John Donaldson — Red Diamond 99 OVR Starting Pitcher Overview
John Donaldson is a Red Diamond 99 OVR Starting Pitcher card for the Free Agents, part of the The Negro Leagues set in MLB The Show's Diamond Dynasty. He throws left-handed. As a two-way card, he can be used as both a hitter and a pitcher in the same lineup. He is also eligible at First Baseman, Left Fielder, Center Fielder, and Right Fielder. The card was added to Diamond Dynasty in September 2026.
On the mound, John Donaldson works with a 5-pitch arsenal led by a 99 mph 4-Seam Fastball and a 95 mph Sinker. His pitching ratings include 99 Velocity, 91 Control, and 99 Break. The profile favors a balanced mix of command and movement. Notable quirks include Outlier I and Outlier II from a total of 4 quirks.
John Donaldson is eligible at 5 positions, and DiamondOps scores each one separately: Center Fielder (85.3), Right Fielder (84.2), Left Fielder (81.6), First Baseman (73.7), and Designated Hitter (69.7) on All-Star. The best fit is Center Fielder rather than the listed Starting Pitcher, and that holds at every difficulty. At Center Fielder the card scores 85.3 on All-Star, 89.4 on Hall of Fame, and 90.5 on Legend — it keeps 106% of its All-Star value at the top difficulty, which is unusually durable. Among Starting Pitchers the card ranks #8 on All-Star and #11 on Legend.
DiamondOps grades each pitch in John Donaldson's arsenal: Slider (S), 4-Seam Fastball (S), Sinker (S), Forkball (A), and Slurve (B). 3 of them grade S-tier, which is what separates a genuine out-pitch mix from a deep-but-flat arsenal. Its strongest tunnel pairing is the 4-Seam Fastball off the Sinker, so the two share a release look. Its 99 mph 4-Seam Fastball adds a velocity bonus on top. Arsenal grades are the same at every difficulty — unlike a hitter's OpScore, a pitch mix does not re-weight as you climb.
On the Diamond Dynasty market, John Donaldson currently buys for about 263,000 stubs, with sell orders near 242,000 stubs. Over the past 4 days the buy price has fallen roughly 11%. DiamondOps suggests waiting for a better entry point.
OpScore is DiamondOps' composite rating of a card's in-game performance value. John Donaldson earns an OpScore of 102.1 on Legend difficulty, ranking #159 among all cards and #11 among Starting Pitchers.
Common questions
- What is John Donaldson's overall rating in MLB The Show 26?
- John Donaldson is a 99 OVR Red Diamond Starting Pitcher for the Free Agents.
- Is John Donaldson a good card in MLB The Show 26?
- Among Starting Pitchers, John Donaldson ranks #8 on All-Star, #8 on Hall of Fame, and #11 on Legend by OpScore — DiamondOps' difficulty-aware rating: it weights the attributes that decide at-bats and recomputes them for each difficulty, whereas in-game Overall is a single number that does not change with the level you play on.
- What quirks does John Donaldson have in MLB The Show 26?
- John Donaldson has 4 quirks: Pick Off Artist, Day Player, Outlier I, and Outlier II.
- How much does John Donaldson cost in Diamond Dynasty?
- The last recorded buy-now price was 263,000 stubs. Prices move constantly on the in-game marketplace — the chart on this page tracks the card's real history rather than a single snapshot.
Where to go next
Every link below comes from this card's own series, team, rarity, position, or the collections and programs it belongs to.
- Best Starting PitchersThe top starting pitchers in the game, ranked by OpScore.
- Best First BasemenThe top first basemen in the game, ranked by OpScore.
- Best Left FieldersThe top left fielders in the game, ranked by OpScore.
- The Negro Leagues CardsEvery The Negro Leagues card, filterable by position, team and rating.
- Free Agents CardsEvery Free Agents card in the game, with live market prices.
- Red Diamond CardsEvery Red Diamond card, ranked by overall rating.
- High Diamonds (85+ OVR)Overall is one number that never changes with difficulty. Two 87s can be a full tier apart in practice, which is what OpScore on each row is for.
- Diamond RadarWhich cards our model predicts will be upgraded at the next roster update.