Play ball! Hearing those two words always bring a smile to any baseball fan's face. Something else that brings a smile is 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:MLB The Show. The revered baseball sim from San Diego Studios is back, and for the first time will be available on the168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Xbox Series and Game Pass. Praised for its realism and solid game mechanics, MLB The Show 21 marks 🧔the fra🥀nchise's sixteenth edition.
MLB The Show offers fun 𓄧game modes like Road to the Show, Franchise, and Diamond Dynasty. Each mode is geared to satisfy any baseball fan, but sometimes sticking to the classic Exhibition is more than enough. Whether it's a quick game against the A.I. or an online match with someone, knowing which teams are the best is important. These teams are the cream of the crop in the MLB and will surely lead you to victory.
10 Los Angeles Angels 🎃
Led by superstar outfielder Mike Trout, the Los Angeles Angels are a powerhouse offensively. The team is rated sixth in contact and seventh in power, which isn't a surprise 🍨considering the roster features Trout, two-way phenom Sohei Ohtani (80), and recently signed Anthony Rendon (94). Regarded as the best player in baseball currently, many think Trout might be the best to ever play the game.
Over his 11 seasons in the league, Trout has won Rookie of the ⛎Year, three MVPs, eight Silver Sluggers, and is an eight-time All-Star. Trout is one of o🙈nly two players to have a perfect overall rating (99) in the game. At the age of 29, Trout will continue to terrorize pitchers for a long time.
9 𒁏 Chicago White Sox
If there's one American Leag𓂃ue team on the cusp of World Series contention it's the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox are home to the game's highest-rated closer in Liam Hendriks (93), have a top first baseman in Jose Abreu (88), top-rated catcher in Yasmani Grandal (91), and one of the best young talents in the league in shortstop Tim Anderson (83).
Chicago is sixth in pitching and eighth in speed, meaning the White Sox players know how to run on the base path. The team is decent offensively, but ultimately middle of the pack. If scoring runs is a pri♕ority, there are better options than the White Sox.
8 𝐆 Cleveland Indians
After trading star shortstop Francisco Lindor (88) to the New York Mets𒅌, the Clevel♔and Indians are relying on its tenth-rated pitching for success. Led by Cy Young winner Shane Bieber (95), the third highest-rated pitcher in MLB The Show 21, the Cleveland rotation limits opposing batters, and the team excel defensively.
The Indians aren't the best team offensively. Sitting at twenty-fourth in contact and nineteenth in power, the Indians are the worst-hitting team in the top ten. Altဣhough Cleveland traded away one of baseball's best young talents in Lindor, the team has another in third baseman José Ramírez (92). Since his debut in 2013, Ramírez has won three Silver Sluggers, been named an All-Star twice, and finished second in MVP last season.
7 Houston Astr﷽os
For quite some time, the Houston Astros were the laughingstock of baseball.꧋ From 2009 to 2014, Houston averaged only 67 wins per season and finished last in its division three years in a row. The silver lining in all that losing meant the Astros stockpiled on prime young talent and returned to contention.
Led by second baseman José Altuve (88), shortstop Carlos Correa (87), and third baseman Alex Bregman (92), the Astros rank third in contact hitting. The Astros have a veteran pitching rotation spearheaded by Zack Greinke (90) and Justin Verlan♏der (91). While Greinke and Verlander's best baseball is behind them, they're still capable of mowing down an opposing lineup.
6 Sa🍃n Diego Padres
Home to168澳洲幸运5开奖网: the cover athlete of MLB The Show 21, the San Diego Padres has championship aspirations in 2021. Fernando Tatis Jr. (95) is the highest-ra✨ted shortstop and one of the top young players in🍷 the league. Manny Machado (95) is the second-highest rated third baseman. Other above-average players on the Padres include second baseman Jake Croneworth (85), left-fielder Tommy Pham (86), and right-fielder Will Myers (81). San Diego also upgraded its pitching rotation with Yu Darvish (88) and Blake Snell (88).
Although the Padres have a slew of quality ballplayers, its offensive ratings are disappointingly low. San Diego 🦹ranks seventeenth in contact and twenty-tꦉhird in power, putting the team well below the average in the offensive categories. However, San Diego excels in pitching (fourth), defense (eighth), and speed (third).
