With another year of MLB The Show mainly having come and gone, it’s time to take stock of this year’s Diamond Dynasty content. Let’s celebrate the good, acknowledge the bad, and remember stuff that was just plain silly.
Best Series
It’s so easy to pick the Finest series, which always has the most overpowered cards. But that’s no fun. The Postseason series always has some incredible cards, too. And new additions like Neon or Home Run Derby X brought a fresh new look to the game. But in a year where we returned to the power creep, one series stands out above the others.
Winner: All-Star/Home Run Derby Series
I chose the All-Star and Home Run Derby series for two reasons. First, it’s traditionally the beginning of the endgame when the power creep is in play. And second, that Cal Raleigh card is legendary. I had him in my lineup until well into the fall. Card art almost cost it a win here, as the All-Star series has had better art in the past. Plus, Finest and Neon had really great art this year.
Best New Addition
There are a few to choose from here. MLB The Show 25 introduced the Ranked Seasons 1000 cards, which were brag-worthy versions of the Ranked bosses for getting to 1000 rating in a season. Also worth consideration are cosmetic rewards for hitting significant milestones. Did anyone get the overalls? But one new addition beats all the others.
Winner: Diamond Quest
I can finish a round of Diamond Quest within an hour, and it’s a good time. The new mode mixes moments and conquest, and adds RPG elements to MLB The Show, plus the early reward of Garrett Crochet sold me on the mode from the start.
Best Team Affinity Series
Team Affinity turned into a journey for each team this year. The process of unlocking all the rewards was incredibly tedious, but Sony San Diego offered some ways to accelerate the grind. Among them were series within Team Affinity that rewarded you with Neon or Color Storm cards. Extra cards are always nice, but they also had the benefit of being captain cards for their teams.
Winner: Neon
It’s a little unfair, since there are only two to choose from, and the Neon cards are all higher-rated. But there are some great cards in here, such as the Lance Berkman. Color Storm wasn’t bad, but there were some Neon cards in my lineup for a good while.
Worst Series
Every year, MLB The Show has one or two clunkers. If it’s not more than that, then it was a pretty decent year. I wasn’t a fan of the Home Run Derby X cards, but I did see a fair number of people using them online. So we’ll go in a different direction.
Winner: Topps Now
There was a time when some Topps Now cards were usable in lineups. That time is mostly gone. I have a lineup named “Topps Now” so I can build Conquest lineups with cards I’d never touch in Ranked Seasons. Many of those lineups include Topps Now players.
Best Value Cards
Every year, there are those gold cards or low diamonds that excel in your lineup. If you’re a no-money-spent player, those players are incredibly valuable. Sometimes, a player’s attributes line up really nicely with how you like to play. And sometimes, a player might not look great on paper but have a weird delivery or an incredible swing that produces huge results.
Winners: 87 OV Garrett Crochet and 84 OV Jurickson Profar
Crochet was available in one of the first Diamond Quest maps, and he was utterly dominant early in the game’s cycle. It’s also one of the most playable Topps Now cards of MLB The Show 25. Profar is the New Threads card, and a gold card that plays well above his 84 OVR rating.
Honorable mention to the 99 OVR Mike Trout that you could earn for free in a program. Who doesn’t love 99 Mike Trout every year?
Best Pitchers
MLB The Show 25 felt light on great pitchers. There were a few, however, that were monsters on the mound every time. Sadly, though, the best pitchers in the game often cost you a lot to get your hands on.
Winners: 99 OV John Donaldson and 99 OV Roger Clemens (Milestone)
Both of these cards are Milestone series cards, and both were pretty dominant in the game. In Donaldson’s case, he should be. You need to complete one of the toughest collections in the game to get him. Clemens was deep into the Extreme program, which is insane to accomplish in its own right.
Best Hitters
Switch-hitters are the name of the game in MLB The Show. It feels like that was even more the case this year. Part of that was probably due to there being a lot of dominant switch-hitters in the game this time around. Two of them stood out above all others.
Winners: 99 OVR Ketel Marte (Spooky) and 99 OVR Cal Raleigh (Finest)
Ketel Marte might be my favorite player to have in my lineup in MLB The Show, so apologies if there’s any bias here. But I don’t think I’m alone in that love. This card rakes. It’s so worth the grind to get him — a grind that isn’t even all that hard. As for Cal Raleigh, what else is there to say? He had a tremendous 2025, and both his Finest and Home Run Derby cards are among the very best in this year’s game.
