The April portion of the MLB season is in the books, and to commemorate it, MLB The Show 26 has released the latest batch of Spotlight cards for April.
April Spotlight 5 comes with a program reward, tons of pack players, and an ultimate Lightning reward card. There is also a Lightning Retro card, but it’s costly, especially for players still working toward completing Live Series and other high-value collections.
Below are all of the cards you can earn or pack for April Spotlight 5.
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April Spotlight 5 Program
Before we get into the packs and collections, let’s go through what’s available through the April Spotlight 5 program.
In total, players will have access to 8 player cards through the program (9 if you include the Spotlight pack). The cards are as follows:
- 90 OVR Samuel Basallo (C) – 10 Stars
- 90 OVR Spencer Torkelson (1B) – 20 Stars
- 90 OVR Daniel Schneemann (CF) – 30 Stars
- 90 OVR Josh Jung (3B) – 40 Stars
- 91 OVR Justin Wrobleski (SP) – 60 Stars
- 91 OVR CJ Abrams (SS) – 70 Stars
- 92 OVR Shea Langeliers (C) – 80 Stars
- 93 OVR Ben Rice (1B) – 100 Stars
Additionally, players will earn 15,000 XP for reaching 50 Stars and an April Spotlight 5 Pack for 90 Stars. Upon completing the program and unlocking Rice, players will receive 10,000 XP. In total, completing the program earns you 25,000 XP, which should help anyone who needs a bit of progress in the 2nd Inning XP Path to earn the Boss Pack.
Overall, there are some solid cards here, but the standout is obviously the 93 OVR Ben Rice, who might be among the best first basemen in the game. Equipped with a sweet left-handed swing, 82 Contact, and 100 Power, “Ben Arroz” should absolutely mash and would be a great addition to any New York Yankees theme team you’re building. He might even find a place on the main squad (I’m certainly considering him for mine, Babe Ruth be damned).
If you want my advice, definitely do the Extreme Moment. It requires you to score 10 runs in an inning on All-Star difficulty (the inning starts with no outs). That’ll quickly knock out 35 Stars
April Spotlight 5 Pack
As has become typical with these things, San Diego Studio has also released a Spotlight pack containing some of the best cards from the drop.
The pack cards are as follows:
- 90 OVR Bryce Elder (SP)
- 90 OVR Liam Hicks (C)
- 90 OVR Louis Varland (CP)
- 90 OVR Moises Ballesteros (C)
- 92 OVR Xavier Edwards (2B)
- 92 OVR Andy Pages (CF)
- 92 OVR Jordan Walker (RF)
- 93 OVR Ildemaro Vargas (1B)
- 93 OVR Matt Olson (1B)
- 93 OVR Chase Dollander (SP)
I’m a big fan of Dollander cards, so seeing him get a new one is exciting. However, considering it’s part of the Rare round, it’ll likely be expensive. Xavier Edwards is always solid if you want a good middle infielder with high speed, good contact, and who is a switch-hitter. But considering the players already available in those positions (Jackie, Albies, Rollins, etc.), I doubt any player will have them in their team.
If anyone was “underrated”, it’s Matt Olson. The Braves’ first basemen was one of my best cards last year (his Finest slapped), and considering who else is in the Rare round, he might be relatively affordable.
April Spotlight 5 Lighting Collection
The April Spotlight 5 Lightning Card is switch-hitting shortstop Elly De La Cruz.
Consistently one of the best cards in the game each year, Elly is good against both lefty and righty pitching in terms of both Contact (84) and Power (88). However, if there’s any bit of criticism I can have about it, he’s a bit too slow.
Anyone familiar with The Show will know that Elly is typically among the fastest players in the game. However, the Lightning card possesses only 73 Speed. Beyond that, his overall Fielding rating is 77, which isn’t bad for a 6’6″ shortstop, but isn’t the best either.
If you’ve collected enough Cityscapes cards to unlock Jimmy Rollins, it’s unlikely Elly will find a place in your lineup. That said, he could be massive for collections down the line (and he’s free to collect), so there’s no reason not to get him either.
April Spotlight 5 Lightning Retro Collection
If you have either amazing pack luck or some Stubs to spare, the Lightning Retro collection card for April Spotlight 5 is Chipper Jones (94 OVR). In total, you will need to collect 16 Spotlight cards to unlock him. If you collect 5 Spotlight cards, you get a random April Spotlight pack. And if you collect 10, you get Angels starting pitcher Jose Soriano (93 OVR).
This collection isn’t cheap — in total, it will cost you well over 500,000 Stubs. But I’d be lying if I said that the Chipper card you get for it isn’t good. In fact, he may be the best third baseman in the game right now outside of the Milestone Miguel Cabrera.
Published: May 5, 2026 04:34 pm