MLB The Show 22 player ratings with the top five at every position

Knowing your MLB The Show 22 player ratings is a difference maker across numerous modes, particularly March to October – in which you can now play multiple seasons, and partake in free agency. Unsurprisingly it’s Mike Trout and Ronald Acuna Jr who top the MLB The Show 22 pile, but there’s plenty of talent elsewhere, too. Below we take you through the elite position by position, with all attributes correct as of the game’s Tuesday, April 5 launch date. Here’s your MLB The Show 22 player ratings guide…

MLB The Show 22 starting pitcher ratings (SP)

1. Jacob deGrom (New York Mets) – 99
2. Max Scherzer (New York Mets) – 97
3. Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels) – 95
4. Corbin Burnes (Milwaukee Brewers) – 94
5. Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles Dodgers) – 93
6. Chris Sale (Boston Red Sox) – 93

The Mets are surely cheating with two pitchers rated 97 or higher – and Chris Bassitt (83) and Taijuan Walker (80) make their rotation one of the game’s best. Milwaukee are well stocked too, with 94-rated Burnes backed up by Brandon Woodruff (92) and Freddy Peralta (89). As for the Dodgers: how can you not be tempted by Kershaw (93), Walker Buehler (92), Trevor Bauer (90) and Julio Urias (90)? Pure filth.

MLB The Show 22 relief pitcher ratings (RP)

1. Devin Williams (Milwaukee Brewers) – 87
2=. Tyler Rogers (San Francisco Giants) – 84
2=. Colin McHugh (Atlanta Braves) – 84
3. Matt Barnes (Boston Red Sox) – 83
4=. Chad Green (New York Yankees) – 82
4=. Ryan Tapera (Los Angeles Angels) – 82
4=. Tyler Matzek (Atlanta Braves) – 82
4=. Darren O’Day (Atlanta Braves) – 82

The best relief pitchers tend to be ranked as closers, meaning elite options here are more scarce than the other fastball-slinging positions. William’s nasty circle change is sufficient for Sony San Diego to name him the game’s best reliever, while Atlanta packs ridiculous bullpen riches – with Matzek, O’Day, Will Smith (81) and AJ Minter (79) ready to step in when McHugh falters.

MLB The Show 22 closing pitcher ratings (CP)

1. Liam Hendriks (Chicago White Sox) – 93
2=. Ryan Pressly (Houston Astros) – 89
2=. Giovanny Gallegos (St Louis Cardinals) – 89
4=. Kirby Yates (Atlanta Braves) – 86
4=. Taylor Rogers (Minnesota Twins) – 86

Little wonder Hendriks is considered this year’s ninth inning king. He was named Reliever of the Year in both 2020 and 2021, dishing up 113 strikeouts on his way to 38 saves and an 8-3 record last time out. At the other end of the scale, Sony clearly isn't impressed with the Nationals’ bullpen set-up: default closer Kyle Finnigan’s rating of 65 is lower than seven of the club’s other relievers, including Harrisburg Senators’ Jordan Weems (66). Oof.

MLB The Show 22 catcher ratings (C)

1. Yasmani Grandal (Chicago White Sox) – 93
2=. JT Realmuto (Philadelphia Pillies) – 90
2=. Will Smith (Los Angeles Dodgers) – 90
4. Salvador Perez (Kansas City Royals) – 88
5=. Mitch Garver (Texas Rangers) – 85
5=. Willson Contreras (Chicago Cubs) – 85
5=. Yadier Molina (St Louis Cardinals) – 85

Grandal hammers all rivals, with eight in-game Quirks to go with his lofty 93 rating. They include Unfazed, meaning he excels at hitting even when two strikes down, and Quick Reflexes, boosting his catching abilities even further. Dodgers’ Will Smith is the second pro player under that name to earn a mention here. So far as we know, neither have struck any famous comedians lately.