5 Washington Nati🌺onals
Only behind the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers in pitching, the Washington Nationals rotation is led by Max Scherzer (94) and Stephen Strasburg (91). Scherzer and Strasburg are among 168澳洲幸运𒈔5开奖网:the top-ten highest-rated pitchers in the game. Aside from its pitching, the Nationals have one of the best sh🐽ortstops in the game, Trea Turner (87).
The Nationals struggle immensely on defense. Ranked twenty-fifth in defense, Washington is thဣe second lowest-rated defensive team among the overall top-ten. Last season, the Nationals committed 39 errors as a team, which placed them near the bottom of the National ꧙League.
4 🍎 🍎 New York Mets
In 2020, the New York Mets limped to a fourth-place finish in the NL East. In the offseason, the team acquired star shortstop Francisco Lindor (88) from the Cleveland Indians. Adding Lindor to a lineup of Jeff Neil (89), Pete Alonso (85), and Michael Conforto (87) propelled New York's offensive ratings throuඣgh the roof. Arguably the second-best offense in baseball, the Mets are second in contact and fourth in power.
While the Mets can certainly run up the scoreboard, New York has a major ace up its sleeve. The fifth-best pitching rotation in MLB The Show 21 is 🍎led by th𒆙e best ace in the game, Jacob deGrom (99). The only pitcher rated a perfect overall 99, deGrom is nearly unhittable. The 32-year-old won back-to-back Cy Young awards in 2018 and 2019 behind his overpowering fastball.
3 Atlanta Braves ☂
Another National League team that is seriously looking at World Series contention is the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta has dominated the NL East recently, winning three consecutive division titles. Atlanta's regular-season success is all thanks to its star-studded ꦇroster. Ronald Acuña Jr. (94) is the second-highest rated center fielder, behind only Mike Trout. At only 23-years-old, Acuña Jr. is on track to becoming one of the best players in baseball.
Atlanta'꧂s lineup also features top-rated first baseman Freddie Freeman (95), fourth-rated outfielder Marcell Ozuna (90), and the second-rated second baseman in the game, Ozzie Albies (93). With these hard-hitting players, Atlanta ﷺis ranked third in power and seventh in contact. But the Braves aren't simply an offensive team; Atlanta ranks sixth in defense, eighth in pitching, and thirteenth in speed.
2 ♏ ꩲ New York Yankees
The New York Yankees lineup certainly is the Bronx Bombers. Featuring Aaron Judge (97), Giancarlo Stanton (92)🐼, and Luke Voit (86), the Yankees are rated first in power hitting. Although New York's contact rating i🔯s a bit lower at tenth, D.J. LeMahieu (93) and Gio Urshela (85) are both coming off a solid 2020 season. LeMahieu finished third in MVP and won a Silver Slugger behind his incredible .364 batting average.
Other than its offensive firepower, the team has the top-rated defense and is second in🔴 pitching with Gerrit Cole (94). Despite a career-best 2.64 ERA and finishing second for Cy Young in 2019, Cole struggled mightily in 2020. In his fi🉐rst season with the Yankees, Cole finished with a 3.89 ERA, the second-highest in his career.
1 Los Angeles D﷽odgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers aren't just defending champions and the top-rated team in MLB The Show 21. The Dodgers might be one of the greatest teams ever assembled. Coming off its first World Series title since 1988, the Dodgers kept its championship-winning roster mainly intact while also signing Cy Young winner Tr꧙evor Bauer (93). The 30-year-old posted a career-best 1.73 ERA last year with the Cincinnati Reds. Ranked first in pitching, the Dodgers still have Clayton Kershaw (95) at the head of its rotation, followed by All-Star Walker Buehler (89).
Los Angeles also has the game's top-rated offense to go with its top-rated pitching. The Dodgers lineup fea꧂tures the second-highest rated positional player in Mookie Betts (98), the third-rated center fielder in Cody Bellinger (93), and a plethora of above-average infielders: Corey Seager (84), Max Muncy (85), and Justin Turner (84). Led by a couple of Cy Young pitchers and star power at nearly every position, the Los Angeles Dodgers reign supreme in MLB The Show 21.