Diamond Dynasty - All-Stars of the Franchise Power Rankings

Power ranking SZN returns with my All-Stars of the Franchise power rankings. The MLB All-Star break has come and gone. With it, we’ve been showered in new All-Star and Home Run Derby cards to add to our DD squads. The heaviest of the new content comes from the new Featured Program, which showcases a 2022 All-Star from each of the 30 teams.

Breaking from the norm with the previous 30-card programs, we get to choose 18 of these new bosses for free versus the 12 we’ve been getting so far. There’s a pretty varied selection in terms of positions and the attributes, so your choices are more important here than the Future Stars program. All of these cards are sellable, so you’ll be able to buy the other 12 if you desire. This is important to note because of the 2022 All-Star Jackie Robinson collection, which requires every single one of these cards, plus 2022 Home Run Derby and All-Star Game cards that are quite a bit more expensive.

With all that said, let’s get into it.

All-Stars Of The Franchise Power Rankings

Just Happy To Be Here

30. Luis Arraez

29. Tony Gonsolin

28. Paul Blackburn

27. Shane McClanahan

26. Carlos Rodon

Every program will feature cards that aren’t quite as good as others. With big drops like this featuring 30 cards, the real question is just how bad will the worst be? The Faces of the Franchise program that launched with The Show 22 had the benefit of possessing cards that were high level for the beginning of the year. The Future of the Franchise program featured 30 cards that were all essentially the same, so much so that I didn’t even feel a power ranking made sense. The new All-Stars of the Franchise program also certainly brings us a handful of cards that just aren’t very good or usable.

Luis Arraez is one of the worst high-diamond cards I’ve ever seen. This card would would have been barely usable even at the beginning of the year. In the middle of the content pipeline, this card is just simply bad.

Tony Gonsolin has been one of the best starting pitchers so far this year. But he falls victim to real world success not always translating to DD cards. He doesn’t throw hard, doesn’t have a sinker or cutter, and even with 115 H/9 he simply doesn’t bring much to the table. This card will get eaten alive on All-Star difficulty and probably doesn’t make it through two innings above that.

Paul Blackburn is the opposite. He brings a sinker and cutter to the table, but a lack of velocity dampens those pitches. You’re probably not fooling anyone on the lower levels but could finesse your way through a couple innings on Hall of Fame.

Shane McClanahan is the left-handed version of Gonsolin. The AL starter in the All-Star Game, McClanahan does have elite velo working in his favor. So if you’re facing someone who can’t catch up to the fastball, you might be fine. But overall, the pitch mix is uninspiring and he’s an easy pass with your free choices.

Carlos Rodon is actually a bit intriguing to me. I don’t necessarily think this card will be good, but I think a skilled pitcher can get some use out of him. Elite velo with pretty decent break on his off-speed, Rodon is the card that stands out to me the most from this bottom crop. He has good enough control of his pitches that he might be worth a spin.

25. Edwin Diaz

24. David Bednar

23. Martin Perez

22. Joe Mantiply

21. Andrew Benintendi

Edwin Diaz essentially has two pitches, which makes him terrifying to use. He’s another quintessential All-Star difficulty card. He throws really hard with a huge slider. That’s it. The 115 H/9 isn’t going to save him against someone who can hit his fastball. However, if you choose to utilize a bullpen spot with a “mop up” innings guy, then you could probably do worse than Diaz.

David Bednar probably has a chance to be better than he’s ranked. Big velo, 118 stock H/9, and 90+ control on each of his pitches is nothing to sneeze at. The problem is the pitch mix. Curves are typically useless in this game, so you’ll be relying on the splitter a lot, especially against lefty hitters. But this is another intriguing card that I think ultimately gets hit pretty hard.

Martin Perez returns after getting a Monthly Awards card earlier in the season. This card is fine and not flashy. The sinker/cutter mix lacking velocity with decent control and pretty good break, Perez is a below-average card on paper that probably plays that way in game. But I think you can navigate a lineup if you know what you’re doing.

Joe Mantiply is the biggest mystery in the program. When you see the pitch mix and velo, you probably barf. However, then you see the nearly maxed out control and break on the sinker and circle change, and your mind begins to wonder. You’ll be able to easily spot with this card, and I think this card can be a very useful bullpen arm on Hall of Fame or above. The control on the 4-seam is mediocre, which will make it tough to sneak fastballs by opponents. But I’ll be very interested to see how this card fares across the entire community.

Andrew Benintendi is actually quite a bit better than I would have expected. You could probably argue I have him too low. Max contact against righties and 104 against lefties, Benintendi can make solid contact against anyone but does have middling power. Then again, it feels like 70+ power plays a bit better this year, so it might be perfectly fine. Gold fielding that upgrades to diamond at Parallel 4 and 70 speed makes him an adequate fielder. If you need an outfielder, you can do a lot better than Benintendi — but you can do worse.

