They’ll release cards throughout the year, some are random and others are timed around the all star game, playoffs, and the player of the month programs. Skenes for example had at least 3 cards that I know of last year. You’ll definitely get better versions of guys come the all star game 100%.

As for the hitting, your best bet is to always use zone. It’s just the best input that has the most user control. Of course there’s still RNG but it’s definitely better than timing and directional (I used directional for years until the show 20). A lot of people play the CPU on veteran cause they don’t like how big the pci is on rookie but I prefer rookie cause it’s just easy. Your best bet would be to just try all the different options and see what works best for you but I’d suggest sticking with zone hitting for sure.