3 Orioles Players Rated Too Low in MLB The Show 21
A number of Baltimore Orioles players received questionable ratings in the latest installment of MLB The Show
On Tuesday, Sony Interactive Entertainment and San Diego Studios released this year’s version of MLB The Show, a popular Major League Baseball video game series. This year in MLB The Show 21, which features superstar shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. as the cover athlete, Xbox owners will be capable of purchasing and playing the game for the very first time, breaking off from the PlayStation-exclusive tag the game’s franchise held since its first release in 2006.
With the release of MLB The Show 21, the first official ratings of players in Major League Baseball are available for the game’s users to view and analyze. The game rates players based on several factors. Namely, contact, power, fielding, and speed. The various ratings are then combined into an overall rating, which maxes out at 99. The only players in the game’s initial ratings to earn the coveted 99 overall rating are Mike Trout and Jacob deGrom.
However, with so many players in the Major Leagues and the often random nature of baseball, it’s expected that the game’s developers may miss on a few of their ratings, especially in the case of players on unsuccessful teams or small market teams. Here are three Baltimore Orioles players rated inaccurately in MLB The Show 21:
Cedric Mullins – 62 OVR
Coming into this season, Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins made a commitment to batting left-handed full-time, abandoning his switch-hitting ability after batting .147 in 111 career plate appearances from the right side. The game reflects these past struggles in their ratings, giving Mullins a 24 rating on contact and a 38 rating on power in splits against left-handed pitchers.
Mullins ranks fifth among Orioles outfielders by overall rating in the game, tied with the Orioles’ ninth-highest ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, Yusniel Diaz. Above him on the center fielder depth chart is the team’s 25th-ranked prospect, Kyle Stowers, who checks in with a 65 overall rating in the video game.
After his 15-game hitting streak to begin the season, spanning back to the final four games of 2020, Mullins’ contact ratings should be much higher. In 23 plate appearances so far this season, Mullins is hitting .381 against left-handed pitchers.
Bruce Zimmermann – 63 OVR
Orioles pitcher Bruce Zimmermann put together a memorable Spring Training prior to the beginning of the 2021 regular season that was likely the driving factor in the decision to add him to the Major League roster for Opening Day. His 63 overall rating ties him with Jorge Lopez and the Orioles’ 18th-ranked prospect, Kevin Smith, among starting pitchers in Baltimore’s system.
Although he hasn’t had much time in the Major Leagues to prove himself, Zimmermann has used the time he has gotten to exhibit decent command and one of the best changeups in baseball early on this season. His control rating of 48 should be on the rise in future roster updates.
In his 17.0 innings of work this season, Zimmermann has allowed 8 runs on 17 hits and 5 walks. While the results aren’t quite what he and the ballclub are hoping for, Zimmermann has posted a chase rate in the 88th percentile of Major League Baseball to this point in the season, flashing hope of what could be to come for the Maryland-native.
Trey Mancini – 76 OVR
Without much doubt, first baseman Trey Mancini is the best player on the Baltimore Orioles’ roster and is a leader for this team. However, ratings in MLB The Show 21 tell a different story. By overall, Mancini ranks in a tie with Austin Hays for the second-highest score on the roster, trailing Anthony Santander for the top spot.
Mancini missed the entire 2020 season due to a diagnosis of colon cancer prior to the beginning of the season. Since then, Mancini has recovered and has returned close to the All-Star caliber level he put on display in 2019. So far this season, Mancini leads the Orioles in home runs, having swatted 4 in his first 70 plate appearances in 2021.
The most glaring error in Mancini’s ratings is a 50 rating on plate vision. Although Mancini ranks within the top 50 worst chase rates in baseball so far this season, he does a good job of spoiling away pitches he reaches outside of the strike zone for, ranking within the top 100 hitters for contact outside of the zone.