MLB The Show 22 first base ratings (1B)

1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr (Toronto Blue Jays) – 96
2. Freddie Freeman (Los Angeles Dodgers) – 93
3. Matt Muncy (Los Angeles Dodgers) – 91
4. Matt Olson (Atlanta Braves) – 90
5. Paul Goldschmidt (St Louis Cardinals) – 89

Scarily, Guerrero earns the honour of the game’s best first baseman at the age of just 23 – and his A-rated potential should see you good for 15 years of power hitting if you use the Blue Jays in franchise mode. He cracked 48 home runs and 111 RBI at a .311 clip in 2021. It’s a position where the Dodgers are again stacked, though thankfully both Olson and Muncy can both play 3B – and the latter has eligibility at second base, too.

MLB The Show 22 second base ratings (2B)

1. Marcus Semien (Texas Rangers) – 97
2. Jose Altuve (Houston Astros) – 92
3. Ozzie Albies (Atlanta Braves) – 91
4. Brandon Lowe (Tampa Bay Rays) – 90
5. Tommy Edman (St Louis Cardinals) – 89

Semien’s 45-homer, 102-RBI 2021 campaign earned him a big-money move from Toronto to Texas in the off-season – and the highest 2B rating in MLB The Show 22. There’s a sizable five-point game between him and closest challenger Altuve, while Albies drops down to third after topping this chart last year.

MLB The Show 22 third base ratings (3B)

1. Nolan Arenado (St Louis Cardinals) – 95
2=. Manny Machado (San Diego Padres) – 94
2=. Jose Ramirez (Cleveland Guardians) – 94
4. Matt Chapman (Toronto Blue Jays) – 87
5=. Alex Bregman (Houston Astros) – 86
5=. Anthony Rendon (Los Angeles Angels) – 86
5=. Rafael Devers (Boston Red Sox) – 86

Ramirez becomes the first player to make this esteemed annual list under Cleveland’s new Guardians moniker, but still can’t shift Arenado from top spot. The Cardinals’ veteran does take a small ratings hit, however, dropping from 98 in MLB The Show 21 to a slightly more modest (yet still imperious) 95. He mashed 34 homers and 105 RBI in 2021.

MLB The Show 22 short stop ratings (SS)

1=. Fernando Tatis Jr (San Diego Padres) – 94
1=. Trea Turner (Los Angeles Dodgers) – 94
4=. Bo Bichette (Toronto Blue Jays) – 87
4=. Javier Baez (Detroit Tigers) – 87
4=. Carlos Correa (Minnesota Twins) – 87

MLB The Show 21 cover star Tatis will miss the season’s early months after having surgery on a fractured wrist, but that hasn’t prevented him earning equal ranking to Turner atop the short-stop tree. There’s a huge gulf between that titanic twosome and those below them, but that isn’t to say Bichette, Baez and Correa are slouches – nor Boston’s Trevor Story, who’s a handy 86.

MLB The Show 22 outfielder ratings (RF/CF/LF)

1=. Mike Trout (CF, Los Angeles Angels) – 99
1=. Ronald Acuna Jr (CF, Atlanta Braves) – 99
3. Aaron Judge (RF, New York Yankees) – 96
4. Bryce Harper (RF, Philadelphia Phillies) – 95
5. Mookie Betts (RF, Los Angeles Dodgers) – 92
6=. Juan Soto (RF, Washington Nationals) – 91
6=. Byron Buxton (CF, Minnesota Twins) – 91
8=. Yordan Alvarez (LF, Houston Astros) – 90
8=. Tyler O’Neill (LF, St Louis Cardinals) – 90
8=. Joey Gallo (LF, New York Yankees) – 89

Unlike real-life, MLB The Show 22 splits outfielders across the RF, CF, and LF categories – so we’ve expanded this to a top ten rather than a fab five. Only three center-fielders are rated higher than 90, yet two of them score a perfect 99, in Trout and Acuna. Many experts have tipped Soto to be the best player in baseball this season – yet without us expanding from five to ten he wouldn’t be on the shortlist at all…