MLB The Show 26’s Latest Content Drop Adds May Spotlight 1, Weekend Classic Rewards, and More

The 2nd Inning has come and gone, meaning it’s time for the 3rd Inning in MLB The Show 26 Diamond Dynasty to commence. And it’s bringing a ton of new content with it.

Between the May Spotlight Drop 1 program, a new Salvador Perez Cornerstone card, fresh Weekend Classic rewards, and the start of the 3rd Inning XP path, there’s a lot to sort through, and not all of these cards are created equal.

Some feel like legitimate lineup staples, while others are more collection fodder than anything else. So, let’s break down everything added in today’s MLB The Show 26 content drop and figure out what’s actually worth your time.

May Spotlight Drop 1 Program And Pack

Screenshot: Operation Sports

The top reward for the May Spotlight Drop 1 program is Colorado Rockies left fielder Mickey Moniak, given to him for getting three home runs in the Rockies’ first two games this month. A left-handed hitter, he possesses high Contact and Power against righty pitching (96 and 97, respectively). However, he’ll struggle against lefties with 77 Contact, though he does possess 88 Power.

En route to getting Moniak, players will attain Minnesota Twins reliever Andrew Morris, Chicago White Sox catcher Drew Romo, and a May Spotlight 1 pack.

In terms of Morris, he has a good pitch mix and unusually high Stamina for a relief pitcher — 62 to be exact. This means he can be used as a long-relief guy who can eat 2-3 innings in games where your starter isn’t getting it done, before bringing in the big guns late.

Romo is also a solid choice as he’s a switch-hitting catcher. If you really like (and have) Victor Martinez there already, then maybe he won’t be necessary. Still, he’s certainly a viable option and might even be an improvement over other fan favorites like Biz Mackey, Jason Varitek, or Josh Gibson.

As for the May Spotlight 1 pack, it includes five cards. They’re listed below:

• 91 OVR Jake Bennett (SP, Boston Red Sox)
• 91 OVR Nathan Church (LF, St. Louis Cardinals)
• 91 OVR Brady House (3B, Washington Nationals)
• 93 OVR Sean Burke (SP, Chicago White Sox)
• 93 OVR Christian Walker (1B, Houston Astros)

Depending on his swing, Christian Walker could be a very good pull. However, he’s a first baseman with no secondaries, meaning it’s hard to play him over other high-OVR player cards like Jackie Robinson, Ben Rice, Babe Ruth, or the card we’re about to talk about right now.

Salvador Perez Cornerstone Card

Screenshot: Operation Sports

The latest Cornerstone card to drop is for Kansas City Royals veteran catcher Salvador Perez. Longtime Diamond Dynasty players will likely be very aware of how good Perez’s swing has played in past titles, thus making this one of the most underrated cards in this content drop.

Sure, he might not be a switch-hitter, meaning he’ll be susceptible to sliders away from right-handed pitchers because SDS refuses to do anything about PCI shrinkage. However, Salvi rakes against both right-handed and left-handed pitching, so he might be worth giving a try if you’re struggling to find a consistently hitting catcher.

To get Perez, you only need to do five Moments (worth six Stars apiece) and two Missions. One of the missions involves getting 13 hits with catchers or first basemen, so they might need to be done in a Conquest or Play Vs CPU game to knock out quickly. The other only requires you to collect 1,712 PXP total with hitters.

In all honesty, you can double-dip and knock those out simultaneously by doing one Vs CPU game, putting the difficulty on Rookie, playing in a small stadium (like Blank Canvas), having one monster half-inning at the plate, then quitting.

3rd Inning XP Path Cards And Bosses

Screenshot: Operation Sports

Next up, we have all of the cards included in the 3rd Inning XP path, including the two boss cards. And we have some good news: SDS has decided to reduce the total XP required for the path from 500,000 to 400,000.

Besides the two Bosses at the end, the XP path provides two cards for you to earn at various points. They are:

• 93 OVR 2nd Half Carlos Delgado (1B, Toronto Blue Jays) – 57,000 XP
• 94 OVR Breakout Corbin Burnes (SP, Milwaukee Brewers) – 220,000 XP

Delgado is always a good card with a good lefty power swing, and Burnes has long been a fixture in most Diamond Dynasty players’ starting rotation. So both of these should get some play for at least a little bit. At the very least, they’ll be good for 2nd Half and Breakout collection vouchers to get the 99 Miguel Cabrera.

Upon reaching 400,000 XP and completing the path, players will earn the Boss pack, giving them a choice between these two cards:

• 95 OVR Silver Slugger Francisco Lindor (SS, New York Mets)
• 95 OVR All-Star Juan Soto (RF, New York Yankees)

I can’t lie, both of these cards are very good. However, Lindor seems to be the easy choice here.

Not only is he a switch-hitter, but Lindor’s Silver Slugger card is as well-balanced as they come, equipped with good Contact, Power, Fielding, and Speed. Soto, on the other hand, is a great lefty bat, but will fall victim to the PCI shrinkage, and isn’t very usable in the field (he only has 51 Speed and 65 Fielding). Even with Parallel mods applied, that’s a tough sell.

May Weekend Classic Rewards

Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Finally, we’ve got the big guns — the Weekend Classic rewards for May. And it’s a hard choice.

• 94 OVR Silver Slugger Jorge Posada (C, New York Yankees)
• 94 OVR Postseason Yordan Alvarez (LF, Houston Astros)

First things first, not everyone playing Weekend Classic will be able to earn these cards — if you are playing in Bronze II or lower, you will only get access to Weekend Classic Rewind packs, allowing you to get either Victor Martinez or Bernie Williams. If you’re at Silver I, you will be able to earn one of either Jorge or Yordan, but only if you win all 6 of your Weekend Classic matchups.

So, with that being said, which one of these cards is the pick here?

Honestly, it’s Jorge Posada.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but the switch-hitting meta is strong right now. And even though there is a selection of good catchers out there, very few (if any) of them are as prolific and dangerous at the plate as Posada is.

Yordan has an objectively great swing, and I’m sure it will mash for whoever chooses his card. However, he’s useless in the field and will have to be a DH. And most players already have a wide range of selections in that regard.

More cards were announced for next week, so we’ll be sure to talk about those on Monday.