The most authentic baseball simulator has returned in MLB The Show 23. The latest game in the acclaimed sports series is jam-packed with game modes that fans have grown to love like Franchise and Road to the Show.
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No matter if you’re building a team to win a World Series or simply playing a quick exhibition game, you’ll want to know the best teams. The best teams in the game are calculated by their ranks in contact, power, pitching, defense, and speed. We analyze which teams you should play if you want to win in MLB The Show 23.
10 St. Louis Cardinals
For the first time in 19 years, Yadier Molina won’t be the starting catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. The long-time catcher announced his retirement, along with Albert Pujols who returned to the franchise for one last farewell season.
With Paul Goldschmidt (96) and Nolan Arenado (94) leading the team, the Cardinals project to be one of the best power-hitting teams in the game. Besides their hitting, St. Louis is near the middle of the pack in team pitching and in the bottom half in defense and speed.
9 Seattle Mariners
Although the Seattle Mariners are the only top-ranked team without a player rated 90 or above, they do have 11 players rated at least an 80. They’re a relatively young team with only six of their top 11 players being 30 years or older.
The Mariners hope to reach the playoffs for the second year in a row, which would be the first time the team has accomplished that goal since the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Julio Rodriguez (89) is a young promising center fielder who the team will continue to build around.
Seattle specializes in power-hitting and pitching while coming up short in defense and speed.
8 Los Angeles Angels
Despite the real-life Los Angeles Angels not having much success, it wouldn’t make sense for the team to not be included among the best in the game. The Angels have two of the three 99-rated players on the roster, Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout.
It’s a testament to how poorly the rest of the team has performed if they haven’t been able to be successful with those two ballplayers.
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Other than speed, the Angels are slightly above-average in every other category. Ohtani and Trout might inflate those rankings but having other contributors like Taylor Ward (81), Tyler Anderson (83), and Hunter Renfroe (86) should propel the team to contention.
7 Philadelphia Phillies
Coming off a World Series loss to the Houston Astros, the Philadelphia Phillies signed superstar Trea Turner (92) in the offseason to join his former teammate Bryce Harper (95) in the City of Brotherly Love. With multiple top players at their respective positions, the Phillies hope to make a return trip to the Fall Classic.
Along with Harper and Turner, the Phillies rely on top catcher J.T. Realmuto (90) and two aces at the front of their pitching rotation in Aaron Nola (91) and Zack Wheeler (90).
Unfortunately, the Phillies will need to find a replacement for first baseman Rhys Hoskins (84) who suffered a season-ending torn ACL injury.
6 New York Mets
Forever in the shadows of the New York Yankees, the New York Mets made a splash in free agency. The team signed future Hall of Fame pitcher Justin Verlander (98) to replace the departed Jacob deGrom. Now, the second-rated pitching team in the majors is led by Verlander and Max Scherzer (96).
Pitching isn’t the only area the Mets excel in; thanks to Pete Alonso (90), Francisco Lindor (89), Jeff McNeil (82), and Starling Marte (81) the team is also the number one contact-hitting team in the game.
The Mets won’t win many games hitting tons of home runs but they’ll string together multiple hits and limit the opposing lineups with their top pitching.
5 Los Angeles Dodgers
After barely failing to win a championship throughout the last decade, the Los Angeles Dodgers finally reached the top of the baseball world in 2020. The team acquired superstar Mookie Betts (97) and the Dodgers were crowned the best team in baseball.
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They’ve fallen back a bit since their World Series title but the Dodgers still remain a daunting team. Other than speed, they’re ranked in the top half in every category. And while the Dodgers will forever remain a luxurious destination for free agents, Los Angeles has a few homegrown stars in Will Smith (88), Julio Urias (88), Tony Gonsolin (87), and Walker Buehler (85).
4 Toronto Blue Jays
For what feels like forever, the American League East division has been a back-and-forth battle between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Well, the Toronto Blue Jays are poised to be a threat for many years to come. After reaching the postseason in 2020 and 2022 as a Wild Card team, the Blue Jays hope to win the division for the first time since 2015.
The Blue Jays have a stacked roster that’s ranked in the top ten of every category. They excel in team defense and power-hitting, but they’re truly a team with few holes. Shockingly, Toronto doesn’t have a player rated 90 or above, but has 11 players rated above 80 and five players with top potential.
Toronto is a young team with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (88), Alek Manoah (88), and Alejandro Kirk (86) leading the charge.
3 Houston Astros
The reigning World Series champions are surprisingly not the best team in MLB The Show 23, but second place isn’t so bad. The Houston Astros triumphed over the Philadelphia Phillies in the Fall Classic to claim their second title since 2017.
Although the team lost Justin Verlander in free agency, the Astros are still projected to be a top-ten pitching team and a World Series contender once again. The team is led by star-studded position players in Yordan Alvarez (94), Jose Altuve (93), and Kyle Tucker (90), with Framber Valdez (87) leading the pitching rotation.
2 New York Yankees
Despite being known as the Evil Empire, the New York Yankees haven’t done much conquering recently. The team hasn’t appeared in a World Series since 2009, even though they have the reigning MVP in Aaron Judge (99).
The team is top-five in power hitting, pitching, and defense, three major categories that heavily impact success. Six of the top seven players on New York’s roster are pitchers, so the team prioritizes shutting down opposing lineups.
Eventually, the Yankees will break through the American League and return to greatness, but for now, must be content with being the second-best team in the game.
1 Atlanta Braves
Checking in as the best team in MLB The Show 23 is the Atlanta Braves. After winning the World Series in 2021, Atlanta took a step back in 2022 but is geared up to take back control of the National League. Besides defense, Atlanta is in the top half of every category and more specifically among the top five in contact and power hitting and pitching.
Spencer Strider (94) and Max Fried (90) lead the top-rated pitching rotation in the game. Atlanta’s top pitchers shut down opposing lineups and keep opposing players from reaching base.
Austin Riley (93) and Ronald Acuna Jr (92) are both only 25 years old and project to continue improving to be a dynamic duo. Atlanta has all the pieces to contend for championships and that’s why they’re the best team in MLB The Show 23.
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