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Top 10 Players at Each Position in MLB The Show 17
  Submitted on: 03/16/2017 by Steve Noah

Top 10 Starting Pitchers

  • Clayton Kershaw – Overall 99
  • Max Scherzer – Overall 93
  • Chris Sale – Overall 93
  • Noah Syndergaard – Overall 92
  • Corey Kluber – Overall 92
  • Jake Arrieta – Overall 92
  • Madison Bumgarner – Overall 92
  • Stephen Strasburg – Overall 90
  • Jon Lester – Overall 90
  • Johnny Cueto – Overall 90

Top 10 Relievers

  • Andrew Miller – Overall 96
  • Dellin Betances – Overall 90
  • Nate Jones – Overall 85
  • Sean Doolittle – Overall 84
  • Addison Reed – Overall 84
  • Hector Rondon – Overall 84
  • Pedro Strop – Overall 84
  • Will Harris – Overall 84
  • Carson Smith – Overall 84
  • Kyle Barraclough – Overall 84

Top 10 Closers

  • Kenley Jansen – Overall 95
  • Zach Britton – Overall 92
  • Aroldis Chapman – Overall 92
  • Wade Davis – Overall 91
  • Mark Melancon – Overall 89
  • Seung Hwan Oh – Overall 87
  • Cody Allen – Overall 87
  • Roberto Osuna – Overall 86
  • Craig Kimbrel – Overall 86
  • Jeurys Familia – Overall 85

Top 10 Catchers

  • Buster Posey – Overall 92
  • Jonathan Lucroy – Overall 87
  • Wilson Ramos – Overall 84
  • Yadier Molina – Overall 84
  • Salvador Perez – Overall 84
  • Gary Sanchez – Overall 84
  • Russell Martin – Overall 83
  • Yasmani Grandal – Overall 82
  • Devin Mesoraco – Overall 82
  • Matt Wieters – Overall 81

Top 10 First Basemen

  • Miguel Cabrera – Overall 92
  • Paul Goldschmidt – Overall 91
  • Joey Votto – Overall 91
  • Anthony Rizzo – Overall 89
  • Freddie Freeman – Overall 88
  • Edwin Encarnacion – Overall 86
  • Matt Carpenter – Overall 85
  • Will Myers – Overall 84
  • Brandon Belt – Overall 84
  • Albert Pujols – Overall 83

Top 10 Second Basemen

  • Jose Altuve – Overall 97
  • Robinson Cano – Overall 91
  • Ian Kinsler – Overall 89
  • Daniel Murphy – Overall 88
  • Dustin Pedroia – Overall 88
  • Jason Kipnis – Overall 87
  • Brian Dozier – Overall 87
  • DJ LeMahieu – Overall 85
  • Ben Zobrist – Overall 85
  • Rougned Odor – Overall 84

Top 10 Third Basemen

  • Josh Donaldson – Overall 94
  • Kris Bryant – Overall 94
  • Nolan Arenado – Overall 93
  • Manny Machado – Overall 93
  • Adrian Beltre – Overall 89
  • Kyle Seager – Overall 88
  • Justin Turner – Overall 87
  • Evan Longoria – Overall 87
  • Anthoy Rendon – Overall 83
  • Todd Frazier – Overall 83

Top 10 Shortstops

  • Francisco Lindor – Overall 90
  • Corey Seager – Overall 90
  • Trea Turner – Overall 88
  • Brandon Crawford – Overall 88
  • Carlos Correa – Overall 85
  • Xander Bogaerts – Overall 85
  • Jonathan Villar – Overall 85
  • Troy Tulowitzki – Overall 83
  • Jean Segura – Overall 83
  • Jose Iglesias – Overall 83

Top 10 Left Fielders

  • Yoenis Cespedes – Overall 90
  • Ryan Braun – Overall 87
  • Michael Brantley – Overall 86
  • Alex Gordon – Overall 83
  • Gregory Polanco – Overall 83
  • Justin Upton – Overall 82
  • Khris Davis – Overall 81
  • Brett Gardner – Overall 81
  • Marcell Ozuna – Overall 81
  • Jayson Werth – Overall 80

Top 10 Center Fielders

  • Mike Trout – Overall 99
  • Starling Marte – Overall 87
  • AJ Pollack – Overall 86
  • Lorenzo Cain – Overall 85
  • Christian Yelich – Overall 85
  • Charlie Blackmon – Overall 84
  • George Springer – Overall 84
  • Kevin Kiermaier – Overall 84
  • Odubel Herrera – Overall 82
  • Carlos Gomez – Overall 82

Top 10 Right Fielders

  • Mookie Betts – Overall 93
  • Bryce Harper – Overall 90
  • Nelson Cruz – Overall 88
  • Giancarlo Stanton – Overall 88
  • Andew McCutchen – Overall 85
  • Carlos Gonzalez – Overall 84
  • JD Martinez – Overall 84
  • Jose Bautista – Overall 83
  • Mark Trumbo – Overall 81
  • Hunter Pence – Overall 81

