MLB The Show 25 is getting some cajun flavor.
Former LSU baseball star and current Pittsburgh Pirates megastar Paul Skenes will be joining the cover of MLB The Show 25, the baseball gaming franchise announced on Tuesday. Skenes will be joined by Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson and Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz for the 20th anniversary of the game.
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Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz was the first player to grace the video game’s cover when it debuted in 2006. Toronto Blue Jay superstar Vladamir Guerrero Jr. was on the cover last season. This year will mark the first year multiple players are on the cover.
Skenes, from Fullerton, California, helped lead the Tigers to a national championship in 2023, earning the College Baseball Most Outstanding Player award. He also earned the National Pitcher of the Year Award and the Dick Howser Trophy in 2023. Skenes was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB draft and debuted in MLB on May 11, 2024.
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He posted an 11-3 record to go along with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts with 170 strikeouts in 133 innings of work. Skenes, 22, is expected to be the face of the Pirates moving forward.
While Skenes will grace the cover for the first time, don’t expect him to go out of his way to play the video game.
“I never had a PlayStation growing up, and I stopped playing video games when I was nine or 10,” Skenes told USA TODAY. “I definitely see the value in it and all, and I have nothing against the game, but when I’m not playing baseball I don’t want to think about baseball.”
Henderson and De La Cruz are each 23 years old and have already established themselves as baseball’s future stars. Henderson is from Montgomery, Alabama, and was a one-time Auburn commit before being selected in the second round of the 2019 MLB draft. Henderson posted a .281 batting average to go with 31 home runs last season and was the 2023 Rookie of the Year.
“I was super pumped up,” Henderson said to USA TODAY. “I mean it’s really cool being able to be on that because it’s definitely going to be something that I hold near and dear to me, because I pretty much played video games my whole life.
“And now, to be able to be on the cover of a really big-time game is really cool.”
De La Cruz made his MLB debut in 2023 and was an All-Star for the first time in 2024 after hitting for a .259 batting average, 25 home runs and 67 stolen bases. The stolen bases led MLB.
MLB The Show 25 will be released on March 18 on various gaming platforms. Pre-orders start on Feb. 4. Opening Day for the 2025 MLB season is scheduled for March 27.
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