The MLB Postseason is in full swing and it’s an excellent opportunity for us to dive back into MLB the Show 25 which has been overshadowed by the Summer and Fall releases of College Football 26, Madden 26, NBA 2K26, and EA FC 26 among other games that usually take center stage during the middle part of the year as part of the typical annual ebbs and flows of the sports video game calendar. With October baseball heating up, it’s a chance to boot up the game again and play as some of the best teams in the postseason.
As you get back into the game, you’ll probably notice that the rosters are incredibly different from what they were back at the beginning of the year. As regular roster updates have come and added new players, moved players to new teams, and drastically adjusted overall ratings, the rosters in the game are as close to the authentic MLB as San Diego Studios can get. This accuracy allows us to use MLB The Show to determine which of the remaining playoff teams have the best rosters (at least according to the ratings adjusters at 2K).
Using the official playoff rosters from ESPN and MLB, I compiled the starting pitchers, bullpens, starting lineups, and benches for each of the eight remaining playoff teams, along with their corresponding MLB The Show ratings. I then created a team ranking based on the average overall rating of each team’s players.
1: Los Angeles Dodgers
Pitchers
- SP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 95
- SP Shohei Ohtani, 98
- SP Blake Snell, 94
- SP Tyler Glasnow, 89
- SP Clayton Kershaw, 83
- SP Emmet Sheehan, 83
- RP Blake Treinen, 69
- RP Alex Vesia, 80
- RP Anthony Banda, 71
- RP Jack Dreyer, 73
- CP Roki Sasaki, 76
- CP Tanner Scott, 67
Lineup
1: DH Shohei Ohtani, 98
2: SS Mookie Betts, 87
3: RF Teoscar Hernandez, 83
4: 1B Freddie Freeman, 89
5: 2B Tommy Edman, 84
6: 3B Max Muncy, 87
7: LF Alex Call, 75
8: CF Andy Pages, 88
9: C Will Smith, 95
Bench
- C Dalton Rushing, 68
- C Ben Rortvedt, 63
- 2B Hyeseong Kim, 77
- 2B Miguel Rojas, 78
- 3B Enrique Hernandez, 72
- CF Justin Dean, 62
Average Overall
- Starting pitchers: 90.3
- Bullpen: 72.7
- Starting lineup: 87.3
- Bench: 70
- Full team: 84
Final overall (7 best pitchers + starting lineup): 88
2: New York Yankees
Pitchers
- SP Max Fried, 89
- SP Carlos Rodon, 89
- SP Cam Schlittler, 84
- SP Luis Gil, 76
- SP Will Warren, 76
- RP Luke Weaver, 72
- RP Tim Hill, 63
- RP Paul Blackburn, 64
- RP Fernando Cruz, 78
- RP Camilo Doval, 79
- CP Devin Williams, 84
- CP David Bednar, 86
Lineup
1: CF Trent Grisham, 85
2: RF Aaron Judge, 99
3: LF Cody Bellinger, 94
4: 1B Ben Rice, 82
5: DH Giancarlo Stanton, 84
6: 2B Jazz Chisholm, 90
7: 3B Ryan McMahon, 73
8: SS Anthony Volpe, 77
9: C Austin Wells, 80
Bench
- C J.C. Escarra, 69
- 1B Paul Goldschmidt, 78
- 3B Amed Rosario, 73
- SS Jose Caballero, 76
- LF Jasson Dominguez, 73
Average Overall
- Starting pitchers: 82.8
- Bullpen: 75.1
- Starting lineup: 84.9
- Bench: 73.8
- Full team: 79.7
Final overall (7 best pitchers + starting lineup): 84.6
3: Seattle Mariners
Pitchers
- SP Luis Castillo, 83
- SP George Kirby, 86
- SP Logan Gilbert, 90
- SP Bryce Miller, 70
- SP Emerson Hancock, 60
- RP Matt Brash, 77
- RP Gabe Speier, 89
- RP Caleb Ferguson, 74
- RP Carlos Vargas, 63
- RP Eduard Bazardo, 78
- RP Luke Jackson, 65
- CP Andres Munoz, 90
Lineup
1: LF Randy Arozarena, 78
2: C Cal Raleigh, 99
3: CF Julio Rodriguez, 91
4: 2B Jorge Polanco, 83
5: 3B Eugenio Suarez, 90
6: 1B Josh Naylor, 83
7: DH Mitch Garver, 70
8: RF Victor Robles, 72
9: SS J.P. Crawford, 77
Bench
- C Harry Ford, 68
- 2B Leo Rivas, 63
- 3B Ben Williamson, 66
- RF Luke Raley, 69
- RF Dominic Canzone, 75
Average Overall
- Starting pitchers: 77.8
- Bullpen: 76.6
- Starting lineup: 82.6
- Bench: 68.2
- Full team: 77.3
Final overall (7 best pitchers + starting lineup): 83.5
4: Chicago Cubs
Pitchers
- SP Matthew Boyd, 80
- SP Shota Imanaga, 81
- SP Jameson Taillon, 79
- SP Colin Rea, 76
- SP Aaron Civale, 69
- SP Michael Soroka, 76
