MLB The Show 22: Best Pitchers

Pitching is the most important position in baseball. This is where the team puts most of its money. A great pitcher keeps your defense off the field while also keeping your opponent’s offense off the field, which means you are most likely to win. It’s hard to win a game when you are always playing from behind. A great pitcher makes everything easier on both sides of the ball.

MLB The Show 22 provides you with all the information needed to select the type of pitcher that you need. When making your selection, think about what pitches you are comfortable with using and what type of pitcher you want. In other words, think about your personal pitching strategies. Do you like speed or do you like to use misdirection with breaking balls? The best ones do both and most of them are on this list.

Here are the lists for catcher, second basemen, shortstop, and center fielders.

10. Walker Buehler (92 OVR)

Team: Los Angeles Dodgers
Age: 27
Total Salary: $6,250,000
Years on Contract: 1
Best Attributes: 99 Break, 91 Velocity, 90 Stamina

Walker Buehler is coming fresh off a 2021 All-Star season, just two years removed from helping the Los Angeles Dodgers win the 2020 World Series. Buehler has a cutter, slider, and knuckle curve as pitch types, so his 99 Pitch Break rating makes his pitches almost impossible to read.

Buehler isn’t only good at throwing breaking pitches; he throws the ball at very high speeds. He has a 91 Velocity rating and can throw a fastball up to 95 mph. Buehler has 90 Stamina, so you can rely on him to play deep into games. Last year, Buehler had a 2.47 ERA, 16 Wins, and 212 strikeouts.

9. Gerrit Cole (92 OVR)

Team: New York Yankees
Age: 31
Total Salary: $36,000,000
Years on Contract: 8
Best Attributes: 99 Pitch Clutch, 99 Velocity, 88 Stamina

Velocity and Pitching Clutch are a dangerous combination when it comes to pitching. Gerrit Cole maxes out at 99 for both. This will give you more control of your pitches in a 3-2 count or in late-game situations. His 99 Velocity gives him the ability to throw a 98 mph fastball and 83 mph curveball.

Cole takes care of his business on the mound. He scores 80 or above when it comes to Hits and Walks per 9 Innings (83 and 80, respectively). He scores a 76 in Pitch Control and has 88 Stamina to take games the distance. It’s not hard to see why the Yankees pay him so much. During the 2021 season, Cole had 16 wins, a 3.23 ERA, and 243 strikeouts.

8. Brandon Woodruff (92 OVR)

Team: Milwaukee Brewers
Age: 29
Total Salary: $6,800,000
Years on Contract: 1
Best Attributes: 95 Velocity, 93 Pitch Break, 87 Stamina

Brandon Woodruff scores 90+ in two very key pitching categories: 95 Velocity 93 Pitch Break. This is dangerous for hitters because he throws an 84 mph 12-6 curve, which is not easy to locate while coming at you so fast and breaking at the same time. He has 81 Pitch Control, which means he rarely throws wild pitches.

Woodruff has 87 Stamina so he can be your ace pitcher deep into the night and keep stress off your bullpen early. He doesn’t allow many Hits and Walks per 9 Innings (85 and 76, respectively), and his Strikeouts per 9 Innings is above average at 72. In the 2021 season, Woodruff had nine wins, a 2.56 ERA, and 211 strikeouts.

7. Zack Wheeler (92 OVR)

Team: Philadelphia Phillies
Age: 31
Total Salary: $26,000,000
Years on Contract: 3
Best Attributes: 99 Velocity, 95 Stamina, 82 Hits per 9 Innings

Zack Wheeler’s talent allows him to create a strategy that will work most of the time. That tactic is to throw as fast as he can as long as he can. He has amazing ratings of 99 Velocity and 95 Stamina. He doesn’t give you enough time to see the ball break.

Wheeler is well above average when you look at what he does on a per nine inning basis. The standout category here is Hits per Nine Innings at 82. He throws a 88 mph circle change, which is a lethal pitch seeing that he has 77 Pitch Control to go along with 79 Pitch Break. Wheeler had a 2.78 ERA, won 14 games, and had 247 strikeouts in 2021.

6. Clayton Kershaw (93 OVR)

Team: Los Angeles Dodgers
Age: 34
Total Salary: $17,000,000
Years on Contract: 1
Best Attributes: 89 Stamina, 87 Walks per 9 Innings, 86 Pitch Break

Clayton Kershaw took somewhat of a hit this year due to having an injury-plagued 2021. His player card doesn’t jump out at you with 90+ ratings, but he has elite attributes across the board. Kershaw doesn’t tire out early in games (89 Stamina). He is elite at not allowing Hits and Walks per Nine Innings (80 and 87, respectively) while also striking out a lot of hitters over the same span (69 in Strikeouts per 9 Innings).

What makes Kershaw scary for batters is the diversity of his pitches. He has four pitch types and they are all completely unique, so it’s hard to predict what he will throw. He doesn’t throw them extremely fast as he only has an average Velocity rating (55), but he has above-average Pitch Control (70) and elite level Pitch Break (86). Due to injury, he didn’t put up the greatest numbers, but still finished the season with ten wins, a 3.55 ERA, and 144 strikeouts.

