Predicting the Highest Rated Position Players in MLB The Show 25

MLB The Show 25 is releasing their player ratings sometime next week. As a known hawker of speculation and predictions, including giving you my thoughts about who will be the top prospects in The Show 25, I thought I should try my hand at guessing who the top position players will be in the game.

This is going to be a long article, so let’s not beat around the bush; let’s dive right in!

Predicting The Highest Rated Position Players In MLB The Show 25

99 Overall

• Shohei Ohtani, DH, Dodgers
• Aaron Judge, RF, Yankees
• Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Royals

In the highly esteemed 99 club, it’s very possible that we don’t see any (non-Ohtani) pitchers claim a spot. This is a batter-dominated group, and the obvious duo leading all other batters by miles are Ohtani and Judge, who were 99 overall in last year’s edition of the game, and since then, each of them won an MVP trophy (Judge in the AL, and Ohtani in the NL). I expect Judge will have at least five 99 overall traits in hitting between power against both arms, contact against both arms, plate discipline, and batting clutch. Aaron Judge is the best pure hitter in the league, and he’s not a bad outfielder either. He’s a 100% lock for a 99 overall.

The other lock at 99 is Shohei, who should be back on the mound this season and is arguably a top-five hitter, batter, and base runner in the league. 

The other guy on this list should be 99 overall but may slip to 98 if SD Studios is cranky and wants to take it out on him. Bobby Witt proved last year that he can be the face of the league moving forward. His win above replacement was second-best in the league, right behind Judge, and he led the MLB in hits and batting average. You could argue that he doesn’t have an elite power tool with only 31 home runs, but I think it’s safe to assume that number will get a lot closer to 40 next year, given Witt’s trajectory.

98 Overall

• Juan Soto, RF, Mets
• Kyle Tucker, RF, Cubs

Right fielders on new teams dominate this rating group. These two should at least be considered for the 99 club, but I think they’ll end up being the bridesmaids. 

Juan Soto has been criminally underrated in the last two iterations of the game, with a completely disrespectful 85 overall in 23 and only a 91 in 24 after a comeback year in San Diego. I think this will finally be the year they screw their heads on properly and give Soto a fair rating.

Soto’s numbers last year are most comparable to his numbers in 2021, in which he was awarded a 97 overall rating in the following game. He had a 7.1 WAR in 2021 and a 7.9 WAR last year, thanks to his improved performance in right field for the Yankees. In my opinion, fielding rating improvements should help him shoot up to 98 this year.

Tucker is an interesting player because if he had played a full season last year, he might be sitting pretty in the 99 club, but alas, he only had 277 at-bats. Those 277 at-bats may have been the best stretch of 277 at-bats he’s had in his professional career. With an OPS that’s just a nose hair away from 1.000 and a WAR that was nearly halfway to 10, his numbers were as close to elite as you can get. Does SD Studios think he can maintain that play throughout an entire season? I don’t know, but I know I do. That question will determine where in the 95+ range he will fall.

97 Overall

• Yordan Alvarez, DH, Astros
• Gunnar Henderson, SS, Orioles

I know MLB The Show absolutely loves Yordan Alvarez, but I think 97 is as high as you can justify putting up a player with zero defensive upside. Either way, you know his hitting ratings will be loaded with 99s.

Gunnar Henderson should get a boost from being one of the three cover guys for the Show 25, but I think they may cower away from putting him up too high. Henderson’s career has mimicked that of Bobby Witt’s, but unlike Witt — who led the league in several categories and nearly cracked 1.000 OPS last season — Gunnar hasn’t even cracked .900 yet, and he still hasn’t separated himself from the pack in any one category. With that being said, his numbers do warrant a high rating, and I would be surprised to see him below 96.

96 Overall

• Jose Ramirez, 3B, Guardians
• Mookie Betts, SS, Dodgers
• Corey Seager, SS, Rangers

The shortstop position has an absolute glut of stars right now that are driving the league forward, but don’t sleep on third base. Led by an underrated but incredibly consistent top dog, good old reliable Jose Ramirez doesn’t look it, but he’s hit over .800 OPS in each of the last nine seasons. His contact, power, and base running proficiency are elite, but he falls a little short in the fielding department. His bat’s so good, though; he should be 95+.

