MLB 2K10 Ratings [3-2-10]

EDITORS NOTE: These ratings are "wrong" too. I went to a Franchise Draft and that apparently changed the lot of them. Even w/o the draft there are differences that aren't in either batch I've posted. I've got Jason Bay @ 89 when he was 88 in both posts. This is truely strange as I've never seen rating inconsistencies like this before.


I just picked up MLB 2K10 and the ratings I previously posted were not accurate. My guess is the screenshots I took them from were from an outdated build of the game.

To rectify this, I'm going to post the top 10 at each position, and the change from what was previously reported.

CATCHER
93 – Joe Mauer (-2)
87 – Brian McCann (0)
86 – Victor Martinez (-2)
84 – Jorge Posada (0)
83 – Kurt Suzuki (+3)
82 – Mike Napoli (0)
82 – Yadier Molina (+2)
82 - Ryan Doumit (+3)
82 – Russell Martin (-2)
80 – Miguel Montero (0)
80 – Matt Wieters (-2)

Catchers seemed to trend downward, although Suzuki and Doumit were the obvious big winners.

FIRST BASE
98 – Albert Pujols (0)
93 – Kevin Youkilis (+2)
93 – Lance Berkman (+4)
93 – Mark Teixeira (+2)
91 – Joey Votto (+4)
90 – Derrek Lee (+1)
90 – Prince Fielder (-1)
90 – Ryan Howard (+2)
90 – Miguel Cabrera (-1)
89 – Kendry Morales (+1)
89 – Carlos Pena (+2)
89 – Adrian Gonzalez (-2)

First basemen were the big winners here with 8 of the top 12 going up while only 3 went down. Adrian Gonzalez was only one to drop more than a point, while two players went up a whopping 4 points. I had pointed out that Votto was underrated and that appears to be fixed, while lots of other users clamored for a boost to Ryan Howard which was also addressed.

SECOND BASE
92 – Chase Utley (-1)
90 – Ian Kinsler (+2)
89 – Ben Zobrist (+2)
88 – Brian Roberts (+2)
88 – Brandon Phillips (+2)
88 – Dustan Pedroia (-3)
87 – Robinson Cano (0)
86 – Aaron Hill (+2)
86 - Howie Kendrick (Kudos to myself leaving him off the previous list)
84 - Gordon Beckham (+2)

Many people complained about Dustan Pedroia being rated too high and that seems to have been addressed, as he drops from the 2nd best second baseman to the 6th best. Just about everyone else went up by two points.

THIRD BASE
95 – Alex Rodriguez (0)
93 – Evan Longoria (0)
91 – David Wright (+2)
91 – Pablo Sandoval (+2)
89 – Ryan Zimmerman (0)
88 – Chipper Jones (0)
87 – Michael Young (0)
87 – Mark Reynolds (-1)
85 – Scott Rolen (+3)
84 – Chone Figgins (-2)
84 – Adrian Beltre (+3)

I figured a lot of Mets fans would complain about the franchise player being rated too low, and it seems 2K listened. For the record, David Wright is my favorite player, but he's gonna have to have a heck of a rebound season to justify that rating.

Also, four positions through and it seems clear that more players have gone up than there are that have gone down. Hopefully 2K isn't unbalancing the gameplay by catering to fans early.

SHORTSTOP
94 – Hanley Ramirez (0)
93 – Troy Tulowitzki (+4)
90 – Jose Reyes (+2)
89 – Jimmy Rollins (+3)
88 – Jason Bartlett (+3)
87 – Derek Jeter (-3)
84 – Yunel Escobar (+2)
84 – Asdrubal Cabrera (+1)
84 – Alcides Escobar (+4)
83 – Erick Aybar (+4)

A lot of players might be getting boosts, but at least 2K is dropping the players who clearly needed to be dropped (Jeter).

LEFT FIELD
94 – Ryan Braun (+2)
93 – Matt Holliday (+2)
89 – Manny Ramirez (-1)
89 – Carl Crawford (0)
88 – Jason Bay (0)
88 – Carlos Lee (+3)
87 – Alfonso Soriano (+3)
86 – Jacoby Ellsbury (+1)
85 – Adam Lind (0)
85 – Johnny Damon (0)
85 - Josh Willingham (+4)

Raul Ibanez is the biggest loser as he dropped from 87 (6th best) to 84 (15th best).


