MLB The Show 20 player ratings
MLB The Show 20 released Tuesday, giving fans something to do as we collectively wait for baseball to resume. Below, we review how each position shakes down in the initial roster release, ranking the top 10 or 15 players at each.
Catcher
| Rank | Player | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J.T. Realmuto | PHI | 92 |
| 2 | Yasmani Grandal | CWS | 90 |
| 3 | Gary Sanchez | NYY | 85 |
| T-4 | Buster Posey | SF | 83 |
| T-4 | Roberto Perez | CLE | 83 |
| T-4 | Mike Zunino | TB | 83 |
| T-7 | Mitch Garver | MIN | 82 |
| T-7 | Christian Vazquez | BOS | 82 |
| T-7 | Tom Murphy | SEA | 82 |
| T-10 | Yadier Molina | STL | 81 |
| T-10 | Salvador Perez | KC | 81 |
| T-10 | Willson Contreras | CHC | 81 |
The top three were All-Stars in 2019, so their placement atop the list should come as no real shock. Roberto Perez and Vazquez parlayed their offensive breakthroughs into vaunted scores. Sal Perez, formerly among the best in the business, is coming off a lost season due to injury so he finds himself a little closer to the middle of the pack.
First base
| Rank | Player | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| T-1 | Freddie Freeman | ATL | 91 |
| T-1 | Paul Goldschmidt | STL | 91 |
| 3 | Carlos Santana | CLE | 89 |
| 4 | Max Muncy | LAD | 88 |
| 5 | Pete Alonso | NYM | 87 |
| T-6 | Josh Bell | PIT | 86 |
| T-6 | Jose Abreu | CWS | 86 |
| T-6 | Matt Olson | OAK | 86 |
| 9 | Edwin Encarnacion | CWS | 85 |
| T-10 | Joey Votto | CIN | 84 |
| T-10 | Miguel Sano | MIN | 84 |
Goldschmidt maintaining top scores after an admittedly mixed season is more of a testament to how consistent he's been in his career. Alonso and Bell are in position to build off their inaugural All-Star appearances. Votto, meanwhile, has historically been among the best in the game but consecutive subpar seasons (by his standards) have him dropping.
Second base
| Rank | Player | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ozzie Albies | ATL | 92 |
| T-2 | Jose Altuve | HOU | 91 |
| T-2 | DJ LeMahieu | NYY | 91 |
| T-2 | Jonathan Villar | MIA | 91 |
| 5 | Brandon Lowe | TB | 87 |
| T-6 | Whit Merrifield | KC | 86 |
| T-6 | David Fletcher | LAA | 86 |
| T-6 | Kolten Wong | STL | 86 |
| 9 | Robinson Cano | NYM | 85 |
| 10 | Starlin Castro | WSH | 84 |
The Braves are well represented on the right side of the infield with Albies and Freeman each landing atop their respective positions. Altuve, LeMahieu, and Villar aren't far behind. One absent player who could have easily made this list is Brewers slugger Keston Hiura. A strong start to the season - had it not been postponed - may have shot him up the ranks in one of the first roster updates.
Shortstop
| Rank | Player | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Javier Baez | CHC | 93 |
| 2 | Trevor Story | COL | 92 |
| 3 | Francisco Lindor | CLE | 91 |
| 4 | Marcus Semien | OAK | 88 |
| 5 | Trea Turner | WSH | 87 |
| 6 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | SD | 86 |
| T-7 | Xander Bogaerts | BOS | 85 |
| T-7 | Carlos Correa | HOU | 85 |
| 9 | Andrelton Simmons | LAA | 84 |
| 10 | Paul DeJong | STL | 83 |
Cover athlete Baez unsurprisingly gets the nod, narrowly ahead of a couple of his peers. For pure entertainment value, it's hard to argue against Baez, but Story and Lindor are unbelievably balanced and may not lag behind him once the season kicks off in earnest. Correa's injuries have dropped him a tad, and Tatis' abbreviated 2019 earned him consideration among the position's best and most exciting players entering 2020.
Third base
| Rank | Player | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| T-1 | Anthony Rendon | LAA | 99 |
| T-1 | Nolan Arenado | COL | 99 |
| 3 | Alex Bregman | HOU | 97 |
| 4 | Matt Chapman | OAK | 94 |
| 5 | Kris Bryant | CHC | 93 |
| T-6 | Eugenio Suarez | CIN | 91 |
| T-6 | Jose Ramirez | CLE | 91 |
| T-6 | Josh Donaldson | MIN | 91 |
| 9 | Justin Turner | LAD | 90 |
| 10 | Manny Machado | SD | 88 |
Here they are, the first of the coveted 99s. Rendon got the biggest free-agent contract among position players this past offseason and Arenado has been consistently performing at a high level over an extended period of time. Third base is absolutely stacked, though, even beyond them. No other position has this much top-shelf depth.
