The influx of new content didn’t stop with the launch of Season 4. Battle Royale gets its 7th program of the year and delivers a trio of new rewards in the Flawless Choice Pack. Let’s take a look.

MLB The Show 23 Battle Royale 7

SS Future Stars Marcelo Mayer (Boston Red Sox)
Meta Overall rating: 104.96 – #7 SS

Starting off with the youngster, BR 7 delivers a top-10 SS according to Meta Overall. Mayer hits from the left side and throws from the right and features respectable Speed at 72. He won’t be much of a threat on the basepaths, but that Speed pairs well with 90 Fielding and 92 Reaction to make him a really good defensive option at SS. Defensively superior SS only provide so much value if they can’t hit, so luckily this Mayer card rates out pretty well on the offensive side for a SS. With 116 CON L, 122 CON R, 106 POW L and 111 POW R, the yet unproven Future Star also boasts a Clutch rating of 121.

All across the board, this Mayer card rates out quite well and is a worthy option at SS. I can’t speak to the quality of Mayer’s swing, but the attributes are good enough on their own.

CP Signature Series Zack Britton (Baltimore Orioles)
Meta Overall Rating: 106.15 – #5 RP/CP

Remember back when the Signature Series cards first debuted? Basically every new card released that year was a Signature Series card, only for that card series to go somewhat extinct over the last couple years. Here in the BR 7 Flawless Choice Pack we not only get the somewhat rare Signature Series card, but we get one of the very best relivers in the game. Zack Britton represents the Orioles here in grand style. Featuring 125 H/9, 118 K/9, 108 BB/9 and 119 Clutch, Britton possesses exceptional attributes for any reliever. Tack on the Outlier Sinker with max Break and Control, a Slider with 99 Break and 95 Control and the addition of a Circle-Change with 76 and 81 Control and you have yourselves a stew going. Britton has always been nasty and the Outlier Sinker/Slider combination is deadly. The 4-Seamer runs a couple ticks higher on the radar gun but the real treat is the Circle-Change. The Control and Break ratings aren’t stellar, but the mere addition of this fourth pitch makes Britton way more effective as you can drop the Change in and really mess with a hitter’s timing.

RF Awards Tony Gwynn (San Diego Padres)
Meta Overall rating: 103.60 – #12 RF

Finally, Mr. Padre rounds out the pack with an Awards series card from 1997. Tony Gwynn is an iconic player and one of the best pure hitters in baseball, yet his Diamond Dynasty cards often end up underwhelming. Not even really on their own, just compared to the rest of the cards available at any given time. Outfield has always been a stacked position, even before the Sets and Seasons model debuted this year. That truth is ultimately what makes this Gwynn seem less impressive than it probably is.

You get the expected 125 Contact against both sides but a surprising amount of pop with 90 POW L and 85 POW R. Max Vision and max Clutch round out to make this a really good set of attributes for Tony Gwynn. Gwynn also features Dead Red and Breaking Ball Hitter, two of the most sought after Quirks for hitters. Dragging the card down a bit is the 76 Speed despite the 90 Fielding, 92 Arm Strength and 90 Accuracy with 88 Reaction. I guess we can’t have it all when it comes to Gwynn – either we get elite Speed with lower Power or more Power with less Speed.

Regardless, as good as I think this card is – there’s simply so many options that you can do better without trying. Gwynn comes close to cracking the top-10 RF but still falls short. When you have options like Sammy Sosa and Ronald Acuna Jr. that aren’t that difficult to acquire, both of which possess better Power and Speed, it makes it difficult to choose this card over them more often than not.

Papadell’s Pick

I think the pick here is pretty much a no-brainer. With the launch of Season 4, bullpens across Diamond Dynasty were torched and forced to rebuild from the ground up. What better addition than one of the best relievers in the game that has an Outlier Sinker from the left side? You’ll find plenty of other options that are equal to or greater than Mayer and Gwynn, though those cards are pretty good in their own rights.

The Closer

Battle Royale 7 started off on shaky grounding as the cards were announced. The sexy names weren’t really there with Britton and Mayer, though Britton typically receives excellent high-end cards. With Gwynn, as popular and beloved as he is, the grounded expectation of a card falling just short has been programmed into every single one of us when he’s released. Still, the attributes on every single one of these cards are starter worthy and it’s just a matter of how you choose to build your team. With the prospect of elite Captains to end the game cycle looming, Mayer and Gwynn might end up looking a whole lot better on an endgame theme team.

What are your thoughts on Battle Royale 7? Are these cards good enough to get you to grind the program? If so, who are you choosing and why? Let us know in the comments below!