- RP Caleb Thielbar, 78
- RP Taylor Rogers, 70
- RP Drew Pomeranz, 75
- RP Andrew Kittredge, 81
- RP Brad Keller, 83
- RP Ben Brown, 72
- CP Daniel Palencia, 79
Lineup
1: 1B Michael Busch, 84
2: 2B Nico Hoerner, 89
3: DH Kyle Tucker, 89
4: RF Seiya Suzuki, 89
5: LF Ian Happ, 81
6: C Carson Kelly, 84
7: CF Pete Crow-Armstrong, 93
8: SS Dansby Swanson, 87
9: 3B Matt Shaw, 74
Bench
- C Reese McGuire, 70
- C Moises Ballesteros, 68
- 1B Justin Turner, 68
- LF Willi Castro, 77
- RF Kevin Alcantara, 67
Average Overall
- Starting Pitchers: 76.8
- Bullpen: 76.9
- Starting lineup: 85.6
- Bench: 70
- Full team: 81.5
Final overall (7 best pitchers + starting lineup): 83.2
5: Philadelphia Phillies
Pitchers
- SP Christopher Sanchez, 93
- SP Aaron Nola, 75
- SP Jesus Luzardo, 85
- SP Ranger Suarez, 84
- SP Taijuan Walker, 62
- SP Walker Buehler, 68
- RP Matt Strahm, 77
- RP Orion Kerkering, 71
- RP David Robertson, 70
- RP Tanner Banks, 73
- RP Tim Mayza, 70
- CP Jhoan Duran, 88
Lineup
1: SS Trea Turner, 95
2: DH Kyle Schwarber, 87
3: 1B Bryce Harper, 89
4: 3B Alec Bohm, 78
5: C J.T. Realmuto, 81
6: RF Nick Castellanos, 70
7: 2B Bryson Stott, 85
8: CF Brandon Marsh, 79
9: LF Harrison Bader, 84
Bench
- C Rafael Marchan, 68
- 1B Otto Kemp, 70
- 2B Edmundo Sosa, 80
- LF Max Kepler, 69
- LF Weston Wilson, 67
Average Overall
- Starting pitchers: 77.8
- Bullpen: 74.8
- Starting lineup: 83.1
- Bench: 70.8
- Full team: 77.6
Final overall (7 best pitchers + starting lineup): 82.7
6: Milwaukee Brewers
Pitchers
- SP Freddy Peralta, 88
- SP Jose Quintana, 73
- SP Quinn Priester, 79
- SP Chad Patrick, 72
- SP Jacob Misiorowski, 80
- SP Robert Gasser, 68
- RP Abner Uribe, 84
- RP Nick Mears, 75
- RP Jared Koenig, 69
- RP Aaron Ashby, 80
- RP Rob Zastryzny, 66
- RP Grant Anderson, 69
- CP Trevor Megill, 81
Lineup
1: LF Jackson Chourio, 85
2: 2B Brice Turang, 93
3: C William Contreras, 82
4: DH Christian Yelich, 84
5: 1B Andrew Vaughn, 73
6: RF Sal Frelick, 83
7: 3B Caleb Durbin, 77
8: CF Black Perkins, 77
9: SS Joey Ortiz, 74
Bench
- C Danny Jansen, 74
- 1B Jake Bauers, 72
- SS Andruw Monasterio, 68
- LF Brandon Lockridge, 69
- LF Isaac Collins, 84
Average Overall
- Starting pitchers: 76.7
- Bullpen: 74.9
- Starting lineup: 80.9
- Bench: 73.4
- Full team: 80
Final overall (7 best pitchers + starting lineup): 80.9
7: Toronto Blue Jays
Pitchers
- SP Kevin Gausman, 87
- SP Shane Bieber, 84
- SP Trey Yesavage, 73
- SP Eric Lauer, 73
- RP Seranthony Dominguez, 76
- RP Tommy Nance, 79
- RP Yariel Rodriguez, 72
- RP Brendon Little, 75
- RP Louis Varland, 77
- RP Justin Bruihl, 59
- RP Braydon Fisher, 69
- RP Mason Fluharty, 69
- CP Jeff Hoffman, 72
Lineup
1: DH George Springer, 95
2: LF Davis Schneider, 76
3:1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 88
4: C Alejandro Kirk, 88
5: CF Daulton Varsho, 88
6: 3B Ernie Clement, 82
7: RF Anthony Santander, 72
8: 2B Isiah Kiner-Falefa, 72
9: SS Andres Gimenez, 80
Bench
- C Tyler Heineman, 72
- 3B Addison Barger, 79
- CF Myles Straw, 76
- RF Nathan Lukes, 73
Average Overall
- Starting pitchers: 79.3
- Bullpen: 72
- Starting lineup: 82.3
- Bench: 75
- Full team: 77.2
Final overall (7 best pitchers + starting lineup): 80.8
8: Detroit Tigers
Pitchers
- SP Tarik Skubal, 99
- SP Jack Flaherty, 80
- SP Casey Mize, 80
- SP Keider Montero, 68
- RP Tommy Kahnle, 64
- RP Tyler Holton, 72
- RP Paul Sewald, 69
- RP Troy Melton, 58
- RP Rafael Montero, 71
- RP Brenan Hanifree, 67
- RP Brant Hurter, 74
- CP Will Vest, 77
- CP Kyle Finnegan, 70
Lineup
1: 2B Gleyber Torres, 80
2: RF Kerry Carpenter, 80
3: LF Riley Greene, 83
4: 1B Spencer Torkelson, 83
5: DH Colt Keith, 73
6: C Dillon Dingler, 86
7: 3B Zach McKinstry, 81
8: SS Javier Baez, 79
9: CF Parker Meadows, 75
Bench
- C Jake Rogers, 73
- 3B Andy Ibanez, 73
- SS Trey Sweeney, 70
- RF Wenceel Perez, 76
- RF Jahmai Jones, 74
Average Overall
- Starting pitchers: 81.8
- Bullpen: 69.1
- Starting lineup: 80
- Bench: 73.2
- Full Team: 78.3
Final overall (7 best pitchers + starting lineup): 79.6
