MLB The Show 26, as a game that realistically recreates the game, strives to make the in-game courts, decorations, and equipment virtually identical to the offline experience. Even player attributes change based on their performance in real games.
This is the core mechanism of MLB - Weekly Roster Update, where the official team adjusts player attributes and ratings weekly based on real-time data from actual games.
Next, I will explain the specifics of Weekly Roster Update.
How it Works
Weekly Roster Update is based on real-time weekly or monthly player data, such as batting average, ERA, win shares, etc. Ratings may increase due to good player performance or decrease due to injury or poor performance.
Simultaneously, the Stubs required to acquire players will also change. It doesn't directly alter the Stubs exchange rate but rather the value of the player cards. Players can predict these value changes based on player performance and invest to make a fortune.
Besides Weekly Roster Update, player ratings sometimes receive temporary, short-term boosts to specific in-game abilities due to a player's real-world influence. This allows players to genuinely experience the impact of reality on the game, highlighting MLB 26 as a game that is both up-to-date and highly time-sensitive.
Specific Example:
Shohei Othtani
For example, pitcher Shohei Othtani achieved a high rating of 92 at the start of the season. Currently playing for Los Angeles Dodgers, Othtani, a Dodgers superstar, delivered a stellar performance with six scoreless innings and only one hit allowed, continuing his scoreless streak from last year.
Previously, during the 2023-2024 season, Othtani hit home runs in 36 consecutive games, and his performance in the 2025 season remained excellent, culminating in a final 31-game streak of on-base runs.
The 2026 season has just begun, and considering his past performances and recent influence, his rating in MLB 26 remains very high, tied for first place with Aaron Judge. MLB The Show 26 Stbus, which acquired his player card, also saw a rise in ratings.
Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge's appearance on the cover of MLB 26 is well deserved. As a member of New York Yankees, Judge signed a nine-year, $360 million contract extension with the team back in December 2022. During the 2022 season, he homered at a remarkable pace, eventually hitting his 62nd home run and setting a new single-season record for American League. However, in MLB 22, his rating took a hit after he missed time due to illness.
After his return, his strong performance and statistics led to a rebound in his rating, even reaching a high of 94 at one point.
This continued into subsequent seasons; even injuries didn't significantly impact his performance. After the 2025 regular season, Judge won his first American League batting title and was named American League Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive year.
Therefore, at the beginning of the 2026 season, based on his past performance and influence, MLB 26 not only featured him on the cover but also dressed him in a USA jersey, awarding him a high score of 92 in the game. His player card's Stubs have consistently been at a high level.
Munetaka Murakami
Munetaka Murakami's rating changes also reflect his real-world performance. He has two cards in MLB 26: Live Series and Flashbacks, corresponding to his potential and current status, respectively.
Flashbacks is a World Baseball Classic card released in the 2026 season, awarding Munetaka Murakami a high score of 90 to commemorate his outstanding performance in Classic.
In the 2022 season, at just 22 years old, Munetaka Murakami delivered an outstanding performance in Japanese Professional Baseball League , becoming the youngest triple crown winner in NPB history with an astonishing 56 home runs, a .318 batting average, and 134 RBIs.
At that time, his overall rating in MLB 23 reached 99, earning him a collectible card in World Baseball Classic series.
However, his success was short-lived. In the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Munetaka Murakami's performance showed a significant decline, exposing his weaknesses. His batting average dropped to .256, and his home run count fell to 31. His biggest weakness was a high strikeout rate of 28.1%, which improved to 29.5% in the following 2024 season.
In the 2025 season, Munetaka Murakami only played 56 games due to injury, yet his strikeout rate remained high at 28.6%. This resulted in him only being listed as a regular player card in MLB 26 real-world card series, receiving a rating of 75. The decline in player ratings and the decrease in player card prices accurately reflect his current game performance.
Reality vs. Game
Of course, games cannot perfectly replicate reality. MLB 26 player ratings reflect the developers' trade-offs between realism and gameplay.
As mentioned above, Weekly Roster Update mechanism considers not only a player's game performance but also their influence. For example, Aaron Judge and Shohei Othtani have both won American League Most Valuable Player award, which is one reason for their high ratings.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays' first baseman, also had an excellent season. John Morousi even compared him to Aaron Judge, stating that he would become a superstar in the sport like Judge. However, he only received a 91 rating in MLB 26, demonstrating that Weekly Roster Update's rating mechanism is comprehensive.
In short, whether you watch real baseball games or not, and whether you know each player or not, if you want to understand each player's recent performance, you can get 80% of the information about them in MLB 26 by rating them using Weekly Roster Update mechanism.
At the same time, you can also use this mechanism to invest in players who are expected to perform well in real games but are undervalued in MLB 26, buying low and selling high to make a fortune.