Season 2 of MLB the Show 23‘s Diamond Dynasty has arrived, and players have many new things to do and cards to pursue. There are A LOT of really high-rated cards to add to your squad, but some are better than others. Use this guide as a starting point for Season 2 – how to make stubs quickly, earn XP fast, and get all the best Set 2 cards on your squad.
A new season in MLB The Show 23 means a brand new set of cards for players to collect. After changing how seasons and sets work in MLB The Show for this year’s game, every new season brings new themes and types of cards, along with new collections to pursue. The harder the challenge or collection, the better the reward you will get after completing it.
Season 2 and Set 2 in MLB The Show 23
Seasons in MLB The Show tend to last for weeks at a time, and Season 2 is no different. Season 2 is scheduled to run until July 7, so there is plenty of time to tackle the incredible amount of events, programs, and collections available to players. Along the way, you’ll earn some brand new cards that we haven’t seen in MLB The Show before.
A new season means the arrival of Set 2, which brings two new series of cards along with it. The first is the Incognito series, which celebrates the nicknames of MLB players from the past and present with some great card art and fun player names. The second is the Kaiju series, which has Kaiju-themed card art for players along with some interesting new props to use in created stadiums. If you’re wanting a preview of what’s possible, check out the Kaiju Showdown available in the single-player section of Diamond Dynasty.
If you’re a baseball card collector, the Incognito series has a nice Easter egg for you. The most elite cards in the series – think the Big Papi or Hammerin’ Hank cards – have the look of a refractor card. It’s like getting the rare pull of an already great addition to your lineup.
MLB The Show 23 Season 2 Featured Program
The Featured Program in MLB The Show 23 Season 2 rewards players for gaining XP in any game mode, from Franchise to Diamond Dynasty. It has 40 different levels, each of which has a pack, cosmetic item, or stubs as the reward. To get all 40 levels, you will need to earn 650,000 XP before July 7.
Along the way, you’ll be able to earn four Kaiju choice packs and four Incognito choice packs. There are seven players in each pack, so you’ll have to be a little strategic with what you pick since you won’t be able to get them all.
Here’s what’s in each pack:
Kaiju Choice Pack:
The Kaiju Choice Pack contains:
- Blake Snell, SP, San Diego Padres – 97 OV
- Brian Roberts, 2B, Baltimore Orioles – 97 OV
- Corey Kluber, SP, Cleveland Guardians – 97 OV
- George Brett, 3B, Kansas City Royals – 97 OV
- John Franco, CP, New York Mets – 97 OV
- Monte Irvin, LF, San Francisco Giants – 97 OV
- Shawn Green, RF, Toronto Blue Jays – 97 OV
Incognito Choice Pack
The Incognito Choice Pack contains:
- Aaron Loup, RP, New York Mets, 97 OV
- Johnny Damon, CF, Boston Red Sox, 97 OV
- Nick Castellanos, Philadelphia Phillies, 97 OV
- Shane Bieber, SP, Cleveland Guardians, 97 OV
- Tony Clark, 1B, Detroit Tigers, 97 OV
- Trevor Story, SS, Colorado Rockies, 97 OV
- Anthony Rendon, 3B, Washington Nationals, 97 OV
Season 2 Bosses
Finally, you can earn three total Boss packs in the main Featured Program. There are five total in the pack, so you’ll have to choose the three you want the most.
The Season 2 Boss Pack contains:
- Chase Utley, 2B, Philadelphia Phillies, 99 OV
- Grady Sizemore, CF, Cleveland Guardians, 99 OV
- Greg Maddux, SP, Atlanta Braves, 99 OV
- Josh Donaldson, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays, 99 OV
- Mariano Rivera, CP, New York Yankees, 99 OV
As was the case in Season 1, once you have reached 650,000 XP, you’re not done! You can keep earning rewards for every 25,000 additional XP you earn. The rewards range from stubs all they way up to additional Boss packs from Season 2.
Ranked Seasons
Ranked Seasons is featuring a much shorter duration in Season 2, which should help alleviate some player concerns that there wasn’t enough to do in the mode. Ranked Seasons players can earn a World Series Choice Pack by either earning a rating of 900 in Ranked Seasons, or by earning 100 program stars in the Ranked Seasons program.
There is one significant change in Season 2, though. Beginning with Season 2, the World Series reward in the Ranked Seasons program will be non-sellable in the marketplace. If you want to be able to sell the Boss reward, you’ll have to earn it by achieving a rating of 900 or better.
