 30 stars, meaning even just completing one can drastically reduce the required grind.

There's a plethora of ways to progress through the final May Spotlight Program to unlock James Wood. Not only are you getting a top outfielder, but if you've kept up with the previous weeks you'll also earn the May Lightning Tarik Skubal immediately.

How to Unlock Spotlight Lightning Tarik Skubal

Unlocking Skubal requires all five of the May Spotlight cards, including the new James Wood. The previous weeks are shorter grinds, so catching up won't take as long as the new program if you're efficient. With the huge variety of ways to unlock James Wood, up-to-date grinders essentially double-dip by unlocking Skubal once Wood is earned.

In your Spotlight Collections tab, find May and you'll be able to lock in all five May Spotlight cards and you'll have Skubal ready for your rotation.

Lightning Spotlight SP Tarik Skubal (Detroit Tigers) - #2 SP True Overall

Skubal's live series card is already pretty solid, but the Lightning version celebrates his fantastic May by upping all the antes.

Solid attributes across the board, including 91 H/9, 86 K/9 and 90 Clutch makes Skubal well-rounded in key attributes. What really makes this card good is the stuff, but Lightning Skubal also harnesses it with elite Control and 93 BB/9.

Skubal features an Outlier 4-Seamer and primary Circle Change which is a nasty enough combination alone. Add in a Sinker with 93 Control, a hard slider at 90 MPH with 88 Control and you have yourself the current #2 SP in Diamond Dynasty.

How to Unlock Retro Lightning Bryce Harper

As with last month, we also get a Retro Lightning player in May and it's a doozy. Diamond Dynasty darling Bryce Harper has his 2015 May celebrated in epic fashion with an absolute monster of a card.

Retro Lightning Harper debuts as the #2 RF in Diamond Dynasty for good reason. Elite ratings in every major offensive category except Power against LHP which still comes in at an exceptional 93, Harper also holds his own in the field with 76 Fielding and 70 Reaction. He's a bit slower than I'd expect young Harper to be with 57 base Speed, but no one cares about Speed on a Bryce Harper card.

To unlock Retro Lightning Bryce Harper, you'll need to collect 10 total May Spotlight pack players.

The May Retro Lightning collection is markedly easier to complete than April, as SDS has included a boatload of May Spotlight packs in today's content drop. You'll earn one of each May Spotlight pack just for completing the program to earn James Wood, as well as a random Spotlight player from the Any pack at the end of the program. This should help keep prices down somewhat as well as giving players direct access to Spotlight cards with lucky pulls. You also earn a May Spotlight Player pack by collecting four May Spotlight cards.

Spotlight Pack 5 features five new Spotlight cards, in addition to the eight from previous weeks. With thirteen total Spotlight cards available and only 10 required, unlocking Harper will still require Stubs, time, and grinding - but the payoff is absolutely worth it.