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The MLB The Show 22 Monthly Awards and Lightning Player Program in Diamond Dynasty has arrived, with new elite cards for August 2022. Many Major League Baseball players had a great month in August, but none were better than Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he was rewarded with the Lightning Player card.


MLB The Show 22‘s Monthly Awards celebrates the real-life achievements that take place on the field. New players are added every week in the form of Topps Now cards with challenges associated with each. Because players want to fill their lineup with the best Diamond Dynasty cards available, the Monthly Awards program is a chance to get some highly rated players without spending any money.

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The MLB The Show earn 22 monthly prizes Players

After completing all of this month’s challenges, players will have new Topps Now cards and 65 Program Stars, moving them to Phase 2 of the program. In phases 2 and 3, they can start earning the monthly prizes player cards, with a total of six players out of 96 in total and three out of 98 in total:

  • Alexis Diaz, Cincinnati Reds, CP – 96 OV
  • Christian Walker, Arizona Diamondbacks, 1B – 96 OV
  • George Kirby, Seattle Mariners, SP – 96 OV
  • Jeff McNeil, New York Mets, 2B – 96 OV
  • Lars Nootbaar, St. Louis Cardinals, RF – 96 OV
  • Peter Fairbanks, Tampa Bay Rays, CP – 96 OV
  • Alex Bregman, Houston Astros, 3B – 98 OV
  • Randy Arozarena, Tampa Bay Rays, RF – 98 OV
  • Zac Gallen, Arizona Diamondbacks, SP – 98 OV

The 96 Overall group is highlighted by closers Peter Fairbanks and Alexis Diaz, who according to Showzone have the 7th and 8th best meta ratings in their ranks, making them each among the best pitchers in the world. MLB The Show 22. Bullpen arms are precious in Diamond Dynasty online play, so having many strong relievers with good speed and high H/9 attributes will serve players well.

Jeff McNeil had a great August averaging .385 and 11 RBI, and his Monthly Awards card puts him in the top-10 second basemen in MLB The Show 22. With the plethora of elite outfielders and first basemen in Diamond Dynasty this year, players like Lars Noobaar and Christian Walker will be less useful for many lineups, but they will still be useful to earn for future collections.

Each of the 98 Overall cards suffers a similar fate to Arizona’s Zac Gallen, but only has the 19th best meta rating among starting pitchers, despite having a nice pitch mix to use. Alex Bregman hit .362 with 22 RBI, but his lack of power vs righthanded pitching makes him more of a collector’s item than a starting third baseman in Diamond Dynasty. Sadly, the same can be said for Randy Arozarena, who failed to crack the game’s top-10 outfielders despite being awarded a score of 98 overall.

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Getting MLB The Show 22 Lightning Mookie Betts Card

After completing more challenges and earning some XP, players will eventually reach 150 program stars, which is where the Diamond Dynasty awards really get good. Each Monthly Awards program has two Lightning players to earn: a legend and a current player. The legend will be a player who had a memorable August in the past, and the current one will be Player of the Month for any period, in this case August 2022.

Attributes versus right-handed pitching are the most important thing for any position player, and the Lightning Jim Thome legend card tops out in both with 125 ratings due to its great August 1996. The Thome card has a meta score of 84.47, making it the 6th best third baseman in MLB The Show 22 and a hitting machine. His defensive ratings and lack of pace aren’t great, but players certainly won’t go wrong adding him to their lineup.

Mookie Betts is the ultimate target of the August Monthly Awards program as his card has very strong qualities that almost any MLB The Show Diamond Dynasty club. In fact, the Mookie Betts Lightning card is the fifth highest valued card in the entire game, and the second highest valued position player card behind only Andrew McCutchen. Incredibly balanced on the plate with strong traits versus right and left handed pitching, Betts is also the best player at second base despite being a secondary position. The power and balance of its properties make Mookie Betts a must-have card in any player’s Diamond Dynasty lineup.

MLB The Show 22 is now available for PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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