Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment

10 Best Starting Pitchers in MLB The Show 25, Ranked

Kyler Wolff

Published: Mar 27, 2025 5:40 PM UTC

The game of baseball is built around pitching. Even as the modern game has tried to emphasize big-time hitting and high-scoring games, Pitching is still the most important piece of the puzzle in MLB. MLB The Show 25, however, has tried to artificially devalue pitching by lowering pitchers’ overall and creating more opportunities and game mechanics for batters.

10: Gerrit Cole – 88

84 H/9
65 K/9
75 BB/9
69 HR/9
65 Control
83 Velocity
99 Break
90 Clutch
630 total

You know MLB The Show had to put Cole in the top 10; he’s still a dominant pitcher who, when healthy, is one of the best in the game. He’s only one year removed from a career year where he won the Cy Young award with a 2.63 ERA and a sub-1.000 WHIP. He only played half the year last season and put up pedestrian numbers while turning 34, so it makes sense that MLB The Show devalued him, but he probably should be in the low 90s overall.

They still have his break at 99, but his velocity took a dive, and his stats/per-9s all fell despite his 2024 numbers being relatively close to his career averages in those categories. Either way, he still grades out with 630 total attribute points out of a maximum of 792 points, which is tenth best in the game among starting pitchers.

9: Zack Wheeler – 90

87 H/9
67 K/9
79 BB/9
70 HR/9
79 Control
96 Velocity
75 Break
79 Clutch
632 total

Zack Wheeler has been highly consistent during his career, much more so than someone like Cole, who is coming off a down year. Wheeler hasn’t had down years, at least not since 2017; since then, he has put up seven straight sub-4.00 ERA seasons and put up at least 3.0 WAR in all but the shortened 2020 season. Since 2020, he has been even better, putting up four sub-3.00 ERA seasons, being the Cy Young runner-up twice, and receiving MVP votes in both 2021 and 2024.

Wheeler was awarded solid 70 ratings in five of the eight pitching categories, as well as a 96 in velocity and a high eighties grade in H/9, which should’ve been higher given that he led the NL in that statistic last year, giving up only 6.3 hits every nine innings. His one low grade is for strikeouts, which isn’t a super fair grade given his 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings last year, but historically, it makes sense as he’s not known for missing a lot of bats.

8: Michael King 86

79 H/9
71 K/9
64 BB/9
71 HR/9
73 Control
85 Velocity
91 Break
99 Clutch
633 total

A definite shock to me, given his relatively low overall, King provides tremendous pitching value for his overall level. If you need a dominant pitcher in franchise mode and you need someone who won’t break the bank, King might be your guy. He’s the eighth-best pitcher in the game according to pitcher attributes, but he’s in the mid-eighties overall, so I would characterize him as a diamond in the rough.

King is new to the rotation, with his experience mostly coming from the bullpen in New York before the Padres made him a full-time starter last season. That relative inexperience may account for why the overall rating and his pitching attributes are so misaligned. His stuff is so good, with a mid-80s rating in velocity and nineties ratings in break and clutch. He tends to give up a lot of walks, but all his other numbers are solid, and he’s still only 29.

7: Tyler Glasnow – 91

88 H/9
77 K/9
68 BB/9
67 HR/9
74 Control
97 Velocity
90 Break
75 Clutch
636 total

Glasgow was one of the two starting pitchers at the top end of pitchers in the game that I thought was overrated. The majority of pitchers in this group are underrated, but not him.

Glasnow has never had a season with above a 2.5 WAR, and his career ERA is near 4.00, but despite that, he was still rated a 91 overall in the game and has the seventh-best pitch attributes, according to my calculations.

Glasnow’s value comes mostly from his WHIP; in four of his last six, he pitched under a 1.000 WHIP with under 6.5 hits per nine innings, which are elite numbers. He also tends to strike many people out with some electric stuff on the mound, leading to his above-average K/9 and 97 velocity in the game.

6: Sonny Gray – 90

77 H/9
72 K/9
78 BB/9
75 HR/9
74 Control
84 Velocity
97 Break
87 Clutch
644 total

Sonny Gray is the other overrated starting pitcher, along with Tyler Glasnow. He’s had one excellent season in the last five years (his 2023 Cy Young runner-up season with the Twins) and basically nothing else that stands out in that span. Outside of that one season, his ERA has sat around the high threes and low fours, and his WHIP has only fallen below 1.1 twice in a 12-year career, with an average of about 1.2 on his career.

He, of course, has his famous sweeper that is nasty and leads to many swings and misses, but even with that pitch, he’s never been a strikeout guy, with only an 8.9 K/9 average over his career. He really doesn’t have one element in his game that is completely dominating. Sonny Gray, to me, has always been an above-average pitcher who can slot in as a solid number-two pitcher in most rotations. In my opinion, he is not a top ten pitcher in real life, despite being the 6th best in MLB The Show.

In the show, Gray has perhaps the most balanced pitching ratings in the whole league, with a 97 break rating, which reflects his great sweeper. He’s a top pitcher in the video game, but the real-life numbers don’t back it up.