20. Andres Gimenez

19. Alejandro Kirk

18. Shohei Ohtani

17. Juan Soto

16. J.D. Martinez

Andres Gimenez is basically Chase Utley-lite. That’s a very good thing. Gimenez is probably the ranking I second guess the most overall, but the 68 stock power against LHP scares me when there are better options. If you’re still looking for 2B help, Gimenez is a good choice. Diamond fielding and 92 speed will always play in the middle infield. He can moonlight at SS and 3B if need be as well.

Alejandro Kirk is very solid for a catcher — at least at the plate. Any card that’s a bit weaker against LHP will usually rank lower for me in this meta, but we’re going to see more RHP releasing so those cards will play up a bit. My biggest knock on Kirk is the 16 speed. At this point in the year, I think you’re severely damaging your lineup with guys who will clog up the bases.

Shohei Ohtani gets what feels like his 108th card this year. I’m not sure this one is worth taking if you have any of the others. This card comes with slightly better break and control on all pitches with a slight H/9 boost. The speed differentials are pretty good for the pitch mix. The hitting comes stock with massive power against RHP but fairly mediocre elsewhere. I can’t fault anyone for ever taking an Ohtani card, but this one gets a pass from me with my free picks.

Juan Soto ended up getting a much better card after winning the Home Run Derby. Maybe SDS went light here in case that happened. I think this card is solid enough, but sub-80 contact vs. LHP is a bit scary for a lefty hitter. I don’t mind it with RHH, but the lefty/lefty matchup can be really challenging in this game and that matters in the attributes. Gold fielding with a mediocre arm will be fine in your OF but that 55 stock speed doesn’t save the attributes here overall for me.

J.D. Martinez comes in quite a bit stronger than anticipated. Elite contact that gets nearly maxed out at P5 against RHP, Martinez has pretty good pop and a solid offensive profile. His 77 fielding is way higher than I would have guessed and he has a decent arm, but again, speed kills in the OF and 40 speed is brutal. I think this card can be a pretty good, versatile pinch-hitter for most squads.

15. Luis Castillo

14. Justin Verlander

13. Bryce Harper

12. C.J. Cron

11. Manny Machado

Luis Castillo having his trademark primary circle change is always a great thing. While the pitch overall only has 84 control, you should still be able to spot it with some consistency. It’s going to break a ton and can help set up the sinker/4-seam and slider combination. With 107 H/9, you’ll be able to induce swings and misses as well as generate weak contact. Just make sure you’re reading your opponent’s bat speed and swing tendencies, and Castillo will help you carve them up.

Justin Verlander was one of the best SP cards last year thanks to outlier. This version doesn’t bring that with him and loses the cutter, but I still think this is a very good SP that does a good imitation. Massive break on all the pitches sans the 2-seam (with superb control), this Verlander looks great on paper. It remains to be seen how the lack of outlier ultimately affects All-Star Verlander, but I like this card quite a bit.

Bryce Harper traditionally has a beloved swing that almost makes the attributes a non-factor. Luckily, All-Star Bryce comes packing with 100+ across the board aside from his power against LHP. Much like with Soto, that’s a definite factor against the Randy Johnsons of the world, but Bryce brings nice speed with him at 69 that will help him navigate the outfield better than Soto.

C.J. Cron keeps mashing and keeps getting good cards in DD. He’s a 1B. Ignore the OF secondaries because you have huge problems if you’re playing him in the corner OF. Cron gets a higher ranking from me than most because I’ve had pretty good success with his swing. The 88 contact against LHP is weak, but 106 power makes up for it and is perfectly fine for All-Star. I like him in this spot mostly for people who might be returning with the program or playing The Show 22 for the first time. Most others probably have better options already and there’s a much better option in this very program.

Manny Machado kills LHP. With max power against southpaws, Manny will hit bombs and XBH all day against the toughest lefties. He has an interesting profile as he has elite contact against RHP with weaker power, but I think his massive lefty mashing potential makes that perfectly fine. Near perfect fielding is a nice bonus, but as usual mostly irrelevant at the corners. The important note is that he will keep that diamond shield at SS and 1B. That said, do not play him at shortstop.

10. Willson Contreras

9. Tim Anderson

8. Gregory Soto

7. Jorge Lopez

6. Paul Goldschmidt

Willson Contreras is an absolute beast. This card bashes lefty pitchers and holds his own against RHP. Joe Mauer, Gary Carter, and Mike Piazza have been holding down the top of the catcher rankings all year thanks to a combination of attributes and swing sweetness. There was a couple Future Stars in the mix, but those three have been the best backstops I’ve used all year. Willson Contreras with his max power against LHP gets in that mix easily. Solid fielding, an arm that will gun down most runners, and great speed for a catcher, the elder Contreras brother is a worthy pick if you need a catcher.

Tim Anderson is one of my favorite MLB players and ended up being one of my favorite on-paper All-Star cards. You’ll wince at the 67 power against RHP, but with 125 contact versus LHP and 100 power versus LHP, Anderson can easily start even in the upper levels of ranked. His swing leaves a lot to be desired for me at times, but I think this is a very good SS that can get to diamond fielding with Parallels and has good enough speed to lead the middle infield.

