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Old 07-01-2022, 05:42 AM   #64
DotDash
Minors (Double A)
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 135
So, what do we think about the Diamond BAL cards? Can't say that I'm impressed t.b.h. I expected maybe 4 of this wave's cards to be clear upgrades for my (Gold) team, but I think only the Topper presents a pure improvement.

My take:
Brown 99 - The difference between 87 Brown and 99 Brown is 1 (one) point of STU, 1 (one) point of MOV and 8 points of CON. I've added him to my bullpen, but this is disappointing compared to how good the Gold card was, relative to its OVR rating.
Ripken Jr. 99 - Decent hitter for a SS, but I will never play someone with 81 DEF at this position.
Papelbon 98 - I'm not playing an RP with 84 MOV.
Mauer 97 - See Ripken. He'll outhit someone like Severeid by a lot, but is that enough to offset mediocre DEF at C? Expected more from this card.
Morgan 97 - Another offensive upgrade compared to my current starter (Pfeffer), but I'd rather not downgrade 2B DEF.
McGraw 96 - Meh. I think most of my converted starters are better relievers...
Boggs 94 - Both 96 Arenado and 95 Robinson seem like better options to me at 3B, and there are much better options at DH.
Ashburn 93 - Yet another offensive upgrade (compared to 90 Kiermaier), but I don't want to go from 107 DEF to 86 in CF.
Minoso 93 - An upgrade over my current utility OF. Yay.
Walker 93 - Bad defender, mediocre hitter.
Blue 91 - Many better options available.
Martinez 99 (Topper) - Looks like a very good card to me. Question: most players able to obtain this card at this point in time probably have stacked teams - is this card an improvement for teams in Diamond? My dilemma: I have 99 Ruth DH'ing, and although Martinez seems like an overall better card, it is also a Topper which will normally not be a part of any future missions. Should I cash in on the Martinez card, or improve my team for a while?

At some level I respect the slow but steady upgrade path this year, but most of these cards do not represent upgrades to the kind of player that is able to obtain them (close to) day-1. I hope the eventual Perfect versions of these cards will not be rendered unplayable by the overall lacking Defense these cards have in common so far...
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