The World Series rewards for the first round of Ranked Seasons in Season 2 are all Incognito Series cards, and they are:
- Ian Kinsler, 2B, Texas Rangers, 99 OV
- Nolan Ryan, SP, Houston Astros, 99 OV
- Stan Musial, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals, 99 OV
Each of these cards will help almost any lineup, but the Nolan Ryan card has been extremely dominant in the past and will likely be the popular choice for hardcore MLB The Show 23 players.
Season 2 Events and Battle Royale
Diamond Dynasty in MLB The Show has always prided itself on having lots of modes that engage players in different ways. Don’t want to play full 9-inning games? Check out Events and Battle Royale, both of which offer 3-inning games and tend to be ultra competitive.
Like in Ranked Seasons, rewards earned in the Battle Royale are non-sellable, and the Rewind pack in Events is non-sellable as well. New events take place weekly, with each event featuring either the Kaiju or Incognito Series.
Sadly, the rewards in Events are often a miss. At 97 OV, they don’t fit well into many players’ lineups, and are essentially collection fodder to help earn the big rewards.
Battle Royale, on the other hand, offers some of the best rewards in MLB The Show 23. By putting together a flawless 12-0 run or by earning 100 BR points, you’ll get to choose from one of the following cards:
- Evan Longoria, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays, 99 OV
- Justin Verlander, SP, Detroit Tigers, 99 OV
- Frank Thomas, 1B, Chicago White Sox, 99 OV
Team Affinity
The grind is back in Season 2, as MLB The Show 23 Team Affinity 2 takes center stage with 30 new cards for you to earn. As in Season 1, there is one player per team, and you will earn choice packs by division.
You earn Choice Packs for Team Affinity 2 at the following XP levels:
- 60,000 XP
- 80,000 XP
- 110,000 XP
- 130,000 XP
- 150,000 XP
The primary way to earn Team Affinity XP is to play games with players from those respective divisions. For every 2000 PXP you accumulate for an individual team (i.e. Yankees, Padres, etc), you will earn 5000 Team Affinity XP in that teams division program.
You can earn bonus XP by completing the Conquest and Showdown for each set of divisions (East, Central, and West). You can also earn A LOT of Team Affinity XP by doing either March to October or Mini Seasons, but beware that each of those is a larger time investment.
As in Season 1, every boss player is 97 OV. This is a bit of a disappointment, given how easy it is already to construct a 99 OV team. Many of the players you grind for in Team Affinity 2 won’t make your team better.
Every one of the following Team Affinity 2 bosses is from the Incognito Series:
- AL East – Eddie Murray, Kevin Youkilis, Nestor Cortez, Tyler Glasnow, Jose Berrios
- NL East – Spencer Strider, Jacob deGrom, Roy Halladay, Tim Raines, Jon Berti
- AL Central – Luas Giolito, Steven Kwan, Al Kaline, Whit Merrifield, Sonny Gray
- NL Central – Ernie Banks, Adam Dunn, Paul Molitor, Roberto Clemente, Ryan Helsley
- AL West – Lance McCullers Jr, Chili Davis, Jimmie Foxx, Kyle Seager, Mike Napoli
- NL West – Nick Ahmed, C.J. Cron, Max Muncy, Tony Gwynn, Matt Cain
MLB The Show 23 Season 2 Collection
Sony San Diego changed the way collections work in MLB The Show 23. In past years, collections had different tiers added to them as the year progressed, and earning enough tickets would earn you the player that corresponds to that tier. If that sounds confusing, forget it, because collections don’t work that way anymore.
Now, each season in MLB The Show 23 has its own collection. All you have to do is collect Set 2 cards that are 90 OV and better – so you probably don’t want to sell any if you want to get the best rewards in the game.
Further changing things up this year are Collection Choice Packs. Instead of only having one player to work toward, now there are three. When you hit different levels in your collection progress, you’ll earn your choice of the three bosses. And yes, you can earn all three players if you collect enough cards.
You’ll earn Choice Packs at 160, 230, and 300 Set 2 cards collected. Along the way to 160, you’ll get a couple of pretty great cards as well:
- 95 cards – Rich Gossage, CP, New York Yankees, 99 OV
- 130 cards – David Ortiz, 1B/DH, Boston Red Sox, 99 OV
Once you get the first Choice Pack, you will choose from:
- David Wright, 3B, Ney York Mets, 99 OV
- Hank Aaron, RF, Atlanta Braves, 99 OV
- Randy Johnson, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks, 99 OV
What do you think of Season 2? Let us know in the comments!
MLB The Show 23 is available now on PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Game Pass.
- MLB The Show 23 Season 2 Guide: Programs, Collections, And Rewards - May 27, 2023
- All 4 Indiana Jones Movies Coming To Disney Plus - May 19, 2023
- Atomic Heart Review - February 27, 2023