Chicago Cubs: Cubs’ player ratings on MLB The Show 20

Another installment of the greatest baseball game ever created, this time MLB the Show 20 features Chicago Cubs’ two-time All-Star Javier Baez on the cover

On Tuesday, March 17th, MLB The Show 20 is released for everyone. This season our very own Chicago Cubs starting shortstop Javier Baez is the cover athlete. Last season Baez hit .281/.316/ .531, which is slightly down from his 2018 performance. His 29 homers in 531 at-bats were third on the team behind Kyle Schwarber (38) and Kris Bryant (31).

Not only is Baez know for his power at the bat, but he is also known for his speed both on the basepath and in the field playing defense. With his unbelievable no-look tags on attempted steals to his swim style slide, there is no doubt he is probably one of the most entertaining players to watch in all of baseball.

Along with Baez, Bryant, and Schwarber, there is plenty of talent on the roster and in the farm system. Below is a breakdown of the MLB The Show 20 ratings for the Cubs. First, let us look at the top players on the Cubs then move into breaking down each category. The ratings are from the official rosters not from a mode in the game called diamond dynasty where you collect cards to play with.

Top 10 Cubs Players

Javier Baez – 92 Overall
Kris Bryant – 91 Overall
Brandon Morrow – 85 Overall
Anthony Rizzo – 85 Overall
Wilson Contreras – 85 overall
Dan Winkler – 84 Overall
Kyle Hendricks – 83 Overall
Kyle Schwarber – 82 Overall
Yu Darvish – 80 Overall
Jason Heyward – 79 Overall

Chicago Cubs Pitching

Overall in the game, they rank the Cubs 14th out of the 30 teams. The highest overall pitcher the Cubs have is closing pitcher Brandon Morrow who is rated an 85 but is put on the Triple-A roster. According to MLB the Show 20, our starting rotation is as follows; Darvish, Jon Lester, Hendricks, Jose Quintana, and Tyler Chatwood gets the final spot in the rotation. Our bullpen is made up of seven right-handers Alec Mills, Jeremy Jeffress, Trevor Megill, Casey Sadler, Ryan Tepera, Rowan Wick, and Craig Kimbrel. The lone lefty in the bullpen is Kyle Ryan.

Hendricks leads the Cubs with an 85 control rating, while Darvish’s high breaking curveball gives him the highest overall break rating of 96. Also, according to MLB the Show 20 Chatwood is the hardest throwing on the team. In his thirteenth year in the league, Lester has the highest stamina across all pitchers on the Cubs team.

Chicago Cubs Defense

The Cubs come into MLB the show 20 in the top half (13th) of all teams when it comes to defense. Baez leads the way with a fielding rating of 92. Baez’s arm strength rating is also the team’s highest with a 98 rating. The Cubs probably have one of the better defensive teams in the league, from Baez’s unbelievable tagging skills to Heyward’s powerful throws all the way from right field. Another incredible defender for the cubs is the right-fielder Heyward, his 83 reaction and 96 arm strength rating are among the top in the whole organization.

Chicago Cubs Power

When it comes to power, the Cubs’ are 2nd in the league. From Schwarber’s home run than landed under the scoreboard in right field at Wrigley or Ian Happ’s opening day home run against the Marlins a few years ago, the Cubs have talent with a lot of power.

Against left-handers, Bryant leads the team with an overall rating of 96 against those southpaws. When a right-hander is on the mound, the catcher from the University of Indiana turned left fielder Schwarber leads the team with a 92 overall rating. All in all, the Cubs have the talent both on the Major League roster and in their farm system with tremendous amounts of power.

Chicago Cubs Speed

The Cubs rank 14th overall in speed, you would think they would rate some of these players a little higher then they are. For example, Baez’s speed is only 73, but with is 11 stolen bases last year, you would figure they would give the master of the swim move a little higher rating.

Another speed demon the Cubs have in the game is the 21-year-old Aramis Ademan, who is in the game with our Double-A affiliate the Tennessee Smokies. Ademan’s 79-speed rating is among the top in the whole Cubs’ organization.

A lot of the Double-A and Single-A prospects have outstanding speed in the game, but the highest overall speed rating comes from the 27-year-old Ian Miller. Miller’s 88 speeding rating is excellent, be sure to look at him as a future pinch-runner like what the Cubs did with Terrence Gore back in 2018.

Chicago Cubs Contact

Another factor, probably the most important when you’re up at the plate. The Cubs are ranked 16th when it comes to contact. The duo of Rizzo and Bryant or Bryzzo as fans called them lead the team, Rizzo leads contact (80) when facing a right-handed pitcher while his counterpart Bryant leads the team against left-handed pitchers with a 92 overall rating.

Overall Team Budget: $236.50 Million – Overall Rank 7th out of 30 teams

Minor League top 10 highest rated players:

Brandon Morrow – RP – 85 overall (Triple-A)
Dan Winkler – RP – 84 overall (Triple-A)
Hernan Perez – 2B – 76 overall (Triple-A)
Tyler Olson – RP – 75 overall (Triple-A)
Josh Phegley – C- 75 overall (Triple-A)
Trent Giambrone – 2B – 70 overall (Double-A)
Jharel Cotton – SP – 69 overall (Triple-A)
Nico Hoerner – SS – 68 overall (Triple-A)
Ian Miller – CF – 68 overall (Triple-A)
Brad Wieck – RP – 66 overall (Triple-A)

*All rosters were on the actual game, the role may not be current with the organization. For example, the game might have Nico Hoerner down in Triple-A, but he with the Chicago Cubs once the season starts up again.