Seager and Betts are both guys who had amazing 2023 seasons and were rewarded with top marks in The Show 25 (99 for Betts and 98 for Seager). Last season, their production dropped, but they both had OPSs in the .860s, and they are still dominant staples on their teams and in their positions.

95 Overall

• Ronald Acuna Jr., RF, Braves
• Mike Trout, RF, Angels
• Francisco Lindor, SS, Mets

Acuna and Trout are set to fall from grace and out of the 99 club; the question is how far? Acuna had less than 200 at-bats last season due to injury, but the worst part was that those 200 at-bats represented one of the worst streaks in his career. He had the opposite trajectory as Kyle Tucker, and it could land him pretty far from the top, but I don’t think he’s falling below 95; his incredible 2023 MVP season should carry him to a mid-90s overall, at least.

Trout has been coasting on his name recognition for far too long, despite the fact that he’s only had 1300 at-bats (the equivalent of two full starting seasons) over the last five years. Don’t get me wrong; he’s put up strong numbers during this stint, but the numbers are getting worse (still great, but trending downward). When you combine that with him being 33 and moving to the corner outfield position, I could see him down here despite SD Studios’ past hesitancy to downgrade him.

I thought Lindor was underrated last season at 92, which is probably why I pushed him up 3 points in this prediction despite him having a similarly good season in 2023. Time will tell if I am too optimistic with this pick.

94 Overall

• Elly De La Cruz, SS, Reds
• Ketel Marte, 2B, Diamondbacks 

A pair of exciting infielders, these two are in vastly different parts of their careers, but they both have similar expectations set on them. Marte is coming off the second peak of his 10-year career, and he’s really unlocked his power with 36 home runs while keeping his average near .300. The hype for his 2025 season is high.

The hype around De La Cruz is even higher; after all, he is on the cover of this year’s game. When you look at his numbers (5.2 WAR and .809 OPS), he looks more like a low 90s or high 80s player, but his skills will inflate his overall tremendously. De La Cruz might be the best base runner in the league, leading all players in stolen bases last year with 67. He also has incredible throw power, fielding, and nearly unlimited power potential with his bat.

93 Overall

• Freddie Freeman, 1B, Dodgers
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B, Blue Jays
• Jarren Duran, LF, Red Sox

Finally, some first basemen appear! Last year, the top 1B was Matt Olson, who likely crashed his overall rating with a sub .800 OPS season last year. Instead of Matt, we get his evil twin Freddie Freeman returning as the top dog at the position after being criminally underrated following a third-place finish in the NL MVP race in 2023. 

Freeman fell from third to 17th in the MVP race last year, and his stats sagged quite a bit, but instead of punishing him too much, I think SD Studios should only knock him down one point, given how low he was rated before. Freeman should also be helped because fans, players, umps, and coaches nearly universally love him.

Guerrero Jr. came roaring back to life last season after two consecutively underachieving years, and he put up numbers that should make him an easy choice as the number one 1B. However, I think it’s a safer bet to put Freeman above Guerrero at 94 overall and have Freeman top the list because of his consistency and fielding.

Also in this group is what appears to be the new face of the Boston Red Sox in, Jarren Duran, last year’s doubles and triples leader. Duran is a star fielder and has blazing speed on the base track. Jumping from eight home runs in 2023 to 21 last year should also help his power numbers go from terrible to average or better. 

92 Overall

• Bryce Harper, 1B, Phillies
• William Contreras, C, Brewers
• Trea Turner, SS, Phillies

You can’t really go wrong with Bryce Harper. He’s almost always hovering around the .900 OPS level, and he’s come into his own at first base. His teammate, Trea Turner, is also a consistently solid player in the game, with his elite speed and great mix of power and contact. Both of these Phillies legends are familiar with these ratings; Turner was a 92 overall last year and put up a season last year that should keep him right there. Harper was a 91 overall and had 1.1 more WAR last season as opposed to 2023, so it makes sense for him to move up one point.

