1. Complete May Spotlight Program Drops

The May Lightning event is structured around weekly Spotlight Drops and Topps Now programs. Each week, you’ll need to complete specific Missions and Moments to earn program points. Accumulating these points unlocks valuable player rewards that contribute toward your May Lightning Collection.

For example, in May Spotlight Drop 1, you might need to gather 50 program points. Rewards along the way could include:

• 10 Points: 90 OVR Topps Now Andrew Morris
• 20 Points: 91 OVR Topps Now Drew Romo
• 50 Points: 93 OVR Spotlight Mickey Moniak

Keep in mind that each weekly drop builds toward the final May Lightning player, which officially unlocks on June 5, 2026. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

2. Lock Cards Into the Collections

Once you’ve acquired the weekly program rewards and any Spotlight Pack cards, you need to lock them into the collections to progress.

• http://https://www.u4n.com/news/mlb-the-show-26-may-lightning.html - May Lightning Collection: Requires 5 base Spotlight Program players, such as Mickey Moniak, to unlock the primary Lightning player reward. [7]
• May Retro Lightning Collection: Requires 11 Spotlight Pack players, which you can earn through program packs or buy from the Community Market, to unlock the Retro Lightning player reward. [1, 2, 5, 8]

Navigating to the Spotlight Collections tab in Diamond Dynasty is key — without locking these cards, you won’t trigger the final reward unlock.

3. Fastest Grinding Strategies

To speed up your progress, here are some tried-and-true strategies:

• Stack Your Lineup: Build a squad entirely from May Topps Now and Spotlight Series cards. This maximizes Parallel XP (PXP) gain while playing games, letting you complete Missions faster.
• Play Play-vs-CPU: Choose Rookie difficulty and small stadiums or high-elevation fields. This makes it easier to rack up extra-base hits, strikeouts, and PXP, clearing program objectives efficiently. [9, 10]

By combining these approaches, you can steadily complete weekly drops and collect all the cards necessary for both the standard and Retro Lightning players. Remember, consistent weekly play is the key — the rewards are designed to be earned through gameplay, not just spending money.

Unlocking the May Lightning rewards is a grind, but with the right strategy and persistence, your Diamond Dynasty squad will be fully powered up by early June. Don’t sleep on the Spotlight Drops — each program contributes toward building the ultimate May Lightning collection.