The early stages of Diamond Dynasty are always a grind. Not only will most players be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of modes and programs to do, but they might be confused as to which of the early unlockable cards will be worth it. However, as in past iterations of the series, MLB The Show 25 has no shortage of “budget beasts” — free or affordable cards that players can extract a ton of good performances out of instead of forking out cash for the big boys such as Shohei Ohtani or Aaron Judge.
But who are these budget beats? Which ones cost the least? And which can be unlocked for free? Here’s our list of budget beasts in MLB The Show 25 that you should absolutely give a try.
Yordan Alvarez
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Position: LF
Price: Free (through Team Affinity: My Journey)
We briefly touched upon this card when discussing what you should do when first opening Diamond Dynasty, but Yordan Alvarez deserves a deeper look. As a 78 OVR Silver card, it’s easy to dismiss it as merely a means to collect XP and complete the Houston Astros Team Affinity program in offline modes. But that isn’t the case — 78 Yordan can ball!
Yordan Alvarez’s Silver card — based on his 2019 rookie season — isn’t of much use in the outfield, possessing only 39 speed, 26 reactions, and 37 fielding. But his hitting stats are off the chain, especially for a free card in the early stages of Diamond Dynasty’s yearly cycle. He has no less than 74 contact and 88 power against either righties or lefties. Put simply, Alvarez is a perfect DH for your lineup and can easily slot into the cleanup spot. At the very least, he can be effectively used as a pinch hitter.
Best yet? Alvarez’s card is completely free. By completing one moment in the Astros’ Team Affinity: My Journey, he’s unlocked and ready to go.
Tyler Holton
Position: RP
Price: 218 Stubs
While there are plenty of cards that you can grind for right now, relief pitchers are incredibly hard to come by right now — especially lefties. But the Detroit Tigers’ Tyler Holton can add some much-needed variety to your sparse bullpen as a lefty with decent attributes and an excellent pitch mix.
Holton’s per-9s are about what you would expect from a high 70s-rated bullpen arm. But his 95 pitching clutch and 30 stamina make him a viable reliever who can not only shut down opposing bats but eat a few innings as well.
What little I’ve used of him has been in Ranked play, and he’s shut the door each time around. He also dots.
Jose Alvarado
Position: RP
Price: 175 Stubs
As we mentioned when discussing Holton, good bullpen arms are hard to come by right now. But Jose Alvarado is an easy solution to that problem and adds a much-needed lefty arm.
Available for a friendly 175 Stubs at the time of writing, Alvarado possesses an outlier sinker that plays well off the secondary cutter and tertiary 12-6 curve. And while his K/9 is certainly a bit low for a relief pitcher, his 110 pitching clutch and blinding velocity certainly make up for it.
Alvarado likely won’t be in your bullpen for more than a week or two due to his low rating. And once you’ve progressed through the multiplayer program enough to get Mark Davis or grind through the Mets’ Team Affinity to unlock John Franco, he or the aforementioned Holton could become collateral damage. But if you want to be competitive early in a multiplayer setting, he’s one of the best affordable options out there.
Jordan Lawler
Position: SS / 3B
Price: Free (through the Pipeline program)
On paper, Jordan Lawlar’s Pipeline card should be nothing more than an OK bat that can play a mean shortstop or third base. But in practice, the Arizona Diamondbacks prospect is a beast in virtually every facet.
As expected, Lawlar is a phenomenal shortstop who excels in hunting down ground balls that would otherwise be seeing-eye base hits and instead turns them into routine outs. And because he’s equipped with a snappy swing, he punches well above his weight at the plate as well. In over 20 at-bats for me across all multiplayer modes, Lawlar is batting an incredible .467.
Though he doesn’t have enough power to justify placing him anywhere in the heart of the lineup, the young shortstop is tailor-made as a table setter in the leadoff spot, or as a reliable bat that can round everything out at the bottom of the order. Oh, and he’s completely free as the penultimate card you can earn in the Pipeline program. Some might determine that a card like this might not be worth it as a “budget beast” because of the time it takes to unlock him and his low attributes. But if my experience is anything to go off, I’d say Lawlar is more than qualified and will surprise you with how good he is against even the better arms in the game.
Yoshinodu Yamamoto
Position: SP
Price: 1100 Stubs
To this point, we’ve talked about quality bullpen arms and slept-on hitters. But what about starting pitching? Well, look no further than Dodgers star Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
At about 1100 stubs in the early stages, Yamamoto is one of the pricier “budget beasts” in MLB The Show 25. But his good pitch mix, deceptive delivery, and high upside make him a worthy investment. One thing that could give pause to experienced DD players is lack of a pitch that has any arm side action. But his cutter-slider combo is incredibly effective against righty batters, and his splitter has a mighty bite to it and can top out at 90 MPH, making it effective when working off the fastball.
It’s way too early in Yamamoto’s career to determine whether or not he will have longterm success in the Bigs. But if he lives up to his potential, not only will his card’s OVR increase incrementally over time, but there will also be spots where he will be supercharged and useable at various stages of the season. Even if 1100 Stubs is a bit steep, the Japanese pitcher is worth the investment not only in the interem, but in the long run as well.
Published: Mar 18, 2025 12:01 pm