An argument could be made that MLB The Show is the best sports video game franchise on the market. It has consistently been a strong series, always receives positive reviews, and usually gets things right. Of course, no game is perfect and that's the case with the most recent entry, MLB The Show 20.
One aspect that the game has issues with is the ratings of the players. While a lot of them were right, a handful were either given ratings that were far too good for them and some that were rated lower than they should've been. In fact, some of these ratings make no sense at all to a baseball fan.
10 Too High:Â Kris Bryant (91)
If this was a game from a few years ago, then Kris Bryant ranking this high would make sense. His first two seasons saw him earn Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player honors. He also did the unthinkable by leading the Chicago Cubs to their first title since 1908.
However, Bryant has fallen off a bit since then. Following 2016, his best stats were 2019's 31 home runs and 77 runs batted in. He's obviously still an All-Star caliber player but the days of him being one of the league's best third basemen are over, so this rating is high.
9 Too Low: Christian Yelich (94)
It's probably a bit odd to see that someone given the impressive rating of 94 is on the "too low" side of things. That goes to show just how great Christian Yelich truly is. In 2018, he won the National League MVP award (.326, 36 HR, 110 RBI) and somehow got better in 2019.
Yelich won his second straight batting title (.329), added more power to his game (44 home runs), and even stole 30 bases. He did all of this despite playing in just 130 games as injuries forced him to miss the end of the season. If he's not among the 99 OVR club, he's at least a guy who deserved a 98.
8 Too High: Chris Sale (93)
Based purely on career numbers, this rating feels about right. Chris Sale finished in the top five in American League Cy Young voting every season from 2013 until 2018. He was a strikeout machine who also won a World Series with the Boston Red Sox.
The issue is that Sale took a huge step back in 2019. He went just 6-11 and had the highest ERA of his career at 4.40. Sale could still strikeout hitters as he did at his best but when he got hit, he was getting hit hard. While it's important to take a whole career into account, it feels like his mediocre 2019 was forgotten about.
7 Too Low: Salvador Pérez (81)
Salvador Pérez was the unfortunate victim of an injury that required Tommy John surgery. It kept him out for the entire 2019 season. It's understandable that it would impact his overall rating in MLB The Show 20 but the score was egregiously low given who Pérez is.
In the six seasons before his injury, Pérez made six All-Star teams, won five Gold Gloves, took home two Silver Sluggers, and won a World Series. He did all of this before he was 29. While his batting average dipped to .235 in 2018, he still cranked out 27 homers and drove in 80 runs. He was worthy of a higher standing among catchers.
6 Too High: Joey Gallo (91)
If you were making a list of the most powerful players in all of baseball, then Joey Gallo being near the top would make a ton of sense. The dude is a monster and he doesn't hit cheap home runs. They are often no-doubters. At 23 and 24 years of age, he belted 41 and 40 homers.
That being said, those seasons also saw Gallo hit just .209 and .206 while striking out at a high rate. He was the definition of "feast or famine." In 2019, he righted the ship, raising the average to .253 and hitting 22 homers in 70 games before getting hurt. Still, he didn't quite improve enough to garner a 91 OVR.
5 Too Low: Freddie Freeman (91)
Take a look at that rating for Joey Gallo and read about the kind of player he is. While he's good, it's difficult to consider him on the same level as Freddie Freeman. This Atlanta Braves star is arguably the best first baseman in the entire league and has been for a while.
In 2019, Freeman led the Braves to the NL East crown by putting up stellar stats (.295, 38 HR, 121 RBI). He has been a strong hitter and defender for most of his career but 2019 saw him post career-highs in the home run and RBI categories. It put him over the top and he deserved to be the best rated guy at his position.
4 Too High: Roberto Osuna (89)
Here's a guy that nobody wanted to touch in 2019 until the Houston Astros and their questionable franchise made a deal for him. He was a pariah after being suspended in 2018 for violating MLB's policy on domestic assault. Before it happened, he was a good but not great closer.
When the Astros added him, it gave him plenty of chances to close out games since they won over 100 of them. Osuna led the league with 38 saves in 2019 but his ERA rose and he allowed more walks and homers per 9 innings than in the past. He isn't among the league's elite closers, though his OVR would suggest that.
3 Too Low: Francisco Lindor (89)
When gamers first read this rating, they probably thought it was a typo. That's how bad it is to give the league's best shortstop and one of its most explosive players a rating this low. Francisco Lindor is among the ten best position players in baseball, yet he couldn't even crack a 90.
After finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting, Lindor has made four straight All-Star teams and won two Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers. Admittedly, his 2019 was a down year for him but he still finished top 15 in MVP voting, hit .284, and belted 32 homers. You know you're great when that's a "down" season.
2 Too High: Aaron Judge (97)
In 2017, the entire baseball world couldn't shut up about Aaron Judge. It made sense then, as he won Rookie of the Year, finished second in MVP voting, and put up monster numbers (.284, 52 HR, 114 RBI). Sure, he struck out a lot but the production was massive.
Since then though, the former cover athlete hasn't really done anything other than make an All-Star team. In the last two seasons, Judge averaged 107 games played, 27 homers, and 61 RBI. He's almost half the player he used to be. Of course, he's only 28 and can get back to form but to be ranked a 97 after two lackluster seasons is laughable.
1 Too Low: Stephen Strasburg (91)
Possibly the most highly-touted pitching prospect ever, Stephen Strasburg has always had a lot to live up to. He's had a pretty great career (112-58, 3.17 ERA, 1695 Ks) but in 2019, he took the next step to becoming elite. In the regular season (18-6, 3.32 ERA, 251 K), he led the league in wins and finished third in Cy Young voting.
However, it's what he did in the Postseason that should've earned him a higher rating. Strasburg proved to be the most clutch pitcher in the league by going 5-0 in the playoffs, coming through in every big situation, and winning World Series MVP. There is no pitcher on the planet who you'd rather have in a big game and that's at least worthy of a 95 or higher.