Outfield
| Rank | Player | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Trout | LAA | 99 |
| 2 | Cody Bellinger | LAD | 98 |
| 3 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | ATL | 97 |
| 4 | Mookie Betts | LAD | 96 |
| 5 | Aaron Judge | NYY | 94 |
| 6 | Giancarlo Stanton | NYY | 92 |
| T-7 | Joey Gallo | TEX | 91 |
| T-7 | Juan Soto | WSH | 91 |
| T-9 | Christian Yelich | MIL | 90 |
| T-9 | J.D. Martinez | BOS | 90 |
| T-11 | Tommy Pham | SD | 89 |
| T-11 | Bryce Harper | PHI | 89 |
| 13 | Eddie Rosario | MIN | 88 |
| T-14 | George Springer | HOU | 87 |
| T-14 | Avisail Garcia | MIL | 87 |
| T-14 | Marcell Ozuna | ATL | 87 |
Technically as many 90-rated players as the hot corner, but this is spread across three positions. Trout would be rated 100 if that was possible, so he'll have to settle for sharing the top spot with a few of his fellow luminaries. He and Rendon are the only teammates with a 99 rating.
Starting pitcher
| Rank | Player | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob deGrom | NYM | 99 |
| 2 | Gerrit Cole | NYY | 95 |
| T-3 | Justin Verlander | HOU | 94 |
| T-3 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | 94 |
| T-3 | Max Scherzer | WSH | 94 |
| 6 | Zack Greinke | HOU | 93 |
| 7 | Stephen Strasburg | WSH | 91 |
| 8 | Charlie Morton | TB | 90 |
| 9 | Aaron Nola | PHI | 89 |
| T-10 | Chris Sale | BOS | 88 |
| T-10 | Walker Buehler | LAD | 88 |
| T-10 | Corey Kluber | TEX | 88 |
| T-10 | Sonny Gray | CIN | 88 |
| T-14 | Blake Snell | TB | 87 |
| T-14 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | 87 |
| T-14 | Noah Syndergaard | NYM | 87 |
| T-17 | Shane Bieber | CLE | 86 |
| T-17 | Trevor Bauer | CIN | 86 |
| T-17 | Madison Bumgarner | ARI | 86 |
| T-17 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | TOR | 86 |
DeGrom being the top pitcher isn't necessarily surprising, but no other hurler being ranked higher than 95 definitely is. Still, in MLB The Show, any player rated 85 or higher is considered the absolute cream of the crop. Younger players like Buehler and Bieber will need to maintain their impressive performance over another season before making a bigger leap.
Relief pitcher
| Rank | Player | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| T-1 | Roberto Osuna | HOU | 91 |
| T-1 | Kirby Yates | SD | 91 |
| T-3 | Kenley Jansen | LAD | 89 |
| T-3 | Ken Giles | TOR | 89 |
| T-5 | Aroldis Chapman | NYY | 88 |
| T-5 | Liam Hendriks | OAK | 88 |
| T-5 | Ryan Pressly | HOU | 88 |
| T-8 | Brad Hand | CLE | 87 |
| T-8 | Will Smith | ATL | 87 |
| T-10 | Josh Hader | MIL | 85 |
| T-10 | Taylor Rogers | MIN | 85 |
| T-10 | Joakim Soria | OAK | 85 |
| T-10 | Yusmeiro Petit | OAK | 85 |
The Astros and Athletics have the most impressive relief corps in this year's game. Hader's curiously the 10th highest-rated reliever after mostly dominating opponents over the last two seasons.
Top prospects
| Prospect Rank | Player | Team | Pos. | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wander Franco | TB | SS | 67 |
| 2 | Gavin Lux | LAD | 2B | N/A |
| 3 | Luis Robert | CWS | OF | 76 |
| 4 | Adley Rutschman | BAL | C | 70 |
| 5 | MacKenzie Gore | SD | SP | 70 |
| 6 | Jo Adell | LAA | OF | 70 |
| 7 | Casey Mize | DET | SP | 69 |
| 8 | Nate Pearson | TOR | SP | 71 |
| 9 | Royce Lewis | MIN | SS | 66 |
| 10 | Bobby Witt Jr. | KC | SS | 71 |
(Top prospects courtesy: MLB Pipeline)
This year's game features every minor-league player and prospect with a few exceptions - Lux hasn't been added to the game yet, for example. These scores are low relative to the more established players, but based on their high potential, each of these prospects should only improve over the duration of a long-term franchise.