Mike Trout is officially the highest-rated player in MLB The Show 19. Following negotiations that have apparently lead to a $430 million, 12-year contract between Trout and the Los Angeles Angels, it was clear that the player was going to be rated highly in any MLB video game tie-ins. After all, Trout is about to sign what will be the largest contract in U.S. sports history, and the ludicrous sum has captured the attention of baseball fans and outsiders alike.
The upcoming MLB The Show 19 makes a point to stay as true to the stats and layout of the MLB as possible, which has left many gamers wondering what stats their favorite players will receive. Taking into consideration the above information about Trout, he’s sure to be one of the most anticipated stat reveals in the entire game. As it turns out, MLB The Show developer SIE San Diego Studio didn’t disappoint fans of the Los Angeles Angels and the club’s prized center fielder, Trout.
Screen Rant recently had the opportunity sit down and chat with Ramone Russell, the Designer and Community Manager behind MLB The Show 19, during a preview session. The topic of Trout immediately came up after news of the player’s blockbuster contract emerged. As it turns out, Trout is the highest rated player in MLB The Show 19 with a 94 overall. Russell filled us in on how that came to be, clarifying that the new contract didn’t play a factor in determining that number.
So, I’ve gotta ask right off the bat, what’s [Mike] Trout rated?
Is that going to go up after the contract? laughs
“Uh.. 94.”
Mike Trout being given a 94 rating in MLB The Show 19 is a testament to the skills the player currently demonstrates on the field. Another tidbit to pull from the chat with Russell was that MLB The Show 19’s cover athlete, Bryce Harper, is currently sitting with an 86 overall rating in the game. Even then, both should prove to be valuable for anyone planning on picking up the title.
“No! We do not let contracts sway the integrity of how we give players their ratings. But there’s very little actual human interaction with the ratings, it’s all basically an algorithm. We take all the advanced stats, plug them into an Excel file, and that Excel file basically spits out the ratings. Sometimes there will be some anomalies and when that happens we’ll go in and manually tweak them. Very rarely do we touch the ratings.”
During the same discussion with Screen Rant, Russell confirmed a few tidbits of interesting news about the baseball series. Namely, that God of War’s Kratos almost made it into MLB The Show, and that developer SIE Santa Monica Studios is focused on catering to PlayStation fans with MLB The Show rather than those on other platforms. Both of which were interesting topics of discussion for fans of the franchise to learn about.
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MLB The Show 19 arrives exclusively for PlayStation 4 consoles on March 26, 2019.
