MLB The Show 24: Ranked 4 Program Breakdown

Alongside the newest Battle Royale program, Ranked also gets a seasonal refresh with some new rewards to choose from.

Let’s take a look.

Ranked 4 Program

The program itself mostly remains the same. Innings mission now accrue for both Solo and Co-Op Ranked, which means you’re always progressing no matter how you’re playing.

Innings Missions

Play 9 innings – 2  Program Stars

Stat Missions

Tally 25 Extra-Base Hits (XBH) – 5 Program Stars

Program Reward

At 75 Program Stars in the Ranked 4 Program, you’ll earn a free 91 overall Matt Holliday card.

LF All-Star Matt Holliday (Colorado Rockies) – Meta Overall: 90.81; #4 LF

For an early reward that’s free just for playing, this Holliday card isn’t too shabby. Stock attributes alone are solid but Holliday also fits the Devers Cornerstone build which will go a long way toward building your new Season 2 squad. It’ll take some time to earn Holliday, but he should still be very relevant to your team building by the time you get him.

World Series Choice Pack

As usual, reaching 900+ rating will net you a World Series Choice Pack. You can also earn one in the Ranked 4 Program.

RP Breakout Mariano Rivera (New York Yankees) – Meta Overall: 92.40; #1 RP/CP

The first card we’re looking at is Breakout Mariano Rivera. As far as Rivera cards go, I’d argue this is one of the most interesting ones we’ve seen.

For starters, this is a Relief Pitcher card and not a Closing Pitcher card. This is relevant because MLB The Show still separates these two cards as different positions. That means stat missions tied to RP and CP are different, no matter how you use someone from your bullpen. Keep that in mind when grinding stat missions (outside of things like Holds or Saves unless tied to the position).

Secondly, look at that pitch mix! No primary Cutter on a Mo Rivera card just feels…wrong? It’s not bashing the card, it’s just something we don’t ever see. The overall pitch mix on this card is actually pretty solid. Rivera throws the 4-Seamer and Sinker fairly hard so the velocity should certainly play. The Slider at 88 MPH and Cutter at 94 MPH should create enough differential to be a good combo, even on All-Star difficulty. The addition of a Changeup isn’t new to a Rivera card, but it rounds off this pitch mix very well.

The attributes are solid as well. Relief Pitchers typically have higher H/9, but Rivera’s 120 Clutch is way more relevant than the 106 H/9 – which itself is good. Rivera has decent enough Control on his pitches as well.

All of this adds up to the current top RP/CP in Season 2.

1B Incognito Big Mac! [Mark McGwire] (Oakland Athletics) – Meta Overall: 95.47; #1 1B

The second card in the new World Series Choice Pack is Incognito Mark McGwire. This card makes me happy as the Incognito series is one of my favorite in Diamond Dynasty history and I grew up with Big Mac. That alone cracks a smile, but the attributes are absolutely tasty here.

McGwire is an offensive juggernaut as you’d want and expect. With runners in scoring position, Big Mac’s offensive spread is 90/90/115/115. That’ll play every single day. The Fielding is terrible as you’d also expect and 42 Speed is probably generous.

From a Quirks standpoint, McGwire gets Dead Red and Breaking Ball Hitter, the two most sought after offensive Quirks.

As if you need more value crammed into this card, Big Mac fits on the new Devers Cornerstone build, the Buxton Cornerstone build and the Arenado Cornerstone build. If you decide to get weird and Wild Card one of the previous Cornerstone Captains, Big Mac fits on your build to help you get to Tier 3. Fitting on the Devers build alone can max out McGwire’s Power.

The big caveat here is the swing. Since being added to the game, McGwire’s swing has been blasted from every corner of the DD community. Your mileage may vary here and it can certainly affect your view on the card. However, this card is fantastic on paper and good enough to warrant the ole college try.

Papadell’s Pick

It’s Big Mac for me all day, every day. Rivera has much better long term value as he can sit in your bullpen for the rest of the season. But it’s hard for me to turn down McGwire’s attributes, Quirks and Captain flexibility. If the swing still stinks, that’s obviously a bummer but I’m greedy and I’ll go for Mac Moonshots on the regular.

Which World Series reward makes your squad? Let us know in the comments below!