Season 1 Awards Program in MLB The Show 24: Everything You Need to Know

Within a few days of the Easter Egg Hunt release, we have yet another interesting program to dive into. Season Awards Drop 1 is here, and there is much to talk about. We have Base and Rare players that can be bought in an Awards pack. We also have three intriguing free program cards, plus Headliner Jim Thome.

Like I said, there is quite a bit to get into, so read on to see what you can expect from the latest program in MLB The Show 24.

Season 1 Awards Pack

The Season 1 Awards pack will give you a random card from either its three Base players or two Rare players. It comes with a price tag of 30k stubs and can be purchased a maximum of five times. So, if you’re seeking out a Rare O’Neil Cruz, for instance, your odds are exactly 20%. 

Base Round

Jonah Heim

The Rangers switch-hitting catcher brings some excellent fielding stats to the table, with 85 ARM and 87 FLD. The big let-down here is the 69 blocking rating, which is pretty low for a catcher. After all, a well-rounded catcher needs to have a solid arm and blocking stats, so it’s definitely a bit disappointing.

The offensive stats are a little too sparse for my liking, but he does offer superb contact against left-handed pitchers at 108. The clutch rating is also pretty immense and worth considering for those crucial scenarios you can run into in games.

Heim does benefit from the Nolan Arenado captain boost, which will definitely improve his speed. Plus, the Dead Red quirk will be pretty helpful for dealing with some nasty fastballs. So, overall, you get a fairly solid switch hitter with an okay catching profile.

Nick Martini

With two homers to his name already, you’d think Nick Martini’s hitting stats would be, well, something. I mean, 90/103 power against righties is obviously very good, but the other offensive stats (aside from clutch) just feel light. He does come with the Pull Hitter Swing, which is, of course, great at dealing with inside pitches.

His speed and defense stats mean you wouldn’t want to place him in the outfield. Therefore, I think he’d make for a good bench bat option, especially with the Pinch Hitter quirk. 

Jason Foley

The Detroit Tigers’ closing pitcher is a pretty good option for a couple of reasons. His per /9s are pretty balanced, each in the 88+ territory. You could argue that his H/9 and K/9 are on the low end for a closing pitcher, but I think his 86 control and 95 BB/9 make up for that. 

The combo of sinker, slider, and circle change is great to see, especially when you realize that he has an outlier on this sinker. Opposing batters will receive a lot of nastiness from the mound, and I’m all for it. I really don’t have much to complain about with this 89 OVR card, so definitely go for it if you need someone with his profile.

Rare Round

O'Neil Cruz

The towering shortstop, who plays for the Pirates, has a pretty strong card to get us excited for the Rare round. In terms of offensive stats, we are looking at 96/116 against righties and 75/90 against lefties. By the way, Cruz does benefit from the Buxton captain boost, so his power will max out against righties, and the fielding will go up to 83.

If those OP offensive and fielding stats weren’t enough, you also get a real roadrunner with his 90 speed. No wonder he’s always such a popular pick in the game, especially if you know how to work with him. His 6’7 stature makes for a bigger strike zone, which may not be your thing, but if you can master it, you are totally crushing opponents with him.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

As yet another player who is in fine form this season, the Diamondbacks’ left fielder has a great card. He is pretty much perfect against lefties with 120/85 and offers a great mix of defensive stats, too, including 91 ACC and 81 ARM. 

Gurriel Jr. offers a versatile option in the outfield and infield with loads of useful secondary positions. The Breaking Ball Hitter quirk makes him that much more appealing, but certainly not more than O’Neil Cruz!

Free Season Awards Program Cards

Now, let’s talk about the freebies because they are kind of a mixed bag. On the one hand, I really like the fact that we can use 88 OVR versions of players like Ohtani and Trout. But I’m not sure how I feel about their stats.

Mike Trout

Currently sitting on three home runs, with the first one coming on Opening Day, Mike Trout is truly loving life. His card reflects the hitting prowess we have come to expect from him, especially when combined with the Pull Hitter swing. He offers good splits against righties with 81/96, which makes it a bit easier to let his ratings against lefties slide. 

I also feel like his vision should have been better, as it can’t even qualify for the Buxton captain boost at a 60 rating. Moreover, I would have loved to see more quirks instead of the mere four listed on his card. It’s nice to see Table Setter quirk there, though.

Overall, it’s not the most exciting card, but I guess it’s good to have an accessible version of Trout!

Shohei Ohtani

The Dodgers man comes in with an Extreme Pull swing and ten solid hitting quirks, including Dead Red and Breaking Ball Hitter. This Ohtani card also boasts 98 discipline, which is always handy for checking swings.

One thing to note here is that this is a designated hitter card, which is quite a change from his usual two-way player cards. So, yes, you won’t be getting any pitching attributes here. Aside from that, he has good arm strength and speed, but his fielding stats aren’t exactly the best. You could just about get away with playing him in the outfield. 

So, yes, aside from his swing and hitting quirks, there’s not much more to write home about. For someone who has yet to knock one out of the park as of this writing, his power stats might be a tad higher than deserved!

Colt Keith

Colt Keith, in his debut MLB season, also gets a free 88 OVR card. I really like his hitting profile, with 90/91 and 100/95 against righties and lefties, respectively. I would absolutely recommend him as a solid lefty 2B option. 

But you probably don’t want to play him as an SS because the 70 FLD rating is fairly average.

Overall, though, it’s a very strong card for his debut season. Despite the absence of quirks, I think there’s much to like here.

Garrett Crochet

The Crotch Rocket brings a commendable pitching profile to the game. I really like his H/9 and K/9, and while the pitch mix is good, there is certainly room for improvement. For one, he only has four pitches, which isn’t all that exciting for an SP. 

He doesn’t have a sinker, and while he does possess a 4-seam cutter, I would have liked to see some more velocity discrepancy. But, having said that, he would still make a lot of players’ teams, especially if they have some of the Team Affinity pitchers in their rotation. A leftie starter with decent attributes for free? I’ll take that all day.

Headliners Pack 6 - Jim Thome

The Headliner, Jim Thome, brings maximum power against righties and pretty balanced offensive stats in general. His 51 vision absolutely gets a much-needed leg-up with the Buxton captain boost. 

With 87/125 and 78/92 splits against right- and left-handed pitchers, he is already fairly prolific in the hitting department. And with Buxton boost offering +15 to each of his POW R and POW L at Tier 3, there’s not a lot of gain. Speed and fielding stats get a handy +10 boost, too.

He does qualify for the Nolan Arenado captain boost as well, which gives +20 to his CON R, +15 to his POW L, +15 to his CLT, and +10 to his FLD at Tier 3.

Finally, his eight quirks are all pretty fun, especially the Dead Red and Breaking Ball Hitter.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I like what SDS has done with the Seasons Awards program. We get a healthy mix of high-quality, established players and also a couple of potential breakouts. My mind keeps going back to the Rare O’Neil Cruz because it’s such a strong card with excellent hitting and fielding stats.

But, the free cards aren’t too bad either, as they give us a taste of what it’s like to play with Ohtani or Trout. Plus, I really do like the Colt Keith card, too.

Ultimately, I love the steady stream of new programs, starting from Easter Egg Hunt last Friday. It bodes well for what we can expect in terms of new, exciting in-game content moving forward!