Unlike Harper and Turner, Contreras has not been a 90+ player in the game, earning an 86 last season. He has earned his spot as the league’s best catcher, though, and with it, a 92 overall, which is 1 point better than Adley Rutschman had last year as the top catcher in the league following a year where he had 4.3 WAR. Contreras had 4.9 WAR last season and thus gets a slightly better overall.

91 Overall

• Fernando Tatis Jr., RF, Padres
• Manny Machado, 3B, Padres

The cornerstones of the Padres Organization, Tatis and Machado, tend to get more hype than their stats warrant. They are both three years removed from their .900+ OPS seasons that made them stars. Tatis is still trying to claw back his superstar status after his 2022 suspension, and Machado is still trying to learn how to play baseball after 30.

Despite these struggles, MLB The Show had Tatis at 92 last year and Machado at 91. They definitely gave Tatis a 92, hoping that he would hit his stride again after a season of getting off the rust from his suspension, but last year, he continued to play way under the standard that he set for himself in his first three years in the league.

Given his play, Tatis should fall a point to 91. Conversely, Machado could stand pat after a 2023-like season, giving the Padres 2 91 overalls.

90 Overall

• Matt Olson, 1B, Braves
• Julio Rodriguez, CF, Mariners
• Jose Altuve, 2B, Astros

Matt Olson’s home run numbers were nearly cut in half from his 2023 season peak of 54 to just 29. I expect that after that season, his 99 power vs. righties will fall closer to the 84 power rating that the show gave him against lefties. His plate discipline and contact numbers will also likely take a hit, so expect to see a pretty steep fall for him in the player rankings. With that being said, I think it would be ludicrous to drop him below 90 overall, given his power upside and elite durability.

I feel as though most people are overreacting to last year’s underwhelming performance for J-Rod. He had 100 fewer at-bats, and his WAR only fell 1.0 points; his OPS fell below .750, which I would usually see as disqualifying for a spot in the 90+, but Julio was rated 93 overall last year with just a .818 OPS. What I’m saying is that he was overrated last year, so he should be overrated this year as well.

Altuve is in nearly the exact same boat as Julio Rodriguez. Jose was having a late-career renaissance in 2022 and into 2023, but the momentum just fell apart in 2024. The hyped-up numbers in Show 24 for these two players should help them keep a respectable low 90s or high 80s overall, but they’ll definitely fall.

89 Overall

• Austin Riley, 3B, Braves
• Brent Rooker, DH, Athletics
• Marcel Ozuna, DH, Braves

Austin Riley had a considerable drop in production; his WAR was cut in half despite taking only about 200 fewer at-bats due to injury. His power numbers will take a hit because his home runs were also cut in half. His average also took a ding of about .025, likely translating to at least a few contact points taken off from each side. The good news for Austin Riley was that he was rated at an eye-popping 96 overall. It’s possible The Show shows mercy to Riley and only drops him a few points, but given that he’s only the fourth or fifth most marketable player on his team, don’t expect them to do him any favors.

Rooker and Ozuna might get favors, though. If the game is going to keep Yordan Alvarez in the stratosphere of the ratings, they at least need to bring Rooker and Ozuna up into the troposphere. Rooker was 78 overall last year after putting up 30 homers and a .817 OPS in 2023. In 2024, he hit 39 dingers and a .927 OPS. 

Ozuna was an 80 overall after 40 homers and .905 OPS in 2023. Last year, he hit 39 homers and improved his OPS to .925. For reference, Yordan Alvarez had fewer homers than Rooker or Ozuna over the last two years, and his OPS was only .075 better than Ozuna and .100 better than Rooker, but he was rated 96 overall last year and had a (slim) chance of being a 99 overall this year. It’s time for something to change.

88 Overall

• Rafael Devers, 3B, Red Sox
• Corbin Carroll, RF, Diamondbacks
• Adley Rutschman, C, Orioles

Chronically underrated Rafael Devers will likely continue to have a much lower overall than he should, but he will be a monster for you if you can pick him up in the second round of your Franchise fantasy draft!

I would consider Carroll and Rutschman to be vastly overrated if they do happen to land in the high eighties. Both guys have potential oozing out of their pores and had great success early in their careers, but last season was abysmal (compared to previous seasons) for both of them. Despite those poor performances, both guys are highly marketable players on up-and-coming franchises, so don’t be surprised if you see them around 88 overall or even higher!