5. Chris Sale (93 OVR)

Team: Boston Red Sox
Age: 33
Total Salary: $30,000,000
Years on Contract: 4
Best Attributes: 96 Pitch Break, 89 Stamina, 84 Strikeouts per 9 Innings & Pitching Clutch

Chris Sale had an injury-plagued 2021 season, starting only nine games. When healthy, he is still one of the best pitchers in the game, and luckily, everyday in MLB The Show 22 is an injury-free day. He only has one pitching attribute under 75 (68 in Home Runs per 9 Innings), which shows that he is elite in nearly every facet of pitching.

Sale’s pitch types have a level of deception due to his fastball and sinker only having a two mph difference in addition to pitching across his body. His Pitch Break attribute is 86, making it hard to predict if it’s a breaking ball or not. Sale also has great Pitch Control, scoring 80 in that category. Late game situations are no problem for him either as he has 89 Stamina and 84 Pitching Clutch. Chris Sale won five games, had a 3.16 ERA, and 52 strikeouts in the 2021 season.

4. Corbin Burnes (94 OVR)

Team: Milwaukee Brewers
Age: 27
Total Salary: $6,500,000
Years on Contract: 1
Best Attributes: 99 Velocity, 86 Stamina, 85 Pitch Break

Corbin Burnes should have been used as a cross-promotional tool for Sonic 2 because this guy only knows speed. All of his pitches are 80 mph or faster, including breaking and off-speed pitches. He has an 85 Pitch Break attribute and scores 80 in Pitch Control. Burnes throws his pitches fast, tricky, and with authority. He’s the featured player for the Break archetype in Road to the Show as well.

Burnes’ set of skills prevents the opposing team from having much success. He ranks among the best when it comes to Home Run per 9 Innings. He strikes out batters at an elite rate as well (82 in Strikeouts per 9 Innings). His lowest pitching attribute is 74 (Walks per 9 Innings), which is still well above league average. Burnes won 11 games, had a 2.43 ERA, and 234 strikeouts in the 2021 season en route to winning the National League Cy Young award.

3. Shohei Ohtani (95 OVR)

Team: Los Angeles Angels
Age: 27
Total Salary: $5,500,000
Years on Contract: 1
Secondary Position(s): Outfield
Best Attributes: 99 Pitching Clutch, 99 Pitch Break, 95 Hits per 9 Innings

There really is nothing to explain here. Pitching? He’s an elite monster. Hitting? Elite monster. He became the first player in MLB history last year to be an All-Star as a hitter and pitcher. “Showtime” is an elite baserunner and can also fill in as an outfielder as well. Don’t forget he was also the unanimous 2021 American League Most Valuable Player.

Ohtani has three attributes in the 90s, including maxing out the Pitching Clutch and Pitch Break categories at 99. He throws a blistering 97 mph fastball that many cannot hit, which is why he also boasts a score of 95 in Hits per Nine Innings. You can’t ask for a better two-way player or baseball player in general for that matter. Ohtani won nine games, had a 3.18 ERA, and struck out 156 batters.

2. Max Scherzer (97 OVR)

Team: New York Mets
Age: 37
Total Salary: $43,333,333
Years on Contract: 3
Best Attributes: 97 Hits per 9 innings, 86 Stamina, 83 Pitching Clutch

The oldest player on this list (at number two no less!), Max Scherzer made the All-MLB First Team in 2021. He simply does not give hitters a chance to hurt his ball club. He scores a 97 in Hits per Nine Innings and an 82 in Strikeouts per Nine Innings. He has five different pitch types with a wide range of speeds. There is no way to know what’s coming next against him.

Scherzer’s 86 Stamina means he can pitch complete games and play at an elite level throughout its entirety. He has no weaknesses and most of his attributes score in the 80s, which shows how complete of a pitcher he really is. During the 2021 season, Scherzer won 15 games, had a 2.46 ERA, and struck out 236 hitters.

1. Jacob deGrom (99 OVR)

The Mets undoubtedly have the two best pitchers in baseball Your only chance is to hope they make one mistake and capitalize on that. The problem is that they don’t make mistakes often. Jacob deGrom has a 99 mph fastball and an 83 mph curveball. What are you supposed to do against that?

deGrom’s lowest attribute is 78 (Pitch Break), but most of them are in the high 80s. deGrom is not just an elite pitcher, but he is the one percent of the one percent. He has great command of his pitches (87 Pitch Control), he is an excellent clutch player (86 Pitching Clutch(, and can pitch complete games (89 Stamina). He is the best pitcher in baseball – when healthy, which he is currently not in 2022. Although marred by injury, deGrom won seven games and had a 1.08 ERA and 146 strikeouts in 2021.

There are a lot of factors to consider when picking the right pitcher for your ball club. Make sure you pick someone that at least has the pitches you like to throw. MLB The Show 22 has many options to choose from, but if you select any of these ten pitchers, you should be fine. They are just that good.