Every other Friday, San Diego Studio pumps out a new batch of content for Diamond Dynasty, highlighted by a roster update altering the ratings of player cards in MLB The Show 19. Diamond Dynasty players have become accustomed to investing in players they believe are in for a ratings bump in the hopes of flipping those cards after the update for major Stub gains.
The players listed in this article are by no means guaranteed to get ratings bumps on Friday, but given their current production on the field they are strong candidates for consideration.
Ratings are represented by an aggregate representation of a player’s production over two calendar years. For that reason, two or three weeks of solid performance won’t guarantee a bump, but it does not hurt.
In this series, we will highlight six players, three pitchers and three hitters, most deserving to get ratings upgrades. Only players making the jump from one tier to another (bronze to silver, silver to gold, or gold to diamond) will be showcased. In general, players jumping from one tier to the next is where investment gains are most prominent.
I will try to stay away from repeating the same players in projections on a bi-weekly basis.
Two weeks ago, I hit on 50 percent of my picks (three out of six). Let’s shoot for a better ratio this week.
Pitchers
Bronze to Silver
- Mike Soroka – Atlanta Braves SP
- Prediction: 71 Bronze to 75 Silver
Admittedly, I’m very cautious about this pick. Soroka got a ton of love in the last update, receiving an overall +8 from a 63 overall to a 71 Bronze. That being said, you could make a sound argument that no pitcher has been better than Soroka.
Soroka currently falls just two innings shy of qualifying for the ERA title in baseball, but after his next start, assuming he pitches six innings and continues his success, Soroka could lead all of baseball in ERA by over half a run. After almost 51 innings, his minuscule ERA sits at just 1.07. Dodgers standout Hyun-Jin Ryu is the current runner-up at 1.65.
The real compelling case for Soroka comes when comparing him to Padres stud rookie Chris Paddack. Soroka has better numbers than Paddack in a bevy of categories, but Paddack currently owns a 78 overall rating, comfortably in silver designation. Expect the same for the Braves rookie this time around.
Silver to Gold
- Matt Barnes – Boston Red Sox RP
- Prediction: 78 Silver to 80 Gold
Barnes has quietly been one of the most dominant relief pitchers in baseball this year. His 16.29 K/9 is fourth best in all of baseball, and he’s brought his walk rate down to the lowest it’s been since 2015. Couple these numbers with a career-best 0.95 WHIP and there’s a compelling case to be made for Barnes going gold.
One statistic worth mentioning is Barnes’ ability to strand inherited runners. When called to action, Barnes has stranded almost 96 percent of runners on base. He’s been one of the of the most clutch relievers in baseball this year.
From this chair, a bump from 55 to 65 in BB/9, and a well-earned bump from 70 to 80 in clutch should get him the boost he needs to garner gold status.
Gold to Diamond
- Charlie Morton – Tampa Bay Rays SP
- Prediction: 83 Gold to 85 Diamond
I’ve been steadily tracking Morton for a couple months now, admittedly waiting for him to waiver, but he has not. Ever since breaking back onto the scene last season with Houston, Morton has been a steady force in both rotations, but it’s even more pronounced in 2019.
Morton has dropped his ERA 60 points this season from 3.13 last season to 2.54 this year. His FIP, a statistic used to measure a pitcher’s ability to single-handedly dictate the outcome of a game, has dropped almost identically from 3.59 to 3.01. His K% is also up this year from 10.83 to 11.49. Finally, his HR/9 is down almost 40 points from last season to a microscopic 0.60 (admittedly, he doesn’t have as much control over this, though he is a groundball pitcher).
Morton has been a key piece to one of the more daunting rotations in baseball and deserves to be showcased as such. A +12 bump to 77 in HR/9, as well as a +6 bump to 92 in K/9 would probably do the job for the Tampa standout.
Hitters
Bronze to Silver
- Hunter Pence – Texas Rangers OF
- Prediction – 74 Bronze to 77 Silver
There should be absolutely zero debate here. Pence is one of the best stories of the year as he’s reclaimed some of the exceptional production he had just a few years back.
Sporting a .309/.356/.650 slash line with eleven home runs, Pence has outperformed even the most lofty expectations this season. Pence hasn’t hit 20 home runs since 2014, but after completely re-crafting his swing in winter ball, he’s suddenly on pace for a 45 home run season. He’s never even hit 30 in a single season.
You would expect a guy who has redesigned his swing to be striking out at a higher clip, but that’s simply not the case. Pence is currently running a 17.8 K%, his best since 2013.
Any way you shake it, Hunter Pence has been worthy of silver designation this season, if not more. Pence should see significant gains in CON vs. R, CON vs. L, PWR vs. R, and vision in this next update — good for a sizable leap forward.
Silver to Gold
- Josh Bell – Pittsburgh Pirates 1B
- Prediction: 78 Silver to 82 Gold
I’d like to preface this by saying, yes, I do believe Joey Gallo will also be going gold this week, but I’m more confident in my Bell selection so we’re going to go down that avenue for this exercise.
Bell is an NL MVP candidate. That alone should tell you all you need to know. His .340/.408/.711 slash is otherworldly. His 1.119 OPS ranks third in baseball behind just Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich. His 17 home runs rank third in the NL behind the aforementioned Bellinger and Yelich, as well as Pete Alonso.
I would suspect a robust upgrade is coming to Bell this week. A +10 or greater in both contact and power splits, as well as a bump in vision may be coming.
Don’t be surprised if Bell goes Diamond, and soon. This may just be the beginning.
Gold to Diamond
- Trevor Story – Colorado Rockies SS
- Prediction: 83 Gold to 85 Diamond
Truth be told, I’m not sure Story’s season numbers warrant a bump from gold to diamond, but there’s one thing going in his favor to support my prediction.
Story is batting .270 on the year, but his splits are where things get really interesting. On MLB The Show, Story currently owns a 74 PWR vs. R and 98 PWR vs. L. Well, in reality, Story has 11 home runs against righties and just two against lefties. By this logic, assuming his numbers versus lefties don’t take a huge hit, he could certainly be in line for a bump against righties.
But that alone may not be enough to push Story over the top.
Fortunately, he’s playing the best brand of shortstop in his career. Story has not only made the routine plays, highlighted by a .996 fielding percentage, but his range has clearly improved as well. His UZR sits at 3.7, good for the best of his career. He’s also made 7.7% of the “Remote Possibility” plays in the field, according to Inside Edge. “Remote Possibility” plays are plays in the field designated as having almost a 0% chance of being completed.
A couple +5 boosts to fielding and reaction, as well as the previously mentioned bump to PWR vs. R could get Story to the diamond designation many have been waiting for.
Final Thoughts
San Diego Studio will drop its latest roster update this Friday, May 31 around noon PST.
