Grinding a strong rotation without emptying your wallet feels better than ever right now, because MLB The Show 26 has added a free 95 Overall Milestone Jacob deGrom that you can earn through gameplay instead of burning through MLB 26 Stubs. It's tied to a new Extreme Showdown, and yes, it's tougher than the usual offline run. You'll need to get past a few smaller battles before facing deGrom himself, but the mode is repeatable, so one bad swing or one ugly inning doesn't ruin the whole thing forever.

• Earn 95 Overall Milestone Jacob deGrom through Extreme Showdown
• Use his Outlier fastball and sharp slider to control games
• Clear the Lou Gehrig Day Conquest map for packs and XP
• Watch new Headliners and collection pieces before prices move

Why This deGrom Card Is Worth the Time

You'll notice the card's value as soon as you look past the rating. DeGrom brings 100 stamina, 92 control, and 97 clutch, which means he isn't just a five-inning gimmick arm. His H/9 and K/9 numbers are strong enough to play in ranked, especially if you're good at mixing speeds. The pitch mix is the real hook: four-seam fastball, slider, circle change, slurve, and sinker. That slider has nasty movement, and paired with Outlier on the fastball, it forces hitters to respect both speed and break.

Lou Gehrig Day Adds More Free Value

The Lou Gehrig Day Conquest map is also worth knocking out, even if Conquest isn't your favourite mode. It gives you a simple way to stack packs, XP, and program progress while staying away from the market. Rewards include a Lou Gehrig Day bat skin, Show Packs, Headliner Packs, Deluxe Packs, Jumbo Show Packs, and 4,000 XP. There are usually hidden rewards tucked around these maps too, so don't just rush the strongholds and leave empty spaces behind.

New Cards And Collection Planning

Andy Pettitte's new Headliner card gives rotation builders another left-handed option. He has strong stamina, good control, and a pitch mix built around the cutter, sinker, curveball, changeup, and four-seamer. He won't feel like deGrom, and that's fine. Pettitte is more about changing eye levels and getting weak contact. At the same time, players are already looking ahead to the next Legends and Flashbacks Collection, so cards like Ketel Marte, Mickey Mantle, Jose Ramirez, and Jolt Series rewards may matter more than they first appear.

How Players Should Approach This Update

If you're trying to build smart, start with the free stuff. Do the deGrom Showdown, clear the Conquest map, open the packs, then decide what your squad still needs. Some players will grind every reward naturally, while others may choose to buy MLB The Show 26 Stubs when they're short on key collection pieces or marketplace cards. Either way, this update gives you a proper chance to improve your team without feeling locked into one path.