5: Tarik Skubal – 94

85 H/9
72 K/9
82 BB/9
79 HR/9
83 Control
99 Velocity
71 Break
75 Clutch
646 total

Skubal had a breakout season last year, and we are seeing his MLB The Show numbers reflect that. The reigning AL Cy Young winner was given elite attribute ratings that mirror his elite numbers from 2024, although I do have problems with his low K/9 rating. Skubal threw 228 strikeouts last season, leading all AL pitchers and averaging an impressive 10.9 Ks through nine innings. He deserves at least an 80 K/9 rating, if not somewhere above 85 or even 90.

The rest of his attributes are valid, with a 99 velocity rating reflecting his 97 MPH average fastball, which ranks in the top 30 of all pitchers in the league. Skubal has quickly turned into one of the best pitchers in the league and, thus, one of the best pitchers in MLB The Show.

4: Chris Sale – 94

80 H/9
75 K/9
78 BB/9
76 HR/9
81 Control
94 Velocity
99 Break
80 Clutch
663 total

Old man Sale has still got it! Chris Sale hadn’t had a legitimately good (and healthy) season since 2018 (when he was 29 years old), and yet, when Spencer Strider (the reigning NL Cy Young from 2023) went down for the year with an injury, Sale took up the mantle as the Braves ace and put up his first Cy Young winning season on his career at age 35. Sale had been a perennial member of this top ten list between 2012 and 2018, when he was a top-6 CY Young finalist for seven straight years but never won.

Now, finally, with a Cy Young trophy, MLB The Show has rocketed Sale back up the charts into the fourth-best pitcher position with a slate of great pitching attributes. He’s the only starting pitcher in the game with 75+ ratings in each of the eight critical pitching attributes. He also has a max rating on break with his elite movement on his breaking balls, which have been his most successful pitches as he has gotten older.

3: Blake Snell – 92

99 H/9
84 K/9
45 BB/9
77 HR/9
79 Control
83 Velocity
99 Break
99 Clutch
665 total

Blake Snell has three separate 99-rated attributes. His H/9 is a 99 because he gave up an incredibly low 5.6 hits every nine innings. He also has 99 ratings in both break and clutch, which aren’t just pedals in your old Ford Bronco; these are also the attributes that make Blake Snell such a good pitcher. Blake Snell gets some of the best movement on his breaking balls in the entire league, leading to his curveball and slider being two of the most effective pitches in the game.

He allowed just a .111 average on his curveball while putting away 70 batters on the pitch last year. This ability to knock guys out with his breaking ball pitches is what makes his clutch skill so good. In spots where he has the opportunity to strike out a guy on a full count, he can often dial up his curve or his slider to make the killing blow.

His strikeout efficiency is legendary; in fact, he currently holds the all-time career record for K/9 in his career with an 11.2 career mark. Maybe his K/9 rating should also be 99? Or at least more than 84! It would make up for his abysmal 45 BB/9 rating.

2: Paul Skenes – 93

82 H/9
77 K/9
73 BB/9
76 HR/9
75 Control
99 Velocity
99 Break
94 Clutch
675 total

Paul Skenes is the second-best pitcher in the game this year, but if he keeps on his trajectory, he will likely be the best pitcher in the game by next season. Skenes came into the league last year and absolutely lit up the league, turning the Pirates into a playoff contender virtually overnight. His 1.96 ERA on 23 starts was incredibly impressive, as was his 11.5 K/9, which ranked among the league’s best in terms of starting pitchers.

Skenes easily won the NL Rookie of the Year and got third place in the Cy Young Award race as well. His stuff is electric, as you can see by his 99 breaks and 99 velocities; he is also elite at limiting hits, only giving up 94 in 133 innings.

Skenes is an ascending 22-year-old star who should be a perennial Cy Young contender for a decade or more to come. In my opinion, he is the most valuable player (not just pitcher) in the entire game for franchise mode.

1: Shohei Ohtani – 99

94 H/9
88 K/9
50 BB/9
98 HR/9
69 Control
96 Velocity
93 Break
93 Clutch
681 total

Can you believe that the best pitcher in the league didn’t pitch at all last season, yet was still named MVP in the NL and was undoubtedly a 99 overall rated player this year? Can you believe that one guy can be rated as the best pitcher and second-best hitter in the game? I can, too, because we both know that Shohei Ohtani exists, and we both know just how good this guy is at baseball.

Ohtani is probably a better hitter than he is a pitcher, but MLB The Show doesn’t care. They are looking through rose-tinted glasses at Ohtani’s pitching abilities, and they see a stud with five 90+ attributes who is hands down the best in show at the position. I don’t necessarily agree, but I understand where they are coming from. Ohtani’s numbers and ability on the mound are fantastic, but are they this good?

I think his HR/9 and H/9 aren’t 90+ caliber, given all the ratings I’ve seen among other fantastic pitchers. I think his K/9 should be a lot higher, given his Blake Snell-type numbers in that category, but his velocity, break, and clutch are also just a smidge high as well. I just think San Diego Studios are inflating his pitching numbers for some strange reason.

Honorable Mentions

Logan Webb 89
Spencer Strider 88
Logan Gilbert 88
Yoshinobu Yamamoto 88
George Kirby 89