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Julio Franco Comes to Diamond Dynasty via MLBx Program
One of MLB's lesser-loved events is the MLBx program that brings back legends and teams them with rising stars in baseball and softball for home run derby competitions that end up being a bit of a sideshow during playoff pushes and pennant races.
This year, though, the MLBx Program in Diamond Dynasty brings us Julio Franco.
A 99 OVR Franco is the reward at the end of the new MLBx Program's XP reward path, and comes to DD for the first time as a very good hitter who lacks power, fairly representing the old-but-not-yet-ancient version of Franco, the oldest regular position player and oldest player to hit an MLB home run, as he existed with the Braves in 2004. That Franco still hit .309, somewhere removed from the .341 he once hit more than a decade prior to lead the American League, and still had six home runs with his legendary coiled style, and still represents one of the great outliers in baseball history that it is a real treat to have in MLB The Show.
He's certainly not the best player added to DD this Friday, but he might well be the most fun and memorable, and his inclusion is a coup for baseball fans who have been waiting decades to use him in a video game again. And while he's far and away the best standard MLBx Series added this Friday — Ryan Howard without much Contact and Shane Victorino without great Power exist on lower XP reward path rungs — the Program's very simple Moments and Missions structure means he should be in the hands of anyone who picks up the sticks looking for him in short order.
Ben Zobrist Headlines Latest Legends and Flashbacks Collection
Of course, the best MLBx Series player added on Friday comes via the latest massive Legends and Flashbacks Collection — and, given that it's a naturally versatile Ben Zobrist with unnaturally great attributes, it might be the best player in Diamond Dynasty.
This 99 OVR Zobrist is a switch-hitting utility player who can slot in anywhere but catcher and pitcher, and comes with nearly maxed-out Contact that makes shoring up 106/100 Power a cinch for Parallel Mods. The legendarily flexible Zobrist also gets good Speed (80) and a suite of Fielding stats at or above 90 that will make him not just a good but potentially great defender at virtually any position. (The 83 Arm Strength might be his one real knock, but it'll play anywhere but right field, really.)
That this Zobrist is this good is a bit of a surprise, given that he's depicted as a Cub, and was more of a solid All-Star-caliber player at that stage of his career, rather than the fringe MVP candidate he was with the Rays. But the Cubs are popular, and the Rays are not, so...
Obtaining Zobrist requires locking in 30 of 32 cards and Vouchers from various other Program and card Series Collections, and it'll take half your weekend to do that just from a mechanical perspective. At least the reward at the end of the rainbow is worth it.
Moonshot Program Launches Homers, Mickey Mantle
If Zobrist is the great Collection reward for this Friday, "great" feels more fair for the Mickey Mantle that headlines the returning Moonshot Program as its Collection gem.
The Mick's prodigious power isn't exactly well-represented on this 99 OVR card, obtained through locking in 36 Moonshot players — the Bronze pitchers count! — in a Moonshot Collection that does not feed into the Zobrist one. He's at just 110/101 Power stock, and while he's probably going to benefit from both Parallel Mods and more than a few Yankees theme teams, that's not really a souped-up Mantle, given that he's one of the few players in baseball history with multiple 50-homer seasons and did in fact clout 536 round-trippers despite the infamous injury that sapped his strength in his later years. But this is an exceedingly versatile version of the Commerce Comet, with secondary positions to match Zobrist's, a better Arm, and great Speed at 90.
If not for the fact that, yes, Mickey Mantle was a better hitter than Ben Zobrist, this card would be perfectly fine.
The rest of the Moonshot Program is basically what DD diehards might have predicted: Light-hitting players (Dave Roberts, Jackie Robinson) got big Power bumps, and sluggers known for their potent bats (Adam Dunn, Richie Sexson) appear here with nearly maxed-out Power. The Moonshot Program's XP reward path has more than 20 players, counting the pack of 10 Bronze pitchers at its first rung, the Event Program has a couple of exclusive players and a Deluxe Pack, the Mini Seasons may be a great grind given that it features a repeatable Ultra Pack for hitting 75 home runs, and the Diamond Quest has three Stadium Challenges with Deluxe Packs as Epic-tier rewards.
Happy homering!
Other News and Notes
- The Roberto Clemente Day Program that arrived on Tuesday is as simple as can be: Three Moments and one Mission for 21 Stars to obtain Clemente, who is a fine Contact hitter and not much else. It would be nice to deepen this Program at some point.
- Pete Alonso's 300th home run came at Citi Field but as an Oriole this week, so his new Player Program will be fun for Mets fans to ignore and/or grit their teeth through tears about.
- Who's the biggest name in September Spotlight Drop 2? Well, it might be Anthony Volpe. So.
- A 50 percent off Stubs sale is going on now through September 23, in case you thought prices were too low or something. But a Flash Sale on Packs with Live Series 90+ Diamonds and Vault Choice Packs will soak up some of those Stubs.
- Chase Pack 24's prize? Chone Figgins, whose switch-hitting utility profile certainly follows from Zobrist and Mantle. Apart from slightly low Speed and better Power, not much to distinguish this card.
- Next week's content: A new Conquest Map on Tuesday, September 22, followed by the 8th Inning, Weekend Classic, and so forth on Friday, September 25.
