The Top 10 Player Ratings In 'MLB: The Show 26'

via MLB: The Show 2026

Baseball season is right around the corner, and that means one thing for gamers: it’s time to step back up to the plate. MLB The Show 26 is officially launching on March 17, 2026 (with Early Access kicking off March 13 for Digital Deluxe Edition owners), and this year’s iteration of the iconic baseball game is bringing some heavy-hitting upgrades to the diamond.

Before we dive into the brand-new gameplay mechanics and the much-anticipated college baseball integration, let’s look at the numbers everyone has been waiting for.

The Top 10 Highest-Rated Players in MLB The Show 26

The ratings from the game were just released. Per usual, it’s a battle of the most expensive and highest-performing baseball titans at the top. Unsurprisingly, two of the game’s most transcendent stars share the throne, while young phenoms are rapidly climbing the ranks.

Shohei Ohtani — 92
Aaron Judge — 92
Tarik Skubal — 91
Bobby Witt Jr. — 91
José Ramírez — 91
Cal Raleigh — 90
Juan Soto — 90
Paul Skenes — 90
Francisco Lindor — 90
Ketel Marte — 90

Note: Ohtani and Judge share the crown this year, but keep an eye on young superstars like Paul Skenes and Bobby Witt Jr., who have solidified themselves as top-tier elite talents in this year’s game.

What’s New in MLB The Show 26?

Look, we all know the drill: new year, updated rosters. Etc et al.

But San Diego Studio actually went deep under the hood this year. In Road to the Show: Road to Cooperstown, you’re no longer magically spawning into Double-A. You’re going back to high school, kid.

You’ll have to grind through the amateur ranks and actually experience an officially licensed NCAA Men’s College World Series. They’ve packed in 19 college teams (including Arkansas and Stanford), meaning you can properly build your draft stock before trying to secure your bronze plaque in the Hall of Fame.

Over in Diamond Dynasty, the World Baseball Classic is back, so you can assemble a global super-squad and launch nukes into the Tokyo Dome. They’ve also tweaked Mini-Seasons and brought back the genuinely fantastic Storylines – Negro Leagues mode for Season 4 (complete with new legends, vintage threads, and a brand-new stadium). And for the armchair GMs who spend more time staring at spreadsheets than the actual field, Franchise Mode is finally getting a modernized AI. The new Trade HUB and updated logic mean the CPU might actually understand current MLB lineup trends and modern bullpen management now. We can hope, right?

As for actually swinging the bat, expect over 500 new animations and a bunch of mechanical tweaks. If you’re tired of whiffing on sliders in the dirt, the new “Big Zone” hitting interface might save your dignity. If you thrive under pressure, “Bear Down Pitching” gives you more control when the bases are juiced.

They also got incredibly nerdy with the ratings, with specific pitching attribute splits, fielder reaction times, and a “Catcher Pop Time” stat that will finally determine if your backstop can actually throw out an elite base stealer or if they’re just tossing watermelons.