The MLB The Show 26 team released the first of what will be several April Spotlight Drop programs on April 2. It started a month-long build towards the release of the first Lightning of the year — and you’ll need the cards in the programs and packs to get both Chipper Jones and the April Lightning, Elly De La Cruz.

Contents

• Lightning & Retro Lightning
• April Spotlight Drop 5
• April Spotlight Drop 4
• April Spotlight Drop 3
• April Spotlight Drop 2
• April Spotlight Drop 1

Lightning & Retro Lightning

For those who didn’t play MLB The Show 25, the Lightning system will work very much like it did last year.

The April Lightning card will be released in May, after April has concluded, and will require the Spotlight players who appear in the Programs

There’s also a Retro Lightning, which will feature either a Flashback or a Legend who performed exceedingly well in the month in a previous year. It will require most, if not all, of the Spotlight players in the Drop packs.

On May 5, Sony announced that Elly De La Cruz is the Lightning, while Chipper Jones is the Retro Lightning.

Here are the attributes for Elly De La Cruz:

To get the 94 OVR Elly, you must obtain the 93 OVR Ben Rice, 92 OVR Mike Trout, 91 Jhoan Duran, 91 OVR Jo Adell, and 90 OVR Kevin McGonigle in the Drop programs and complete the collection.

Now, here’s a look at Chipper:

The Chipper Jones card requires 16 of the 18 April Spotlight cards from the packs. The Carlos Cortes Spotlight from the Event does not count towards either Elly or Chipper.

The eligible cards are:

• 93 OVR Matt Olson
• 93 OVR Chase Dollander
• 93 OVR Ildemaro Vargas
• 92 OVR Kenley Jansen
• 92 OVR Jeremiah Jackson
• 92 OVR Xavier Edwards
• 92 OVR Andy Pages
• 92 OVR Jordan Walker
• 91 OVR Sandy Alcantara
• 91 OVR Sal Stewart
• 91 OVR Willson Contreras
• 91 OVR Angel Martinez
• 90 OVR Moises Ballestero
• 90 OVR Liam Hicks
• 90 OVR Bryce Elder
• 90 OVR Emerson Hancock
• 90 OVR Louis Varland
• 90 OVR Chase DeLauter

At 10 cards from the Spotlight packs, a 93 OVR Jose Soriano can be obtained:

Spotlight Drop 5 path

First, let’s take a look at the longest path, Drop 5:

• 10 Points: 90 OVR Topps Now Samuel Basallo
• 20 Points: 90 OVR Topps Now Spencer Torkelson
• 30 Points: 90 OVR Spotlight Daniel Schneemann
• 40 Points: 90 OVR Spotlight Josh Jung
• 50 Points: 15,000 XP
• 60 Points: 91 Spotlight Justin Wrobleski
• 70 Points: 91 OVR CJ Abrams
• 80 Points: 92 OVR Spotlight Shea Langeliers
• 90 Points: April Spotlight Drop 5 pack
• 100 Points: 93 OVR Spotlight Ben Rice & 10,000 XP

Samuel Basallo

Spencer Torkelson

Daniel Schneemann

Josh Jung

Justin Wrobleski

CJ Abrams

Shea Langeliers

Ben Rice

This one encompasses performances from the entire month. Here are attributes for the cards in the program.

How to make progress

• Complete seven Moments (35 combined pts. – 5 pts. each)
• Complete one EXTREME Moment (35 pts.)
• Missions:
  • Tally 10,000 PXP with any players (20 pts.)
  • Tally 2,500 PXP with Spotlight and/or Topps Now cards (20 pts.)
  • Tally 20 hits with infielders (C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS) (15 pts.)
  • Tally 30 total bases with outfielders (LF, CF, RF) (15 pts.)
  • Tally 25 innings pitched with any pitchers (15 pts.)
  • Tally 12 strikeouts with primary RP/CP (15 pts.)
• OPTIONAL Spotlight Pack Collection:
  • Collect 10 April Spotlight cards from packs (100 pts.)

The EXTREME Moment is to score 10 runs with the Boston Red Sox on All-Star difficulty before three outs are recorded.

Spotlight Drop 4 path

• 10 Points: 90 OVR Topps Now Parker Messick
• 20 Points: 90 OVR Topps Now Brandon Valenzuela
• 30 Points: 2,500 XP
• 40 Points: April Spotlight Drop 4 pack
• 50 Points: 92 OVR Spotlight Series Mike Trout and 2,500 XP
• 150 Points: St. Patrick’s Day Choice Pack

Parker Messick

Brandon Valenzuela

Mike Trout

How to make progress

• Complete seven Moments (28 combined pts. – 4 pts. each)
• Complete one EXTREME Mission (22 pts.) (OPTIONAL)
• Drop 4 Missions:
  • Tally 5,000 PXP with any players (15 pts.)
  • Tally 1,000 PXP with Topps Now and Spotlight Series players (15 pts.)
  • Tally 10 home runs with outfielders (10 pts.)
  • Tally three saves with any pitchers (10 pts.)
• OPTIONAL Collections:
  • Collect 90 OVR Topps Now Trent Grisham, Ryan Ward, & Noah Schultz (15 pts.)
  • Collect 92 OVR Spotlight Kenley Jansen & Jeremiah Jackson (35 pts.)
• St. Patrick’s Day Pack:
  • Tally 500 PXP with 92 Spotlight Trout in any game mode(s) (100 pts.)

