The boys of summer are back again with MLB the Show 22, featuring the ever popular Diamond Dynasty mode. There are hundreds of different player cards you can collect to assemble a team to take online and challenge other squads in head to head matchups. The sheer number of possible lineups can be intimidating, so we’ve assembled a hypothetical dream team of player cards for you to try and collect at each position. Here is the best Diamond Dynasty team lineup in MLB the Show 22.
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First Base: Frank Thomas
Frank Thomas is power personified, exactly what you want to see out of your first baseman. The aptly nicknamed Big Hurt has a 99 overall rating MVP Card, with ratings above 100 in Contact, Cower, Plate Vision, Discipline, and Clutch Hitting. There’s no weakness in his swing, and he can crush a pitch from any pitcher. This is the most intimidating presence the batters box MLB the Show 22 has to offer.
- Awards Series MVP
- Source: Complete the All AL Live Series Collection
- Price: 1,180,000 Stubbs
Earning Frank Thomas is an undertaking. He’s unlocked by completing the All AL Live Series Collection. You will need to collect every AL Live Series Player to add him to your team, so plan to spend 1,180,000 Stubbs (give or take based on the current market) out of your account to get them all. That’s a big investment, but it does come with the added benefit of putting you halfway to earning Randy Johnson, another player on this list.
Second Base: Chase Utley
The Chase Utley Prime Series card is almost unanimously regarded as the best second base card in The Show 22. In the middle-infield positions, defense is a massive difference maker, and Utley’s 99 Fielding rating, good speed, and strong arm make him an elite defender. Combine that with outstanding contact and good power, against both left and right handed pitchers, and you have a complete player that can do everything at a high level.
- Prime Series
- Source: Complete the All NL East Live Series Collection
- Price: 600,000 Stubbs
Utley is another Live Series Collection reward, unlocked once you complete the NL East collection. That means you will be gathering all the Live Series Players from the Mets, Braves, Nationals, Phillies, and Marlins if you want him on your team. In total, that’s about a 600,000 Stubbs investment.
Shortstop: Fernando Tatis Jr
This may be a somewhat controversial pick, as Michael Young is a better fielder at a position where defense matters, and is better at consistently making contact with his bat. But power out of a shortstop is a rarity, which Tatis has in spades. His competent fielding gets a huge boost from his high end speed, and he plays like a much better defender than his ratings would indicate. The runs he will generate as a hitter, more than make up for the small number of baseballs that may get past him in the field.
- Live Series
- Source: Marketplace, The Show Packs
- Price: 190,000 Stubbs
Tatis’ Live Series card is currently around 190,000 Stubbs on the marketplace. You can also keep opening random The Show Packs in hopes of getting extremely lucky, but the odds of getting that lucky are extremely low.
Third Baseman: Troy Glause
The hot corner is another position with a pretty clear meta. The Troy Glaus Prime series card gives you a 95 rated third baseman, excellent fielding, and a strong arm, which is key for getting outs making the throw from third base to first. Glaus is good at hitting right handed pitchers, and absolutely shreds lefties with 101 Contact and 118 Power against southpaws. This is a tremendous player in all facets.
- Prime Series
- Source: Complete the Angels Live Series
- Price: 614,000 Stubbs
Troy Glaus is the pinnacle reward of the Angels Live Series. That sounds simple, right? Just collect every Live Series Angels player from the marketplace. It comes with one massive caveat in the form of Mike Trout, one of the most expensive players in The Show. You’ll have to spend 614,000 Stubbs to gather Trout and all of his teammates in order to get Troy Glaus covering the hot corner.
Catcher: Joe Mauer
It’s so rare to get a great hitter at the catcher position. Fielding, arm strength, and accuracy are critically important for keeping the other team from running all over you with base runners. Joe Mauer is a rare catcher that is elite at and behind the plate. He has high 80s-90’s in all the key defensive attributes, and 100+ Contact against all pitchers, solid hitting power, and 99 rated Clutch Hitting. All of this makes him a key cog in your offensive machine.
- Cover Athletes Series
- Source: Complete the Cover Athletes Collection
- Price: 319,000 Stubbs
Mauer is the one foray into a collection other than the Live Series that merits inclusion on this list. The Cover Athletes Collection is a group of 12 players that graced the cover of MLB the Show. Snagging them all won’t be cheap, but who can put a price on an elite two-way catcher? We can. It’s 319,000 Stubbs.
