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Continue ShoppingBen Zobrist is now the latest major Legends and Flashbacks collection reward in MLB The Show 26, and unlocking him is less about blindly completing every collection than knowing where you can save MLB Stubs. The current Ben Zobrist collection requires 30 of 32 eligible collection rewards, meaning two vouchers can be skipped.
The important part is timing. Several collections become much more expensive immediately after a major collection reward goes live because players rush to finish it at the same time. If you are not already close to Zobrist, buying everything at the first available price can leave a lot of value on the table. The better approach is to prioritize the inexpensive and grindable collections, identify the expensive vouchers you can avoid, and wait on card series that are likely to receive more content.
The biggest thing to understand before spending anything is that you do not need every voucher to unlock Zobrist.
There are also several older collections that do not provide a voucher toward this Zobrist collection. Rookie, Last Ride, Veteran, and St. Patrick's Day are not required for this particular collection. That means players should not spend on those collections simply because they assume every Legends and Flashbacks-related collection counts.
The current collection structure also means you should look at your own inventory before deciding which two vouchers to skip. A voucher that looks expensive for one player may be relatively easy for another player who has been consistently completing programs throughout the year.
That distinction is important because the collection is built around a mixture of expensive market cards and cards that can be earned through gameplay.
Contributor was one of the collections players were watching closely because of the potential requirement for Babe Ruth.
The good news for the Zobrist collection is that Babe Ruth is not required for the Contributor voucher. That removes one particularly expensive potential roadblock from the immediate Zobrist grind.
However, there is an important reason not to completely ignore the card. Another Legends and Flashbacks collection is scheduled for November, and the source material suggests future requirements may become more demanding. Ruth is also a previous XP Boss card, so older XP Boss rewards could become easier to obtain later through future progression.
In other words, there is little reason to panic-buy Ruth solely because you are trying to unlock Zobrist right now.
Postseason is one of the more interesting collections because the current requirement is relatively unforgiving: you need every card for the voucher.
That makes it a poor candidate for rushing into if you are still far away from Zobrist. A number of Postseason cards have already become expensive, while the upcoming postseason itself creates a reasonable possibility of additional Postseason content.
That does not guarantee that the collection will become cheaper, but it gives you a reason to wait if you are not close to completing Zobrist.
For players who want Zobrist immediately, Postseason may still be necessary. For everyone else, holding your MLB Stubs and watching how the next wave of content affects the market makes more sense than automatically buying everything at the first inflated price.
Field of Dreams is considerably more straightforward.
The collection allows you to skip two of its eligible cards, and the important point is that the required cards can largely be obtained through the associated program and event content. The current collection database also confirms that the Field of Dreams voucher requires eight of ten eligible items.
That makes this one of the collections worth targeting rather than avoiding.
Subway Series, meanwhile, does not provide a Zobrist voucher, so there is no reason to complete it specifically for this collection.
Moonshot is another collection where gameplay can do a lot of the work.
The voucher allows you to skip three cards, which gives you room to avoid some of the more expensive options. Chase cards are natural candidates when they are significantly more expensive than the rest of the collection.
The bigger opportunity, however, is the Moonshot Mini Season.
The Mini Season provides multiple rewards and repeatable objectives, giving players a way to generate packs, progress, and additional value while working toward the collection. The official MLB The Show 26 website highlights Mini-Seasons as part of the Diamond Dynasty experience, alongside the upgraded PXP system and special challenges that help players develop their cards.
There is also a useful detail about the Ultra Pack: it is not a choice pack. The series is randomly determined rather than letting you repeatedly select exactly the Moonshot cards you need.
That means the Mini Season is useful for building resources, but you should not treat it as a guaranteed shortcut to specific collection cards.
Awards is one of the most expensive-looking collections in the current Zobrist path.
You can skip four cards, but the remaining pool contains several expensive cards, including Chase cards and other high-demand options. Because of that, Awards is a natural place to consider using one of your two overall voucher skips.
This is especially true if your goal is to unlock Zobrist soon rather than eventually completing every collection in the game.
The situation can change as more Awards cards enter the game, though. A collection that looks terrible on launch day can become much more manageable once additional supply enters the market.
Milestone is another collection with expensive cards, but it has one major advantage: a meaningful portion of its cards can be earned through gameplay.
