Washington Nationals Roster Handed Tough Verdict In MLB The Show Ratings Release

The popular MLB video game offered another dour outlook on the Washinton Nationals 2025 season

Mar 2, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; Washington Nationals first baseman Nathaniel Lowe (33) hits a single against the Houston Astros during the first inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

With MLB The Show set to release on March 18 for PlayStation users, the Sony-published game released the top five players on each team during a Ratings Release live stream on the MLB YouTube channel Wednesday night.

Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto unsurprisingly lead the way as, for now, the game's lone 99-rated players, leagues away from a harshly evaluated Washington Nationals squad, which remarkably had zero players earn at least an 80 overall. The Chicago White Sox, regarded as comfortably the MLB's worst team by preseason betting markets, were the only other team to match this ignominious distinction.

Nathaniel Lowe leads the way for the Nationals at a 79 overall, posting a stellar 2.7 WAR in 2024, his final of four seasons with the Texas Rangers where he proved an effective two-way player at first base — Lowe won a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove award in the 2022 and 2023 seasons respectively. A more familiar face is up next as Luis Garcia Jr. earned a 78 overall following his breakout 2024 season, playing in a career-high 140 games while maintaining a stellar .282/.313/.444 slashline.

The @Nationals Top 5 lead the way in the #MLBTheShow 25 Ratings Reveal Special. pic.twitter.com/qK4hyUAAVf

— MLB The Show (@MLBTheShow) March 5, 2025

Another youngster is up next in 23-year-old CJ Abrams, who earned his first All-Star appearance in 2024 during a second-consecutive 3.4-WAR season and is rated at 78 as well entering the 2025 campaign. Jacob Young, one of the MLB's premier defensive catchers, and Mitchell Parker, who made his MLB debut on the mound last season, round out the top five at 77 and 76 respectively.

Wednesday's round of rankings led to a fair bit of confusion and frustration within the Nationals fanbase, with many believing that Abrams' 2024 All-Star status should have earned him a more charitable ranking. Parker's status as the highest-rated Washington pitcher also proved vexing, with the 6'4 southpaw managing just a 4.29 ERA in 29 starts last year during his first season of MLB action.

The Show is hardly alone in their dour outlook on the 2025 Washington season, with the Nationals on the heels of a 71-91 season that ended on a fairly bleak 24-38 slide. According to Caesar's and BetRivers, among other betting outlets, the Nationals are expected to just about repeat last season's record with an over/under win total of 71.5, which ranks among the five lowest projections heading into the 2025 MLB season.