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The future of baseball is firmly in view in the Pipeline Program released this Friday.
Jesús Made, Eli Willits Headlines Pipeline Program
The slow leak of Pipeline Series cards in Diamond Dynasty in recent weeks was pointing to something, as it turns out: Friday's release of the Pipeline Program, which features prospects from all over MLB projected at their peaks and primes.
That means 2025 MLB Draft No. 1 overall pick Eli Willits as one of the headliners of the program, coming in as the 100-Star reward on the XP reward path. He gets a great card that can do a bit of everything at short, with his Power perhaps slightly underwhelming at an 86/88 that does suggest he'll at least be rapping doubles from both sides of the plate as a switch-hitter.
Earning Willits should be easy, too, with the great breadth of missions available in the program. Players can complete Moments, accrue stats and Parallel XP with Pipeline Series players from this release or prior ones (like the Joshua Baez and George Lombard Jr. that have been released in recent weeks), and even eschew any and all individual team-building by getting Stars from repeatable Parallel XP missions tied to Mini Seasons, Conquest, and the suite of multiplayer modes.
That last bit is crucial: It means that simply throwing any Pipeline players on a roster will eventually produce enough progress to max out the 150-Star XP reward path and get all of its rewards — five players, including Willits, and four Choice Packs from which players can nab three unsellable Pipeline players each.
Those 17 cards and the smattering of other Pipeline cards previously available still only get players about halfway to crown jewel of the Collection for the Pipeline Program, though — but that card is a player whom most baseball fans will know: Brewers superprospect Jesús Made, who has been one of the hottest names in card collecting for two years running and is considered close to a can't-miss shortstop prospect. Made's 99 OVR card is predictably phenomenal for a five-tool build: No stat outside of his bunting is lover than an 85, and only his Power against righties (88) and Vision (92) are under 100 among his six batting stats. As a switch-hitting shortstop, he ticks just about every box players could want; as a flatly better version of the Willits that is earnable for free, it's a little disappointing that one or the other will have to play a secondary position to make it into a lineup.
The Pipeline Program's attached Event Program is the Rising Stars Event Program, naturally one oriented around young stars and up-and-comers; its rewards include another one of the pick three no-sell Choice Packs and two Deluxe Packs that contain the higher-tier Pipeline Series players exclusive to those packs. This Event ends next Friday, August 29th, in conjuction with the changeover to the 7th Inning.
The Pipeline Conquest, Diamond Quest, and Mini Seasons all have Pipeline Packs rather than exclusive players as their rewards; the Conquest map having one of those no-sell packs as a repeatable reward might incline players to make it their first, uh, conquest.
Gunnar Henderson Leads Off August Spotlight Drop 2
Last week, I wrote that "(August Spotlight) Drop 1 addresses Spotlight's struggle to include big-name players by reaching to a different program for help." This week, Spotlight just has one of those big-name players: Orioles shortstop and former MLB The Show cover athlete Gunnar Henderson, whose strong week gets him the end-of-reward path "free" card for August Spotlight Drop 2.
Henderson is joined by a couple of other notable names in the Spotlight Pack: Angels fireballer Ben Joyce, who throws the gas you'd expect but also has 125/120/125 numbers in H/9 against righties, against lefties, and Pitching Clutch; and A's second baseman — but really utility man — Jeff McNeil, instantly one of the best pinch-hitters in DD.
Henderson being both yet another big-time 99 OVR shortstop of this Friday's release and likely the least coveted may make him a bit of a disappointment relative to Joyce and McNeil in the sense of their utilities to DD rosters, but it's good to have a standout in Spotlight even this late in the year.
Other News and Notes
- Last weekend, Joshua Baez made MLB history by homering in the first three at-bats of his career; that produced a very cool one-off Program for just his card, which was and is attainable by swatting a single homer in a Moment. That card was also briefly supercharged to have perfect hitting stats, a very cool way of reproducing the power fantasy of his pioneering moment. Diamond Dynasty needs more of that.
- On Thursday, San Diego Studio added a new SDS Thanks You Choice Pack containing your choice of a n0-sell player from Chase Packs No. 1-22. Diamond Dynasty could use more of that, too.
- Chase Pack 23 has a fourth big-time shortstop for this Friday: Leo De Vries of the A's, whose stats ... are more like Willits than Made? This is, finally, a Chase Pack player who is more shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of the content released in a Program; yes, DD could benefit from this being its design more often than not.
- Next Friday's content in Diamond Dynasty will include what is standard for an Inning transition: The 7th Inning XP reward path, a next Weekend Classic, and a new Cornerstone Program. But before that, on Tuesday, comes the Shark Conquest map that is sure to have some of the best rewards Conquest will hold all year.
