May Spotlight 5 is headlined by Junior Caminero in the May Spotlight Drop 5 pack and Spotlight James Wood as the collection reward within the program. This is also the fifth week of the May Spotlight, which means we now get our collection rewards: Lightning Tarik Skubal, Lightning Jacob Wilson, and Lightning Bryce Harper.
The Lightning Bryce Harper is the top reward in the Retro Lightning collection for May, and this is a collection that is always extremely expensive but does tend to come with an incredible reward. That is no different with this Bryce Harper card:
The other collection reward in the Retro section is Spotlight Jacob Wilson, someone you might already be familiar with in this game. He’s a contact hawk but he’s not nearly as impressive a card as Harper.
As for the “free” collection reward, Lightning Tarik Skubal will be in your rotation if you collect all five May Spotlight players from the end of the weekly May Spotlight programs:
He looks to be worth our time, and my early prediction is he will slot into a top five role right now in the meta. I do think his Live Series card is somewhat hittable, but you’re getting increased velocities (or lower in the case of the changeup and curve), better control numbers, and more dominant per/9s to try and make him more of a threat.
To get there, you need to finish the May Drop 5 program and snag Spotlight James Wood:
I’m a big booster for James Wood as I love his swing in this game, but you do need to be able to cope with using a 6-foot-7 player with a large strike zone. This version also isn’t that fast, but you’re getting 125 clutch and power numbers that hit the 90s. Outside of the super premium “pay to win” cards, Wood is easily the best option now for primary LF (that new Adam Dunn in the 4th Inning Program I would put above Wood as well, but no one will have him yet).
The only other cards from either the free program or Drop 5 pack are Spotlight Junior Caminero and Topps Now Denzel Clarke. Caminero already has plenty of fans from his Team Affinity Rays card, and Clarke is a new speed demon:
He doesn’t have good bunt attributes so he might only go on the bench for my scum team for beating GOAT difficulty, but with full outfield flexibility and 99 speed across the board (plus being 6-foot-4), he can definitely annoy you online.
May Drop 5 Spotlight Cards
May Drop 4 Spotlight Cards
The other cards in this pack are Topps Now Ty France, Topps Now Jorbit (don’t call him Norbit) Vivas, and Topps Now Daylen Lile. Vivas and Lile are fresh faces for DD, but none of these players have attributes that scream out. Lile is an all-contact player with solid defense and speed so he can play all three outfield positions in a pinch.
May Spotlight 4 Stat Missions
- 1,000 PXP with May Drop 4 players
- 500 PXP with Topps Now Nic Enright
- 350 PXP with Topps Now Robert Hassell III
- 350 PXP with Spotlight Wilmer Flores
- 12 total bases with primary CFs
- 5 XBH with primary 1B
- 3 HRs with primary 3B
- 15 strikeouts with Yankees
- 10 XBH with Astros
May Drop 3 Spotlight Cards
Spotlight Will Benson has been on a heater in real life, but he’s a pretty clear platoon player with just 57 contact vs. LHP. His speed and reaction also makes him a disappointing outfielder. Spotlight Merrill Kelly comes with the issue of being a softer tossing right-handed pitcher, but he does have a cutter, sinker, slider, and change.
May Spotlight 3 Stat Missions
- 1,000 PXP with May Drop 3 players
- 500 PXP with Topps Now Mick Abel
- 350 PXP with Topps Now Moises Ballesteros
- 350 PXP with Spotlight Jasson Dominguez
- 3 home runs with primary 1B
- 12 total bases with primary RF
- 5 XBH with primary C
- 10 XBH with Giants
- 24 total bases with Reds
May Drop 2 Spotlight Cards
The first is Spotlight Willson Contreras, who is a 1B with C eligibility. He has 100 clutch and his lowest hitting stat is 84 power against LHP. He also has 54 speed, which is decent for a catcher. The second is Spotlight Danny Coulombe. He was already a popular Live Series card, and he has 114 H/9 and 98 control of his cutter and sinker. He also gets 95 pitch break on the cutter, 99 pitch break on the sweeper, and 99 break on the knuckle-curve.
May Spotlight 2 Stat Missions
- 1,000 PXP with May Drop 2 players
- 350 PXP with Topps Now Matthew Lugo
- 350 PXP with Topps Now Stephen Kolek
- 350 PXP with Spotlight Kyle Stowers
- 12 total bases with primary left fielders
- 5 XBH with primary 1B
- 10 strikeouts with primary starting pitchers
- 10 home runs with Yankees
- 24 total bases with Cardinals
May Drop 1 Spotlight Cards
Along with Kyle Stowers, you can earn Topps Now Kyle Manzardo and Topps Now Zach Agnos. Manzardo has great power from both sides of the plate, and Agnos is at least another reliever to test out. He has a cutter and sweeper, but he’s got nothing that cuts against the grain.
May Spotlight Drop 1 Pack
The less said about these cards the better in a general sense. I don’t see any “sneaky” options even among this group. These are platoon bats, contact-first guys, and pitchers that lack top-end velo. Topps Now Hoglund does have a good pitch mix, but I don’t think he has the attributes to hold up.
May Spotlight 1 Stat Missions
- 1,000 PXP with May Drop 1 players
- 350 PXP with Topps Now Kyle Manzardo
- 350 PXP with Topps Now Zach Agnos
- 5 XBH with primary RFs
- 12 TB with primary CFs
- 7 H with primary 3B
- 10 HR with Miami Marlins
- 15 strikeouts with Minnesota Twins pitchers