Top Overall Players

  • Mike Trout – Overall 99
  • Clayton Kershaw – Overall 99
  • Jose Altuve – Overall 97
  • Andrew Miller – Overall 96
  • Kenley Jansen – Overall 95
  • Josh Donaldson – Overall 94
  • Kris Bryant – Overall 94
  • Max Scherzer – Overall 93
  • Nolan Arenado – Overall 93
  • Manny Machado – Overall 93
  • Chris Sale – Overall 93
  • Mookie Betts – Overall 93
  • Noah Syndergaard – Overall 92
  • Corey Kluber – Overall 92
  • Jake Arrieta – Overall 92
  • Zach Britton – Overall 92
  • Miguel Cabrera – Overall 92
  • Madison Bumgarner – Overall 92

Member Comments
# 21 Dolenz @ 03/17/17 10:31 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMadleR
Looks good to me although I would move Matt Carpenter to about an 87-88 range.


He's not your typical first baseman at the plate (more patient than most, draws more walks, hits with a little less power) and there is very limited data for him at that position. Hopefully he will go up some during the year as he gets more time at the position and settles into his role as a #3 hitter.
 
# 22 mdiggitydawg @ 03/17/17 10:40 AM
I'm a bit surprised DeGrom wasn't able to crack the upper echelon of pitchers as well
 
# 23 TheBigTee @ 03/17/17 10:50 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nanthrax
What I don't agree with is how Altuve is 97 compared to Donaldson 94, Bryant 94, Betts 93.. he's rated 3-4 higher and isn't better than any of them. Not in war or anything really, but speed.. they adjust ratings for 2B too strongly. Like last year.. guys like Sandberg were 94 with crap hitting ratings.. Altuve should be a 94 at best.. Not the 2nd highest rated player
It is all position based. The algorithm weights certain attributes differently for certain positions. If you changed any of those guys to a second baseman they would all be 99 easily. You can't compare players at different positions based on overall rating in this game.

I agree that it is weird, and I don't understand why it makes such a big difference but when I create my diamond dynasty player he is always rated highest as a second baseman.
 
# 24 Dolenz @ 03/17/17 11:04 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBigTee
It is all position based. The algorithm weights certain attributes differently for certain positions. If you changed any of those guys to a second baseman they would all be 99 easily. You can't compare players at different positions based on overall rating in this game.

I agree that it is weird, and I don't understand why it makes such a big difference but when I create my diamond dynasty player he is always rated highest as a second baseman.

But would they be a 99 easily at 2B? Things like power are probably not weighted nearly as highly for a 2B as say speed or fielding are.


I am not saying that they would not be 99's at 2B but I don't think we can make that assumption. We just don't have enough info on how much they weight different stats for different positions.
 
# 25 Speedy @ 03/17/17 11:12 AM
Really interesting to look at the CFs.

It's Mike Trout.









...everybody else.
 
# 26 underdog13 @ 03/17/17 11:15 AM
It's always weird with this game, I find their Live Roster ratings really good, but I find their legend player ratings very inaccurate.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 
# 27 extremeskins04 @ 03/17/17 11:33 AM
Arenado is the best 3B in baseball right now. What a joke.

Also, why is Rick Porcello not on this list? See this is why I can't take the list seriously.
 
# 28 underdog13 @ 03/17/17 11:35 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by extremeskins04
Arenado is the best 3B in baseball right now. What a joke.
That's very debatable and he is only 1 ovr back from the top.


Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 
# 29 stevostl @ 03/17/17 11:38 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMadleR
Looks good to me although I would move Matt Carpenter to about an 87-88 range.
as a Cards fan I'm fine with Carp's rating.. I think it's about right to be honest

I was kind of surprised there is around 20 players or so rated higher than Harper.. I think he will go up for sure during the course of the season
 
# 30 Speedy @ 03/17/17 11:38 AM
In terns of WAR, Kris Bryant is king of the 3B. Arenado had the 7th best fWAR in 2016.

More importantly, Arenado had an .832 OPS on the road last season and a 1.030 OPS at home. His defense is tremendous but I'll bet SCEA accounted for his home park for his hitting attributes, rightfully so.
 
# 31 Dolenz @ 03/17/17 11:44 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by extremeskins04
Arenado is the best 3B in baseball right now. What a joke.

Also, why is Rick Porcello not on this list? See this is why I can't take the list seriously.


Because he kind of stunk it up in 2015 and that accounts for about 25% of his ranking. Last years stats only account for 50% of his ranking. I am not sure what is so hard to understand about that.


As for Arenado and Donaldson there is a 1 point difference. Does it really make that much of a difference in the end.
 
# 32 legacyme3 @ 03/17/17 11:46 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by extremeskins04
Arenado is the best 3B in baseball right now. What a joke.

Also, why is Rick Porcello not on this list? See this is why I can't take the list seriously.
The ratings are based on the last three years, I think has been said. Porcello was one of the top 5-10 SP in baseball "last" year. If last year was the only thing that mattered in ratings, Porcello would be top 10.

In 2015, Porcello ranked 127th, among 141 pitchers (who had 100 IP or more) in ERA. That same year, he ranked 54th in K/9, and 114th in HR/9. By what measure in 2015 was he a top 5-10 SP?