Gregory Soto returns in 2022 after being a fairly decent All-Star card in The Show 21 and looks a bit different. Soto comes in with slightly lower H/9 but brings a changeup. That’s a massive addition to his arsenal and can potentially put him near Josh Hader-level in terms of LHP bullpen arms. I’ll take a changeup with 72 control on a card like this every day. Soto is an easy first pick from the AL Central for me, and replaces Zack Britton for me since he has better utility with this pitches.

Jorge Lopez makes a return from Monthly Awards with improved form. H/9 stock at 120 that gets maxed out at P5 and 99 BB/9, this Lopez tightens up where it counts and is one of the best RH RP in the game. The upgrade is good enough that I took him with my second free choice even though I already had the Monthly Awards version.

Paul Goldschmidt is probably the frontrunner for NL MVP at this point, so it’s great to see a card befitting his performance. Goldy has a very balanced profile with max contact versus LHP, and he’ll tag RHP as well. I’d be happy to run this card at 1B if I didn’t have Frank Thomas, so I think he fits a lot of teams.

5. Julio Rodriguez

4. Corbin Burnes

3. Aaron Judge

2. Dansby Swanson

1. Sandy Alcantara

Julio Rodriguez leads off the top five with a bang. Do you like Ronald Acuna Jr. cards? Of course you do. This J-Rod is built like a high-end Acuna card with better fielding and speed. Rodriguez absolutely bashes LHP and holds his own against RHP. I was still using Ronnie even after the Live Series Ratings Massacre of July 2022. I replaced him without hesitation as soon as I took this card with my first AL West pick. One of the better OF in the game and a massively fun card to use.

Corbin Burnes returns in typical Burnes form. He’s been such a staple of DD the last two years, I’m not sure what else to say. A hard sinker and cutter with 107 H/9 will always play. It is interesting to note that the break and control on the sinker are below 80 each. That’s really only going to be a problem when you’re throwing that sinker up in the zone. With no 4-seam to blow past hitters up, try to limit the usage up and focus more middle-in or even below the zone. The curveball is actually elite with control and break, but as mentioned, that pitch is borderline useless in this game when you rely on it too much. Take this card and strike out a ton of hitters.

Aaron Judge is man-crush material and so are his DD cards. I love Aaron Judge cards in this game, and he absolutely mashes for me year in and year out. His Live series card didn’t leave my lineup even after his contact vs. LHP got tanked, so I’m beyond thrilled that his All-Star card gets a boost there. It’s still mediocre at 78, but Judge brings elite power on both sides, and I’ll live with his 98/78 contact split. Diamond fielding in CF is great and 65 speed is passable, but this card is a perfect corner OF for me. He’ll get his diamond shield back at P5, and I fully intend on getting there with this card. Massive strike zone be damned, this card is amazing.

Dansby Swanson wins the award for Most Surprising Attributes in this drop. This card is bonkers at SS. Dansby is having an MVP-level season in his contract year, and we reap the benefits here in DD with what turns into the best SS in the game. 109/111 contact with 88/94 power is amazing enough, but diamond defense with 83 speed tops off this card — this Braves fan is excited to play him at SS. He’ll finally bump Milestone Jorge Polanco from the lineup for me, and this card is an easy second choice from your NL East pack. Wait, he’s so good but he’s the second pick?

That’s because Sandy Alcantara is in the same pack and is an absolute stud. If you’re not taking this card with your first pick, then your name is probably Tony LaRussa because you’re making questionable life choices, man. Let’s go down the list: 112 H/9, 94 BB/9, outlier sinker, 80+ control on key pitches, and 92+ break on his best two pitches. This card is in the conversation for best SP in the game. It’s tough for me to dethrone Randy Johnson because he’s so damn tough to hit, but this will be a nightmare from the RH side, and you’ll be seeing this card for the rest of the year — or at least until he gets a Finest card. A primary circle change is going to be absolutely disgusting as you can paint the corners and set up sliders and sinkers darting off the plate. You can throw it higher in the zone with a higher success rate, which will make those missile sinkers look 200 MPH up in the zone. This card is practically the perfect SP in DD. If pitching isn’t your strong suit, you’ll still probably find success with this card. If you’re a skilled pitcher, you’ll be nearly unhittable.

Bottom Line

The All-Stars of the Franchise program for 2022 didn’t bring the same level of power that 2021 did, but that’s a good thing. When this program dropped last year as a part of Team Affinity (RIP), it completely shifted the meta in the worst way as it killed lineup diversity and introduced Jacob deGrom to our collective nightmares. This year, SDS dropped a bunch of 97 overall cards that fit the bill and continued that power continuity that I keep harping on, which makes the game more enjoyable.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree with these rankings or would you have someone higher or lower? Who are you taking with your free 18 picks?