Pirates Top 5 Players on MLB The Show '25 Revealed
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PITTSBURGH — MLB The Show, the popular video game baseball franchise, released its top five players for this year's edition for every franchise, including the Pittsburgh Pirates.
They ranked pitcher Paul Skenes at 93 overall, center fielder/shortstop ONeil Cruz second at 83 overall, all-star outfielder Bryan Reynolds third 82 overall, and both right-handed pitchers Jared Jones and Mitch Keller at 80 overall and 79 overall, fourth and fifth respectively.
Pittsburgh legend @jasonkendall18 drops by the #MLBTheShow 25 Ratings Reveal Special to talk about the @Pirates Top 5! pic.twitter.com/ZooeNzkiNi
— MLB The Show (@MLBTheShow) March 5, 2025
Skenes will don the cover of MLB The Show 25, with its release date on March 18, along with Cincinnati Reds shorstop Elly De La Cruz and Baltimore Orioles shortstop/third baseman Gunnar Henderson.
He also received his entry into the Diamond Club, honoring the best players in baseball.
He's Diamond Club.@Paul_Skenes 🤝 @MLBTheShow pic.twitter.com/YMd5aPRYJr
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) March 5, 2025
Skenes dominated in the minor leagues and soon made it up to the majors on May 11 of the 2024 season.
He started 23 games, had a 1.96 ERA in 133.0 innings pitched, allowed just 29 earned runs, 94 hits, six home runs and 32 walks, while making 170 strikeouts and holding opposing hitting to a .198 batting average. He also had a 11.50 K/9 and a WHIP of 0.95.
He was also the first member of the Pirates to start for the National League in the All-Star Game since Jerry Reuss did it in 1975, 49 years ago. He is also just the fifth rookie to start an All-Star game, with Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers doing so in 1995, en route to winning NL Rookie of the Year.
Skenes also made the All-MLB First Team, won NL Rookie of the Year and finished third in the NL CY Young Award.
Cruz slashed .259/.324/.499 in 2024, with 21 home runs, 76 RBIs, 22 stolen bases, 34 doubles, three triples and 51 walks. He also moved from his normal position at shortstop and played in center field later in the season.
Reynolds had another strong season in 2024, slashing .275/.344/.447 in 156 games, with a career-high 171 hits, along with 24 home runs, 29 doubles, 88 RBIs and 57 walks. He earned his second All-Star nod as well.
Jones finished his first full season at the MLB level with a 6-8 record, 22 starts, 4.14 ERA in 121.2 innings pitched, 39 walks to 132 strikeouts and a 1.19 WHIP.
He dealt with a right lat strain, that kept him out from early July to late August from pitching for the Pirates.
Keller started 31 games last season, with an 11-12 record and a 4.25 ERA in 178.0 innings pitched. He posted 166 strikeouts, a 1.30 WHIP and held opposing hitters to a .261 batting average.
MLB The Show 25 will come out on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and the Nintendo Switch.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.