Best Season One Cornerstone Cards to Pick in MLB 24

MLB The Show 24 has a lot of content, and Diamond Dynasty shines as a centerpiece of the game. New to the mode this year is Cornerstone Cards, which allow you to select a face of the franchise to build around. Each has its advantages, and some are better than others.

Which Season 1 Cornerstone Cards Should You Pick in MLB 24?

Down below, we’ve listed our take on the best cornerstone cards to pick in MLB The Show 24, along with full breakdowns on what they do and how they can help.

Nolan Arenado, 3B, St. Louis Cardinals

Nolan Arenado boosts hitters with speed below 45. If you’re okay with not having a blazing-fast lineup, you’ll gain contact vs. right-handed pitching (RHP), power vs. LHP, batting clutch, and fielding ability. Players Arenado boosts get these benefits:

• Tier One Boost: 5 hitters with under 45 speed on your active squad — +10 contact vs RHP, +5 power vs LHP
• Tier Two Boost: 8 hitters with under 45 speed on your active squad — +15 contact vs RHP, +10 power vs LHP, +10 batting clutch, +5 fielding ability
• Tier Three Boost: 11 hitters with under 45 speed on your active squad — +20 contact vs RHP, +15 power vs LHP, +15 batting clutch, +10 fielding ability

The boosts only impact the players with under 45 speed, but there are a lot of good players who fit this criteria. If you want a great lineup with the Arenado Cornerstone Card, consider getting these players:

• Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros
• Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
• Corey Seager, Texas Rangers
• Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros
• Joe Mauer, Hyper Series Legend

Choose the Arenado card if you want a lot of power in your lineup without sacrificing contact. You’ll give up a lot in speed. But who needs speed when you’re trotting around the bases?

Byron Buxton, CF, Minnesota Twins

Buxton is blazing fast, and is electric in center field. He can hit the ball a long way—when he hits it. If you choose Byron Buxton as your Cornerstone Card, he will boost players with under 60 vision. Those players will get the following boosts:

• Tier One Boost: 5 hitters with under 60 vision on your active squad — +5 power vs RHP, +5 power vs LHP
• Tier Two Boost: 8 hitters with under 60 vision on your active squad — +10 power vs RHP, +10 power vs LHP, +5 speed, +5 fielding ability
• Tier Three Boost: 11 hitters with under 60 vision on your active squad — +15 power vs RHP, +15 power vs LHP, +10 speed, +10 fielding ability

The boosts only impact the players with under 60 vision, but there are a lot of good players who fit this criteria. If you want a great lineup with the Buxton Cornerstone Card, consider getting these players:

• Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
• Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
• Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners
• Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves
• Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves
• Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers

Just look at that list. That’s a team with speed and power—and a lot of strikeouts. But your games will never be boring.

Greg Maddux, SP, Atlanta Braves

Maddux is an absolute legend and one of the greatest starting pitchers of all time. He boosts pitchers with under 75 K/9 rating, and since he was a decent hitter for a pitcher, he will also boost hitters with under 70 power. Get enough of them on your roster, and you’ll get the following boosts:

• Tier One Boost: 7 hitters with under 70 power and pitchers with under 75 K/9 on your active squad — +5 BB per 9, +5 batting clutch
• Tier Two Boost: 10 hitters with under 70 power and pitchers with under 75 K/9 on your active squad — +10 BB per 9, +5 hits per 9, +5 stamina, +10 batting clutch
• Tier Three Boost: 13 hitters with under 70 power and pitchers with under 75 K/9 on your active squad — +15 BB per 9, +10 hits per 9, +10 stamina, +15 batting clutch

These boosts will only help players who fit one of the two required criteria. If you want to build a great Diamond Dynasty team around The Professor, look to add the following players:

• Luis Arraez, Miami Marlins
• Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Adley Rutschman, Baltimore Orioles
• Shane Bieber, Cleveland Guardians
• George Kirby, Seattle Mariners

This choice is for players who want fundamentally sound teams that aren’t all about the three true outcomes. The ball will be in play a lot, so you’ll need good defense and the ability to string together hits at the plate.

Kodai Senga, SP, New York Mets

Senga has nasty stuff, but not always the best control. Thus, his Cornerstone Card boosts pitchers with under 65 BB/9 on your active roster. Unlike Maddux, Kodai Senga doesn’t boost hitters at all. Here’s the boosts you’ll get if you choose this card:

• Tier One Boost: 5 pitchers with under 65 BB/9 on your active roster — +5 K/9 and +5 pitching clutch
• Tier Two Boost: 8 pitchers with under 65 BB/9 on your active roster — +10 K/9, +10 pitching clutch, +5 hits per 9
• Tier Three Boost: 11 pitchers with under 65 BB/9 on your active roster — +15 K/9, +15 pitching clutch, +10 hits per 9

Since the boosts only affect the players who are under 65 BB/9, look to add the following players with a Kodai Senga Cornerstone Card:

• Edwin Diaz, New York Mets
• Devin Williams, Milwaukee Brewers
• Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Blake Snell, San Francisco Giants
• Felix Bautista, Baltimore Orioles
• Josh Hader, Houston Astros

If you select the Senga card, you’ll be able to build a shutdown rotation and bullpen. The names it boosts are some of the best pitchers in the game.

Which One Should You Take?

Every one of these cards has benefits, but I have seen a lot of Byron Buxton Cornerstone Cards in MLB The Show 24 Ranked Seasons. More than the other three cards combined. If you can deal with the low vision, the benefits and players Buxton boosts make him too good to pass up.

As always, take which one you want. The most important thing in Diamond Dynasty is to have fun the way you want to play.