MLB The Show 20: Best relief pitchers (RP) in Franchise Mode, March to October, & RTTS - Ryan Pressly, Dan Winkler & more


Relief pitchers are the unsung heroes of your bullpen, and just as important as your starters and closers.

There are many different kinds of relief pitchers, all with different approaches to getting key outs.

Let's take a look at the best relievers in MLB The Show 20 for Franchise Mode, March to October, RTTS, and beyond.

Ryan Pressly

MLB The Show 20 Best Relief Pitchers franchise mode rtts diamond dynasty Ryan Pressly
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Ryan Pressly is everything a team could want in a reliever. He's a nightmare for batters of all kinds in the middle innings, and an assassin with pitch placement.

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Pressly's best talents are his 96 Break, 94 Control, and 90 K/9. He's surgically precise when placing pitches and has decent Velocity to back it up.

Pressly is fantastic at getting hitters to bite on breaking balls and testing the edges of the strike zone. It's hard to get contact against Pressly, but beware, he's the most susceptible to home runs on the list.

Dan Winkler

MLB The Show 20 Best Relief Pitchers franchise mode rtts diamond dynasty Dan Winkler
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Dan Winkler is somewhat of a jack of all trades on the mound. He has 4 pitches and mixes together a nice mix of heat and off-speed.

Winkler's best talents are his 86 Break, 85 K/9, and 84 H/9. He's efficient from the mound, and while not flashy, gets the job done most of the time.

Winkler is tied for youngest on the list at 29, and with B potential, he should get even better over the next couple years.

Dellin Betances

MLB The Show 20 Best Relief Pitchers franchise mode rtts diamond dynasty Dellin Betances
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For batters facing down Dellin Betances, good luck. Betances is a monster from the mound that can run through lineups before they know what they're facing.

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Betances' best talents are his 99 K/9, 99 Break, and 92 Velocity/92 H/9. He's an elite pitcher when it comes to raw talent, it's just a matter of steering the ship. Betances has poor control, and gives up plenty of walks for it.

Keeping Betances in the strike zone however means his lethal talent can be on full display.

Andrew Miller

MLB The Show 20 Best Relief Pitchers franchise mode rtts diamond dynasty Andrew Miller
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Andrew Miller is on the older end of this list, but he's still showing elite pitching skills from the mound.

Miller's best talents are his impressive 97 Break, 97 K/9, and 92 H/9.

Much like other veteran talents he can be exposed for his 48 BB/9 and 66 HR/9, but he's still a standout player when he's on point.

Tommy Kahnle

MLB The Show 20 Best Relief Pitchers franchise mode rtts diamond dynasty Tommy Kahnle
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Tommy Kahnle is young for a reliever and has plenty of highlight reel strikeouts under his belt. He's a flashy player that can really make a fool of batters when he is on his game.

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Kahnle's best talents are his 99 Break, 99 K/9, and 83 Velocity, which all enhance his Slider, Changeup, and classic 4-Seam Fastball.

Joe Smith

MLB The Show 20 Best Relief Pitchers franchise mode rtts diamond dynasty Joe Smith
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Joe Smith is the oldest player on this list at 36, but he's still a top tier relief pitcher even this late in his career.

Smith's best talents are his 96 Break, 85 Control, 80 H/9, and 80 HR/9. Smith is a consummate professional, with the mind to get the job done even without the strongest arm.

Smith is one of the more consistent relief pitchers in the league, but he can't be far from retirement.

Joakim Soria

MLB The Show 20 Best Relief Pitchers franchise mode rtts diamond dynasty Joakim Soria
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Joakim Soria is never going to be put in a position he's not somewhat prepared for. He has solid fuundamentals which help carry his game late in his career.

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Soria's best talents are his 89 Break, 82 K/9, and 80 H/9. With slow velocity and average control, Soria relies on his diverse pitch selection and break to secure outs. He's got a pitch for any kind of hitter, it's just a matter of delivering them well enough.

Will Harris

MLB The Show 20 Best Relief Pitchers franchise mode rtts diamond dynasty Will Harris
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Much like Joakim Soria, Will Harris is a jack of all trades reliever who steps up in the big moments.

Harris' best talents are his 96 Break, 88 H/9, and 80 Clutch. While he doesn't give up anything major in his skillset, this means he's only above average to average across the board.

Harris can get the job done even when the pressure's on, but can have some sloppy moments against average batting talent.

Pedro Baez

MLB The Show 20 Best Relief Pitchers franchise mode rtts diamond dynasty Pedro Baez
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Pedro Baez's strengths are the perfect representation of veteran players at reliever. His control may have slipped some over the years, but he still is extremely talented when it comes to outwitting batters.

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If Baez doesn't know quite where his Slider will end up, how can you be expected to? This shows in Baez's best talents, his 95 Break, 89 H/9, and 83 Velocity.

Baez is great at weaving the ball around bats, but it's unfortunately an inconsistent practice.

Matt Barnes

MLB The Show 20 Best Relief Pitchers franchise mode rtts diamond dynasty Matt Barnes
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Matt Barnes is tied as the youngest player on the list, and he's probably one of the most unpredictable.

Barnes' best talents are his impressive 99 Break, 99 K/9, and 91 Velocity. While those on paper make him seem like the best relief pitcher in the league, his pitfalls are what keep him on the bottom.

Barnes has very little control over his incredible arm, shown by his 51 Control and 39 BB/9. He's a talented player, but a wild card to bring in.

For more articles like this, take a look at our MLB The Show page.