The optional EXTREME Mission is to hit back-to-back homes with the Angels without recording an out.

Spotlight Drop 3 path

• 10 Points: 89 OVR Topps Now Juan Brito
• 20 Points: 90 OVR Topps Now Gavin Sheets
• 30 Points: 2,500 XP
• 40 Points: April Spotlight Drop 3 pack
• 50 Points: 91 OVR Spotlight Series Jhoan Duran

Juan Brito

Gavin Sheets

Jhoan Duran

How to make progress

• Complete seven Moments (28 combined pts. – 4 pts. each)
• Complete one EXTREME Mission (22 pts.) (OPTIONAL)
• Drop 3 Missions:
  • Tally 3,000 PXP with any players (15 pts.)
  • Tally 1,000 PXP with Topps Now and Spotlight Series players (15 pts.)
  • Tally 15 home runs with any players (10 pts.)
  • Tally 15 strikeouts with primary RP/CP (10 pts.)
• OPTIONAL Collections:
  • Collect 89 OVR Topps Now Ronny Mauricio, Jakob Marsee, & Jeffrey Springs (15 pts.)
  • Collect 91 OVR Spotlight Angel Martinez & Willson Contreras (35 pts.)

The optional EXTREME Mission is to hit three home runs with Max Muncy in one game at the All-Star.

Spotlight Drop 2 path

• 10 Points: 89 OVR Topps Now Joey Wiemer
• 20 Points: 89 OVR Topps Now Jose Fernandez
• 30 Points: 2,500 XP
• 40 Points: April Spotlight Drop 2 pack
• 50 Points: 91 OVR Spotlight Series Jo Adell

Joey Wiemer

Jose Fernandez

Jo Adell

How to make progress

• Complete eight Moments (32 combined pts. – 4 pts. each)
• Drop 2 Missions:
  • Tally 3,000 PXP with any players (15 pts.)
  • Tally 1,000 PXP with Topps Now and Spotlight Series players (15 pts.)
  • Tally 20 hits with outfielders (10 pts.)
  • Tally nine innings pitched with starting pitchers (10 pts.)
• OPTIONAL Collections:
  • Collect 89 OVR Topps Now Daniel Susac, Michael Soroka, & Miguel Vargas (15 pts.)
  • Collect 91 OVR Spotlight Sandy Alcantara & Sal Stewart (35 pts.)

Spotlight Drop 1 path

Here’s a look at the April Spotlight Drop 1 path in MLB The Show 26:

• 5 Points: MLB The Show 26 pack
• 10 Points: 88 OVR Topps Now Andres Gimenez
• 15 Points: MLB The Show 26 pack
• 20 Points: 89 OVR Topps Now Carson Benge
• 25 Points: MLB The Show 26 pack
• 30 Points: WBC Gold Player Pack
• 35 Points: MLB The Show 26 pack
• 40 Points: 5,000 XP
• 45 Points: April Spotlight Drop 1 pack
• 50 Points: 90 OVR Spotlight Series Kevin McGonigle

And, a look at the attributes for the three cards inside the program:

Andres Gimenez

Carson Benge

Kevin McGonigle

All cards in this program are not sellable.

How to make progress

• Complete eight Moments (32 combined pts. – 4 pts. each)
• Drop 1 Missions:
  • Tally 3,000 PXP with any players (15 pts.)
  • Tally 1,000 PXP with Topps Now and Spotlight Series players (15 pts.)
  • Tally 20 hits with infielders (10 pts.)
  • Tally 15 strikeouts (10 pts.)
• OPTIONAL Collections:
  • Collect 88 OVR Topps Now Dominic Smith, Owen Caissie, & Justin Crawford (15 pts.)
  • Collect 90 OVR Spotlight Chase DeLauter & Emerson Hancock (35 pts.)

Much like other Assorted Programs released in MLB The Show 26, there are very few stat/PXP Missions that pigeon-hole players and force them to use specific cards, like in ’25.

Instead, the missions are broader. More Points can be earned from Moments, compared to last year.

Additionally, more Spotlight programs will be released throughout April, leading up to the release of the Lightning cards in May 2026.

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