Battle Royale 4 is here with three brand-new cards in the Flawless Choice Pack. We’ve seen some pretty disappointing online rewards recently, but surely Battle Royale gets the good stuff…right?

Well…

MLB The Show 23 Battle Royale 4 Program Breakdown

LF Incognito Cuban Comet! [Minnie Minoso] (Chicago White Sox)

Meta Overall rating: 100.82; 3B: 101.93 – 32nd best OF

Minnie Minoso has always been one of my favorite “underrated” cards in Diamond Dynasty. When he was revealed as the first BR reward for Season 4, I was holding out hope that we’d get an insanely juiced Minoso to fit into the current meta landscape. It felt like a pipedream simply based off his career statistics, seeing as how they don’t ever really translate into a beefy card. Unfortunately that dream became a reality and Minoso’s Incognito card leaves a lot to be desired.

114 CON L and 125 CON R certainly fit Minoso’s expected profile. The 79 POW L and 86 POW R were also to be expected, but ultimately the Power department was where I was hoping we’d get some extra juice. Contact hitters play better this year than last year and I personally think Minoso has a good swing, but this card just doesn’t cut it. Minoso has decent Speed with 87 but doesn’t have otherworldly Stealing attributes to go with it. Nor does he possess elite defense with 88 stock Fielding and a pretty weak Arm. If this card was a Live Series collection card, I think it would get some good PR and people might actually feel inclined to use him. But as a Battle Royale reward in Season 4, this card just falls completely flat on its face and feels like a slap in the face to hardcore BR grinders.

Minoso is an incredible figure in baseball history – don’t let a disappointing card in Diamond Dynasty spoil that. But remember that we analyze cards against the meta here. You can do so much better in the OF department just from grinding free programs that taking a card like this from a Flawless Choice Pack is damn near lunacy.

RP Incognito Nasty Boy! [Rob Dibble] (Cincinnati Reds)

Meta Overall rating: 98.14 – 7th best RP

Mr. Dibble if you’re nasty – this card is pretty good. Since Dibble debuted in MLB The Show, he’s routinely been one of the more sought after RP cards in the game. With a bit of funk in his release and a flamethrower built into his right arm, Dibble has the elite stuff and attributes you want from a key reliever.

Dibble gets 121 H/9 here which is already superb which pairs well with 125 K/9. Dibble wasn’t exactly a control artist but gets a respectable 85 BB/9 with 119 Clutch to boot. For a reliever, these are the kind of attributes you’re probably looking for.

The pitch mix is the same we expect from Dibble cards. Dibble’s got an Outlier 4-Seamer with 98 Control, a Slider at 84 MPH with 91 Control and 99 Break and a hard Cutter at 92 MPH with 82 Control and 94 Break. Nothing really new here and that’s just fine. I’ve seen Dibble quite a bit over the last couple years and I still struggle to hit him a bit. This is a very good reliever that should instill quite a bit of confidence when he takes the mound for you. From a value perspective, you can find plenty of bullpen options that aren’t as difficult to acquire as Dibble. Should Nasty Boy find his way into your bullpen, however, you’re probably going to have a pretty good time.

2B Kaiju Alfonso Soriano (Texas Rangers) 

Meta Overall rating: 106.76; LF: 105.21, RF: 104.50 – #1 2B, 12th best overall card in the game

In true “saving the best for last” form, Alfonso Soriano is hands down the best card in this pack.

100+ across the board offensively, including Clutch, combined with 96 Speed and 94 Stealing and very good defense that turns Diamond at P4 – Alfonso Soriano is the very best 2B in the game.

Honestly, this offensive profile could have been a lot better for Soriano but we’ll take this without hesitation. One of my favorite players growing up, Soriano’s debut in The Show back in 2021 brought me a ton of joy and I’ve enjoyed using his cards the last couple years. Soriano’s swing isn’t the greatest, but over time the attributes win out and this card performs the way you’d want.

Usurping the recently released Chase Utley as the best 2B, Soriano also ranks out as the 12th best overall card in the game excluding Supercharges. Not surprising when you’re talking about a combination of elite Contact, Power and Speed with good defense. But…a little surprising given the lackluster online rewards recently.

papadell’s Pick

As if it wasn’t obvious already, Kaiju Alfonso Soriano is my pick from this pack. I was looking forward to taking Utley from the XP Reward Path Boss packs and using him at 2B again this year, but I think I’m ready to give Soriano another crack as my 2B with this well balanced card.

Rob Dibble is a very good RP that fits into every bullpen. With the Program Choice Packs going no-sell, cards like Dibble will probably be quite expensive as in years past. Because of that, I feel like the value isn’t quite there as you can fill out an entire bullpen with less Stubs and a little grinding. Regardless, Dibble is a solid BR reward and actually fits the mold of what a BR reward should be.

Not to down the Minoso card too much more, it just feels really out of place in this pack. If Battle Royale Program packs are going to be No-Sell and ultimately more expensive, they should at least feel worth it. Going 12-0 in Battle Royale takes a lot of skill, patience and luck. SDS can do better than adding cards like Minoso into those packs that are primarily going to be earned by hardcore players.

Who do you think is the best card in this round of BR rewards? How do you feel about the online rewards being released in DD recently? Let us know below!