Player Programs and Showdowns can provide free Milestone cards, so make sure you have completed those sources before deciding that the voucher is too expensive.
You can skip three cards, giving you some flexibility around the most expensive options. World Series rewards and Chase cards can create expensive gaps, but the collection is not necessarily something you should skip automatically if you have already built a large Milestone inventory.
Prime is one of the clearest examples of why timing matters.
At the time of the source material, only a limited number of Prime cards were available, while several of them had become extremely expensive. The collection allowed only one card to be skipped.
That creates a bad combination: limited supply, expensive cards, and little room to avoid them.
The better strategy is to wait for additional Prime cards if you are not already close to finishing Zobrist. More cards would increase the number of available options and potentially reduce the pressure on the existing cards.
This is one of those collections where waiting can be more valuable than immediately spending.
Spotlight is another collection where the individual cards may not all look disastrous, but the total requirement can become expensive because of the number of cards involved.
If you have been consistently completing Lightning and Spotlight-related content throughout the year, this collection becomes much easier. If you have ignored that content, however, buying your way through it can become costly.
Topps Now works in a similar way.
A lot of Topps Now cards can be earned through programs, and many market cards sit around quicksell levels. The problem is simply the volume. When dozens of cards need to be collected, small expenses start adding up.
For that reason, completing the free program content first is usually the sensible way to approach both collections.
The 2026 All-Star collection allows you to skip five cards, which provides considerably more flexibility than some of the tighter collections.
The source material also notes that several All-Star card prices had already begun falling after the Zobrist collection launched. That makes this a collection worth checking rather than automatically skipping.
If you already earned many of these cards through programs and other content, finishing All-Star may be more reasonable than spending one of your two major voucher skips on it.
The key is to compare what you already own with what you would actually need to buy.
Signature allows you to skip one card. Because the collection is relatively small, the addition of another Signature card could make the requirement substantially easier.
That makes patience useful here as well.
All-Star is more complicated because there are several expensive cards, including former Chase cards. Since only one can be skipped in each of the relevant sections, you need to pay closer attention to which cards you already have before locking anything in.
The same principle applies throughout the Zobrist collection: the cheapest path is not necessarily the same for every player.
Hall of Fame has several cards whose prices have risen sharply because of the demand created by Zobrist.
Some of those cards are older Headliner players, which makes their current prices especially interesting. As more supply enters the game, these cards can become much cheaper.
There is also another important consideration: Carlos Beltrán is already part of the progression toward the Zobrist collection. If you are close enough to Zobrist, you may naturally acquire additional collection progress without having to force every Hall of Fame card immediately.
If you are still far away, there is little reason to rush into an expensive Hall of Fame purchase.
Draft provides one of the better opportunities for players who prefer gameplay over Mini Seasons.
The Draft Conquest map can reward three Draft players after completing the required strongholds and finishing the map. Those rewards can then contribute to your collection or be sold if you do not need them.
That makes Draft Conquest particularly useful during a period when Draft cards are expensive.
If you enjoy Conquest more than Mini Seasons, this can be a practical way to work toward the Zobrist collection while also generating market value.
Home Run Derby is another collection where rushing in immediately can be costly.
The current requirement calls for every Home Run Derby card, and prices on the higher-rated cards rose significantly after the Zobrist collection appeared.
The important factor is future supply. More Home Run Derby packs or other ways of distributing these cards could push prices down.
So unless you are already close enough to Zobrist that Home Run Derby is one of the final obstacles, waiting is a reasonable strategy.
Finest is much easier to handle.
You can skip one card, while the currently available Finest cards are relatively manageable compared with some of the game's more expensive collections.
More Finest cards are also expected to arrive, which should provide additional flexibility later.
This is therefore not the type of voucher that should automatically consume one of your two major skips.
Pipeline is one of the more accessible collections because much of the required content can be earned by playing through the associated Pipeline content.
You can skip two cards, and the Chase card as one potential skip if you do not already have its non-sellable version.
Trade Deadline works in a similar way. Two cards can be skipped, while the newer content provides another way to build progress without immediately buying everything from the market.
These are the types of collections you generally want to work on before throwing away one of your two overall voucher skips.
The Negro Leagues content has an easy-to-miss distinction.
The Jackie Robinson collection and its reward are not the same thing as the Negro Leagues collection that provides the Zobrist voucher.
