MLB 15 The Show Player Ratings: Kershaw, Puig & How Dodgers Compare

PAGES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 The Los Angeles Dodgers began their Cactus League schedule this week and are inching closer by the day to Opening Day at Chavez Ravine. In between the two, plenty of Spring Training games will be played and starting on March 31, likely a large number of gaming hours will be logged due to the release of MLB 15 The Show. This year's version of the game has Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig on the cover, becoming the first Dodger player to receive the honor. Adrian Gonzalez was selected as the cover athlete, however in 2012 when he was with the Boston Red Sox. Puig is entering his third season with the Dodgers and is looking to rebound from a disappointing close to 2014. After struggling through the first three games of the National League Division, Puig was benched in Game 4 and only made an appearance as a pinch-runner in the ninth inning. As the release of the video game draws closer, more details and screenshots have been made available. The first trailer released showed Puig stepping into the batter’s box against the San Francisco Giants with at least two men on and Javier Lopez on the mound; he swings at the first pitch and hits a home run into the left field pavilion. More recently, photos detailing the game's improved graphics and shadow effect at Dodger Stadium were released, and just last month, a new trailer. On Friday, Operation Sports released screenshots NEXT PAGE: MLB 15 The Show Dodgers Team Ratings PAGES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 As evident in the photo above, the Dodgers have three players -- Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen and Yasiel Puig -- rated at least 90 overall in MLB 15 The Show; they're the only team with three such players. The Miami Marlins, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers and Washington Nationals each have two players with at least a 90 rating. NEXT PAGE: Top Overall Players PAGES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 While Clayton Kershaw is the highest-rated player on the Dodgers roster, he ties with Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout for the honor of being the top-rated player in the game. However, being that his name appears at the top of the list can serve as some sort of theoretical tiebreaker. NEXT PAGE: Top Rated Starting Pitchers PAGES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 To no surprise, Clayton Kershaw once more paces another category -- this time starting pitchers. Kershaw has won three Cy Young Awards in the last four years and four-consecutive ERA titles, which is a first in MLB history. NEXT PAGE: Top Rated Relief Pitchers PAGES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 While the Dodgers front office worked on improving the bullpen during the offseason, none of the team's relievers are ranked in MLB 15 The Show's top-10. NEXT PAGE: Top Rated Closers PAGES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 Whereas the Dodgers didn't have a relief pitcher ranked in the top-10, Kenley Jansen cracks the list of best closers in the video game. Jansen converted a career-high 44 saves in 2014 and will begin this season on the disabled list as he continues to recover from offseason foot surgery. Of course the beauty of the gaming industry is it doesn't always need to mirror reality. NEXT PAGE: Top Rated Catchers PAGES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 While the Dodgers upgraded at the catcher's position by trading for Yasmani Grandal at the winter meetings, neither he or A.J. Ellis are ranked in MLB 15 The Show's top-10 catchers. It doesn't come as much of a surprise when considering there are some questions surrounding the health of Grandal's knee, which he said isn't an issue, and Ellis' struggles and his own injury troubles. NEXT PAGE: Top Rated First Basemen PAGES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 Adrian Gonzalez was ranked the No. 9 first baseman by MLB Network just over one month ago. Meanwhile, the gaming version of him is ranked seventh overall. As expected, Miguel Cabrera is ranked No. 1 in both lists. NEXT PAGE: Top Rated Second Basemen PAGES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 The Dodgers traded a 2014 All-Star second baseman in Dee Gordon during the offseason and hours later acquired Howie Kendrick, who made the All-Star team in 2011. Kendrick is considered by many as an upgrade for the Dodgers, but he's ranked behind Gordon. NEXT PAGE: Top Rated Third Baseman PAGES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 Over the last two seasons, Juan Uribe has resurrected his career and been a stable force at third base for the Dodgers -- when healthy. Uribe used a strong season in 2013 to re-sign with the Dodgers for two years, but was in and out of the lineup due to hamstring injuries last season. Uribe has a history of winning World Series every five years dating back to 2005, is hopeful to eventually retire with the Dodgers, but he doesn't make the video game's list. NEXT PAGE: Top Rated Shortstop PAGES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 Unfortunately for Juan Uribe, he's the lone player among a veteran infield who failed to make MLB 15 The Show's top-10 rated players at their respective positions. Heading into his first season with the Dodgers, Jimmy Rollins is rated 83 overall, which is good for eighth-best among shortstops. NEXT PAGE: Top Rated Left Fielders PAGES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 Oft-criticized and forgotten Carl Crawford quietly had a good season for the Dodgers in 2014. He sprained his ankle in May, returned in July, but didn't necessarily hit his stride until August. Crawford now says he's healthy and believes he can offset some of the speed factor the club lost by trading Dee Gordon. NEXT PAGE: Top Rated Center Fielders PAGES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 The Dodgers have plenty of outfielders on the roster, but a bonafide center fielder is not among them -- unless Yasiel Puig is taken into consideration. Saddled by sporadic playing time, Andre Ethier has been on the decline in recent years and doesn't believe he's suited for center field moving forward. Joc Pederson is off to a hot spring and appears to be the answer moving forward, but he isn't quite there yet and thus, the Dodgers don't have a video game top-10 center fielder. NEXT PAGE: Top Rated Right Fielders PAGES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 The Dodgers all-everything outfielder, Yasiel Puig, heads into the season with plenty of pressure on his broad shoulders. Puig moves back to right field to -- in theory -- make room for Joc Pederson in center field and he ranks highly in MLB 15 The Show's eyes. Of all the position rankings, right field is among the more accurate ones at the top as the general consensus would list Puig behind Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton. [divide] Carl Crawford Discusses Stealing Bases OO.ready(function() { OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer4', 'FieGpzczqbMlTIi4OcCCsLjNp4GcBRAj'); }); Please enable Javascript to watch this video