87 Overall

• Jackson Merrill, CF, Padres
• Carlos Correa, SS, Twins
• Dansby Swanson, SS, Braves
• Byron Buxton, CF, Twins
• Teoscar Hernández, LF, Dodgers
• Michael Harris, CF, Braves
• Will Smith, C, Dodgers
• Pete Alonso, 1B, Mets
• Riley Greene, LF, Tigers

We are now submerging ourselves into the lesser-star/greater role-player realm of the ratings; we have three pairs of teammates who fit the description perfectly.

Neither Correa nor Buxton are really considered big stars anymore, but in Minnesota, you take what you can get. Between the two, they can usually get the equivalent of one full season of top 10 MVP finalists play. In Atlanta, you’ve got two players who represent my sixth and seventh highest-rated position players on the team, but on any other team, they would be near locks for the top 3 if not 2nd or 1st on the team, unfortunately for both Swanson and Harris, all of their stats are trending downward over the last 3 years.

Will Smith for the Dodgers represents a player who has fallen from grace over the last few years, while Teoscar Hernandez represents a recent surge in production that should move his overall fairly significantly. 

Jackson Merrill had a fantastic rookie year, and Riley Greene had an equally impressive breakout campaign, but The Show should be cautious with them; they’re not sure things just yet; they’ll probably keep them around the mid-eighties overall and max out their potential. Speaking of Maxing out, Pete Alonso might have to say goodbye to the days of 99 power from both right, left-handed pitchers after hitting the least amount of homers and hitting for the lowest slugging percentage of his career outside of the shortened COVID season.

86 Overall

• Cal Raleigh, C, Mariners
• Matt Chapman, 1B, Giants
• Willy Adames, SS, Giants
• Christian Walker, 1B, Diamondbacks
• Anthony Santander, RF, Blue Jays
• J.T. Realmuto, C, Phillies

Raleigh is a catcher heading up the escalator while J.T. Realmuto is headed down. They should have similar overall ratings this season, but I expect that gap to widen in upcoming titles.

The two Giants’ infielders represent 90+ fielders with solid bats added in free agency over the last few years. Chapman’s 7.1 WAR could potentially get him up to 90 overall, but his 4.4 WAR in 2023 only got him to 81 overall, so we should temper our expectations.

Christian Walker is similar to Chapman in that he is a perennial gold glove winner with plus contact and power. Unlike Chapman, though, Walker had a clear downtick in production and should be on his way down from his 88 overall last year.

With Santander, he went from 28 home runs to 44 from 2023 to 2024; I think it’s safe to assume that MLB The Show will reward him with massive power rating improvements that should move his overall up a few points even if the rest of his stats remained similar to his 2023 numbers.

85 Overall

• Alex Bregman, 3B, Astros
• Marcus Semien, 2B, Rangers
• Seiya Suzuki, RF, Cubs
• Christian Yelich, LF, Brewers
• Nolan Arenado, 3B, Cardinals

Semien, Yelich, and Arenado are well over the hump in their careers, but their legacies alone will keep them relatively highly rated in the game for at least the next few years, even as their athletic ratings start to falter. Yelich actually had somewhat of a comeback year last season whilst appearing in only half the games. Arenado scraped by with only a .719 OPS, and Semien performed even worse with a .699 OPS; fortunately for them, their defensive skills are still good enough to carry them into the 85+ club.

Seiya Suzuki has gotten better each of his first three seasons in America and should continue that upswing with a one-point improvement overall to match a one-point improvement in WAR. While Suzuki is gradually moving up the charts, Bregman has been sliding down them; from putting up once-in-a-lifetime numbers in franchise mode over many years, Bregman could potentially fall all the way down to 85 overall. Does he deserve this treatment? No. Does it feel good to see him nerfed after being OP in The Show 18 through 20? Yeah.

Honorable Mentions

• Steven Kwan, LF, Guardians
• Ha-Seong Kim, SS, Padres
• Jurickson Profar, LF, Braves
• Kyle Schwarber, DH, Phillies