In 2014, he ranked 54th in ERA, 135th in K/9, and 55th in HR/9. Again, didn't pitch like a top 10-15 SP.

The last season counts for 50% of the players ratings, I believe, whereas the two years prior count for 25% each or so, (or 30% for the more recent of the two, and 20% for the other). In this instance, Porcello's Cy Young season boosts his stock pretty highly, but he can't pitch well enough to jump into the top 10-15 in Show ratings because his last two years, he pitched more like a #4 and #2 starter (for a team, not the entire league). He was not great in those years.

Can't complain about these ratings, they look pretty fair for the most part.
 
# 33 TheWarmWind @ 03/17/17 11:51 AM
Keep in mind that overall changes based on position. Altuve has such a high overall because he is at 2B, and I agree with his 97 at that position. If, however, you were to move him to 3B for example, I would not be shocked to see his rating dip into the 80s. So it's a little strange to say certain players should be better when really it's impossible to compare. Altuve is the best second baseman and deserves the gap he has over other players at that position. Just because he has a 97 overall doesn't necessarily make him the third best player in the game.

As for the Donaldson/Arenado argument as a Jays fan... I'd still take Arenado. But it's close. Very close. Well within a margin of error. A single point is also within that margin. So let's not freak out Arenado fans. He's still very, very good.
 
# 34 BigOscar @ 03/17/17 11:56 AM
I think people get too hung up on the overall ratings, they don't mean anything. It's not as if they looked at Altuve and said "he's a 97". They looked at all his different attributes and graded them accordingly, then that gets put into the equation for rating a second baseman and then the overall rating is just the answer to that equation.

They didn't declare that Donaldson was better than Arenado for example, they put their ratings in and that's how the formula graded them.

What people want from players in a position won't be the same as the overall ratings formula, so the overall is just a very basic guide.
 
# 35 thawkprime 21 @ 03/17/17 11:58 AM
when the ratings are made are there certain ratings categories that effect a players overall more than others. also if you look back at last year's starting ratings were at about the same number of players rated over 90.
 
# 36 Nero84 @ 03/17/17 12:19 PM
Why do you think Ramone didn't want to show Trout or Kershaw? Possible that another baseball game is in the works from another studio with Kershaw and Trout signed up as the faces? Seemed very odd that he said they couldn't show them and also couldn't say why he couldn't show them.
 
# 37 BigOscar @ 03/17/17 12:28 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nero84
Why do you think Ramone didn't want to show Trout or Kershaw? Possible that another baseball game is in the works from another studio with Kershaw and Trout signed up as the faces? Seemed very odd that he said they couldn't show them and also couldn't say why he couldn't show them.
Wouldn't be surprised if they promised a company that they would "reveal" their stats exclusively on their site or video or something. Like how the Braves are in charge of revealing SunTrust Park on the game. Just a guess though
 
# 38 My993C2 @ 03/17/17 12:29 PM
I play with the Rockies in MLB The Show and I don't have any complaints about Nolan Arenado's offensive contributions in this game. He and Charlie Blackmon are my top offensive contributors. Presently in a spoofed Spring Training I have going using MLB 16 and a modified 2017 OSFM roster set, Blackmon leads the team in batting average hitting over 400, but Arenado leads the team in HRs, RBIs and slugging percentage. However with that said, Arenado's fielding capabilities are a million times better in the real world than he is in this game. In this game he is really not that special. In the real world you watch Arenado do things in the field that makes you say to yourself "Did he just do that? How in the world did he just pull that off? Is this guy human?". Yet in this game, at least once every second or third MLB The Show game, he simply cannot handle balls hit at him and he is committing some sort of fielding or throwing error. I am sure the same can be said for Bryant, Donaldson and Machado in the game as well. I am sure they too are much better in the real world than they are in this game. But because I play with the Rockies, I notice Arenado's average fielding play more than these other guys. It's frustrating knowing that in the real world the guy is magical, but in the game he really no different than any other player playing the 3B position. I guess there is only so much the game can do. It's not like they have any "mind boggling animations" built into the game where one fielder stands out above all the others.

With all that said though, I am optimistic that the new human AI throwing changes will help a little as long as infield hits are not eliminated from the game, and I do like this trend where the overalls are coming down across the league meaning we might actually see the players with 90+ rating shine above others? It definitely won't be perfect, I am sure the game will have some warts. But I am looking forward to playing the new and improved MLB The Show 17 game. It will be the best baseball game we have ever seen. Until of course MLB The Show 18 is released.
 
# 39 Nero84 @ 03/17/17 12:47 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigOscar
Wouldn't be surprised if they promised a company that they would "reveal" their stats exclusively on their site or video or something. Like how the Braves are in charge of revealing SunTrust Park on the game. Just a guess though
Yeah that could be it I suppose.
 
# 40 bigdipper88 @ 03/17/17 12:47 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigOscar
Wouldn't be surprised if they promised a company that they would "reveal" their stats exclusively on their site or video or something. Like how the Braves are in charge of revealing SunTrust Park on the game. Just a guess though
Kershaw has been shown and has scan. Trout does not have a face scan
 


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