Right Field: Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente was a nearly transcendent baseball player and a dedicated humanitarian. It’s appropriate then, that MLB the Show 22 honors him with a 99 rated Milestone card. Clemente does it all. He features nearly maxed out attributes in all fielding categories, good speed, and an unbelievable 125 Contact rating against left and right handed pitching. This might simply be the best Diamond Dynasty card in The Show 22.
- Milestone Collection
- Source: Complete the All NL Live Series
- Price: 1,145,000 Stubbs
Clemente is the All NL Live Series counterpart to Frank Thomas. This is another big one, in that you’ve got to collect every single NL Live Series card. Hope you have 1,145,000 Stubbs handy.
Center Field: Mike Trout
Mike Trout may be the best baseball player of his generation, and that’s reflected in Diamond Dynasty. He’s a true five tool player, able to run, hit for power, hit for average, field, and throw at a high level. His low to mid 80’s defensive ratings are solid, but it’s his 90 overall Speed that gives him the ability to make outs in centerfield that few other players can. He hits lefties well and is a nightmare for righties with his mix of contact and power hitting.
- Live Series
- Source: Marketplace, The Show Packs
- Price: 408,000 Stubbs
It should come as no surprise that an all time great player in the prime of his career comes at a substantial cost. His price tag of 408,000 Stubbs is more than the AL and NL Central combined, but hey, you get what you pay for.
Left Field: Albert Pujols
With a full 20 years of Major League Baseball under his belt, most people know ultra-slugger Albert Pujols as a first baseman. But take a peek into his early career, like his Rookie of the Year Diamond Dynasty card allows you to, and you may be surprised to learn he spent most of his early career as a left fielder. Turn that bit of baseball trivia to your advantage and you’ve got one of the greatest hitters in history patrolling your outfield. Pujols has good, not great, fielding and speed, but who cares when you have elite power against any pitcher, and an uncompromising 120 Contact rating vs right handed pitchers.
- Award Series ROTY
- Source: Marketplace, Box of 50 The Show Packs
- Price: 103,000 Stubbs
The 103,000 Stubbs for Pujols sounds like a bargain after some of those players. You could purchase a Box of 50 The Show Pack for 75,000 Stubbs, there’s a 1:15 chance it will include this card, but the price difference to buy Pujols outright makes that an iffy prospect at best.
Relief Pitcher: Mariano Rivera
Choosing Rivera may be a bit of a surprise. Kenly Janson has a similar arsenal and a higher overall rating. But Mariano Rivera is the GOAT among closers for good reason. He and Jansen both embarrass opposing hitters with their elite cutters, but the ability to keep hitters off balance with an outstanding fastball to go with the sinker/slider secondary pitch combination make Rivera a more versatile choice.
- All-Star Series
- Source: Marketplace, The Show Packs
- Price: 16,000 Stubbs
You could wait for Mariano Rivera to randomly drop from opening The Show Packs, but we recommend heading straight to the marketplace. At just shy of 17,000 stubs he’s a steal of a shutdown closer.
Pitcher: Randy Johnson
The Big Unit is one of the featured legends in MLB the Show 22, and for good reason. This multiple Cy Young award winner was nigh unstoppable on the mound in his prime, mowing down opposing batters (and the occasional bird) with a high powered fastball and hard-breaking slider. His 99 OVR Diamond Dynasty card reads like a mod hacked into the game. The 96 Velocity and a 99 Break rating make his pitches nearly impossible to hit. Combine that with 120 Stamina and you have a pitcher well equipped to make the other team miserable for all nine innings.
- Signature Series
- Source: Complete ALL MLB Live Series Collection
- Price: 2,325,700 Stubbs
Collecting this mullet clad strikeout machine won’t come easy. This version of Randy Johnson is only available as the final reward for collecting the ALL MLB Live Series Collection. That means unpacking or buying every single Live Series Card. The good news is you will unlock most of the players on this list in the process. The bad news? Doing so will cost over 2.3 million Stubbs, as of marketplace pricing when this article was written.
Total Cost: 2,764,000 Stubbs
Building this superhuman team won’t be easy. If you work your way all the way to Randy Johnson you will have most of the players on this list, but you are going to need almost three million Stubbs to pull it off. The best thing you can do is keep playing, keep earning and opening packs, and save your Stubbs up to buy Live Series players off of the market. Focus on assembling your uber team one player at a time, and you’ll see your unstoppable squad slowly come together.
