MLB The Show 21: Which 2nd Inning Program boss should you choose?

The MLB The Show 21 2nd Inning Program is in full swing, as players can now begin to grind towards acquiring one of three new 95 OVR player items in Diamond Dynasty. Jason Bay, Lee Smith, and Don Mattingly are the three 2nd Inning Program bosses, and if you’re getting close to Level 25, you might be wondering which player you should take. Let’s go over our analysis of each card, plus our recommendation.

A look at the 2nd Inning Program bosses

But before we do get into our analysis, let’s take a look at the three bosses, starting with Jason Bay:

Jason Bay

Lee Smith

Don Mattingly

Which 2nd Inning Program boss should you choose?

This is a particularly hard one, just by looking at the attributes of each card. Let’s start off with Bay, who has very solid contact and power attributes and has eligibility for all three outfield positions. However, the former Pirate’s swing is a bit funky, and another issue that needs to be taken into account is the fact that there are a lot of other solid right-handed hitters (RHH) in the game right now. And if you already completed the April Player of the Month program, the three best hitters from that program (Justin Turner, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Byron Buxton) are all righties as well.

If you want to build a balanced lineup, Bay might not be a great fit, despite the stats of the card.

Now let’s move on to Lee Smith, who has great velocity and an extremely high K/9 attribute. Yes, Smith is a reliever, and taking a bullpen guy might be hard to swallow for some, but this card brings it. And, we should point out that this card should even play well during the latter stages of the game.

Lastly, let’s talk about Don Mattingly. The former Yankee All-Star looks like a contact machine, and the power ratings, at least against right-handed pitchers, should play up. Defensively speaking, Mattingly is the best card out of these three by far, so if that plays a role in your decision-making, keep that in mind.

This is a tough call. However, we do believe that you can rule Bay right off the bat, given that there are other options in the outfield. Go with Mattingly if you need a left-handed bat right now, or Smith, if you want a power arm that can stick on your squad for the remainder of the game.