CENTER FIELD
94 - Carlos Beltran (Rating previously unavailable)
92 – Torii Hunter (+4)
91 – Matt Kemp (+2)
89 – Josh Hamilton (+3)
88 – Grady Sizemore (+1)
88 – Shane Victorino (+3)
87 – Andrew McCutchen (+3)
87 – Curtis Granderson (0)
86 – Nate McLouth (+2)
85 – B.J. Upton (+3)
85 - Alex Rios (+5)

I guess Curtis Granderson is the biggest loser here since he's the only one who didn't go up. Alex Rios meanwhile jumped 5 points which makes me real curious as to what changed in the last two weeks.

RIGHT FIELD
90 - Ichiro (0)
89 - Justin Upton (+2)
89 – Jayson Werth (+3)
88 – Hunter Pence (+2)
88 – Nick Markakis (+1)
87 – Ryan Ludwick (+3)
87 – Nelson Cruz (+4)
87 – J.D. Drew (+2)
87 – Andre Ethier (0)
86 – Shin-Soo Choo (+1)
86 – Garrett Jones (+2)
86 – Vladimir Guerrero (+2)
86 – Brad Hawpe (+3)

Ethier drops from 3rd to 9th by no fault of his own. As with CF, everyone else went up!

STARTING PITCHER
98 – C.C. Sabathia (+4)
98 – Tim Lincecum (0)
97 – Zack Greinke (0)
96 – Jake Peavy (+4)
95 – Dan Haren (+2)
93 – Roy Halladay (-3)
92 – Felix Hernandez (0)
91 – Chris Carpenter (0)
91 – Justin Verlander (+1)
91 – Rich Harden (+2)
91 – Johan Santana (-3)
91 – Josh Beckett (+1)

C.C. Sabathia just leapfrogged the 2009 AL Cy Young winner, which will surely be a hot topic of debate. Is he really on Lincecum's level?


RELIEF PITCHER
93 – Jonathan Papelbon (+1)
93 – Mariano Rivera (-1)
92 - Joe Nathan (-2)
90 – Andrew Bailey (+2)
89 – Joakim Soria (0)
88 – Jonathan Broxton (0)
87 – Heath Bell (+1)
86 – Francisco Rodriguez (0)
85 – Trevor Hoffman (-2)
85 – Jose Valverde (-1)

Interestingly, it seems most of the relief pitchers have dropped in rating, whereas most hitters went up. Brad Lidge dropped from 74 overall to 70, just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for him. I wonder if this was by intelligent design.

AL TEAMS
97 Yankees (0) (EAST)
96 Red Sox (0) (WILD CARD)
89 Twins (+1) (CENTRAL)
88 Angels (+1) (WEST)
87 Rangers (+1)
87 Rays (+1)
84 Orioles (0)
82 White Sox (+1)
80 Mariners (0)
79 Tigers (+5) - Johnny Damon effect
75 Blue Jays (0)
75 Indians (0)
74 Athletics (-1)
73 Royals (0)

As I stated previously, if you're not a Yankee or Red Sox fan, it must suck to know that the Wild Card is nigh-unattainable barring significant injuries to the aforementioned clubs.

NL TEAMS
91 Phillies (+1) (EAST)
89 Dodgers (0) (WEST)
86 Cardinals (+2) (CENTRAL)
82 Cubs (0) (WILD CARD)
81 Braves (0)
81 Giants (+1)
81 Rockies (+1)
80 Brewers (+2)
80 Mets (+5) - Rod Barajas effect? LOL. (82 overall w/ Beltran)
77 Marlins (0)
76 Diamondbacks (-1)
75 Reds (+2)
74 Astros (0)
74 Nationals (+1)
74 Padres (-2)
69 Pirates (-1)

I'm guessing Mets fans complained en masse and got the team's ratings boosted. 2K would have a healthy Mets team contending for the wild card with the Cubbies. Maintaining health is always a stretch for the Mets, but the rest of the league is weak compared to the AL where 10 of 14 teams have 80+ rating (comapred to 8 of 16 in the NL), so I suppose it's possible.

Well, that's that. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to win a million dollars.