The latter is the one you need to focus on.
Fortunately, this is another collection with a strong amount of free progress through Storylines, the Jackie Robinson program,m and other available content. A few cards may still need to be purchased, but the collection is much more manageable once the free rewards are collected first.
Several of the smaller collections are much less intimidating.
Summer, Vintage, Mural and Cityscapes all provide their respective player rewards as Zobrist voucher progress. The main advice here is simple: avoid buying expensive Chase cards just to complete a collection when cheaper alternatives are available.
These are collections where having a decent inventory from playing throughout the year can make the difference between an easy completion and an unnecessary market purchase.
Egg Hunt is another collection that should generally be approached as a completion rather than a skip.
Most of the cards are inexpensive, and the market situation around its more notable card can change when additional Vault packs enter the game.
Standout is even more straightforward because you can skip one card.
Considering that your two overall skips are extremely valuable when dealing with expensive collections such as Awards or Spotlight, using them on easier collections would generally waste that flexibility.
The Jolt collection deserves special attention because the current Zobrist voucher requires 55 of the 60 Team Affinity Jolt players.
There is also a future Legends and Flashbacks collection scheduled for November that is expected to require all 60.
That makes Jolt different from a normal collection you can simply ignore after unlocking Zobrist. If you intend to pursue the later collection as well, the cards you collect now can have additional value later.
Rather than treating the two skips as a fixed answer for every player, think of them as emergency exits from the most expensive collections.
The strongest candidates discussed in the source material include:
| Collection | Current Approach | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Awards | Consider skipping | Four-card flexibility but many expensive cards |
| Spotlight | Skip or wait | Large collection with expensive cards |
| Postseason | Wait if possible | Requires every card, rd and future postseason content may help |
| Prime | Wait | Limited card supply can inflate prices |
| Milestone | Consider skipping | Several expensive cards, but many free rewards exist |
| 2026 All-Star | Check inventory first | Five cards can be skipped, and prices have been moving |
| Home Run Derby | Wait | Future pack availability could reduce prices |
| Hall of Fame | Wait | Several cards have inflated prices |
| Tops Now | Usually complete | Many cards are obtainable through programs |
| Draft | Grind | Conquest provides additional Draft rewards |
| Moonshot | Grind | Mini Season provides multiple rewards and repeatable progress |
The key takeaway is that Awards is an obvious collection to examine when deciding on a skip, but the second skip should depend on your inventory and how quickly you want Zobrist.
If your collection is still far from complete, do not start by buying random cards from the market.
First, complete the programs connected to the collections you need. Moonshot, Pipeline, Trade Deadline, Negro Leagues, Tops Now, Milestone,e and the smaller seasonal collections all offer opportunities to earn progress without spending heavily.
For repeatable grinding, the source material highlights two particularly useful options.
The Moonshot Mini Season provides packs, PXPsi, es, and other rewards while you work through Moonshot progress.
The Hall of Fame Mini Season can also be used as a repeatable pack-grinding method through its Headliner objective. That can be particularly valuable when Headliner cards are selling for more than usual because of collection demand.
If you prefer Conquest, the Draft map provides another route to generate Draft players while making progress through gameplay.
The biggest mistake with a collection like this is assuming that today's price is the price you have to pay.
The Zobrist collection itself creates demand for dozens of card series at once. That can cause cards that were previously sitting at reasonable prices to spike almost immediately.
But the opposite can happen once more packs, programs, events,nts and rewind opportunities enter the game.
The source material specifically points to cards falling after becoming available through Event Rewind packs, while other older Headliner and Chase cards can also decline as supply increases.
That is why checking price history before buying is more useful than looking only at the current Buy Now price.
The current Ben Zobrist collection is less about finding one secret shortcut and more about managing the order in which you complete your collections.
Start with the content you can earn for free. Then target the inexpensive collections. Save your two major skips for the collections that would otherwise require the biggest market investment. Finally, wait on collections where new cards are likely to arrive or where current prices appear driven by temporary demand.
The current collection structure requires 30 of 32 eligible rewards, so you have some room to avoid the worst expenses.
If you are building toward the reward over time, keep your MLB The Show 26 Stubs available instead of spending everything on day-one prices. As more content arrives, the same collection can become much easier to finish, and the best route for your account will depend heavily on which cards and program rewards you already own.
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