The 2nd Inning XP Path has kicked off today in MLB The Show 25 Diamond Dynasty. It’s the first major refresh for this year’s game as the XP Path is launching alongside the start of the inaugural Weekend League (though that is delayed at the moment due to some issues on SDS’ end).

Since the XP path is more streamlined this year, things are more straight forward for how you get to the 2nd Inning Bosses. SDS is also starting off this new program with a double PXP weekend (which, again, is double XP for players on your teams not XP towards the program path).

The three bosses are Standout Bob Gibson, Negro Leagues Series Josh Gibson, and All-Star Ken Griffey Jr. These bosses feel very familiar as Griffey and Gibson are longtime fixtures of DD, and Josh Gibson has been one of the best Negro Leagues era players to use since he was added to DD. You will be able to earn two of these Bosses on the XP path (like last month).

I will update this XP path guide as more content is added by SDS, and I will highlight where some of the bigger XP “wins” are as well. As a reminder, you can also collect the three 1st Inning Bosses for 30K XP towards this month’s XP path.

Now let’s jump into things.

MLB The Show 25 2nd Inning XP Path Guide

Conquest

SDS added a fresh Conquest map today, the Palm Tree, which will give you 4,500 XP upon completion. There is also a JUMBO Show pack included in the rewards, and all you need to do is take all the Strongholds (five in total).

Cornerstone Evolutions

We get three new Cornerstone Evolution cards for this month: J.D. Martinez, Tony Clark, and Bruce Sutter. There is 10K of XP along these player evolution paths once you get access to them in the 2nd Inning XP path.

Sutter tends to be below average, but Clark’s stats look good and J.D. is a known masher in DD.

Other XP Hot Spots

• 10,000 XP in the Last Ride program if you did not get Ortiz and Mussina yet
• April Spotlight weeks each have 5,000 XP

Bosses And Rewards

Here are the three Bosses at 320,000 XP — plus their quirks:

Standout Bob Gibson does not have Outlier. He gets Road Warrior, Day Player, and Stopper. His usual slightly odd pitching motion is his greatest asset, but without Outlier he might remain relatively hittable. I would rank him third out of the three bosses.

Negro League Series Josh Gibson has positional flexibility but no quirks and low contact and vision compared to what his truly elite cards will look like. I would rank him second out of three bosses since we’re still always looking for catchers right now.

All-Star Ken Griffey Jr. comes with reverse splits and mediocre defense, but he does get plenty of quirks. Among them are First-Pitch Hitter, Dead Red, Breaking Ball Hitter, Pinch Hitter, Fighter, Situational Hitter, and Bad Ball Hitter. Even with the reverse splits, I think this is the obvious top choice when factoring in his sweet swing and overall attributes profile.

In general, none of these players are the “best” at their position even today, so I would just focus on where you’re the weakest and target them from there. As of today, I think all would be considered “top five” for their position, but I would not expect them to still be there by the end of this XP path.

Also buried within the XP path is a 2nd Half Heroes Ozzie Smith. Ozzie’s cards are never “must have” for most, and he only gets gold defense here. He’s a pure contact and vision player, so he exists to annoy pitchers and keep ABs alive more than anything. Basically, outside of Cardinals fans, he’s mostly there for collections.

XP Reward Path Main Rewards

• 7,500 XP – Cornerstone Evolution choice pack
• 70,000 XP – Cornerstone Evolution choice pack
• 135,000 XP – Cornerstone Evolution choice pack
• 175,000 XP – Deluxe choice pack
• 205,000 XP – 2nd Half Heroes Ozzie Smith
• 320,000 XP – 2nd Inning XP path Boss choice pack
• 500,000 XP – 2nd Inning XP path Boss choice pack
• 575,000 XP – Deluxe choice pack