MLB The Show 24: How to Improve Your Ballplayer in Road to the Show

Looking for how to improve your Ballplayer in Road to the Show in MLB The Show 24? The Ballplayer mechanic introduced in previous releases has been further improved in San Diego Studio's baseball simulation this year, allowing you to create multiple different players for use in Road to the Show, as well as a female athlete for the first time. Similarly to previous iterations, you'll improve your Ballplayer by completing Skill Set Programs, and you'll be able to create different Playstyles that fit your needs. As part of our MLB The Show 24 guide, we're going to explain how to improve your Ballplayer in Road to the Show.

How Do You Improve Your Ballplayer in Road to the Show in MLB The Show 24?

On this page, we're going to explain how to improve your Ballplayer in Road to the Show in MLB The Show 24. It's worth noting that you can create multiple different Ballplayers, each fulfilling different roles and positions on the field. However, your progress will be restricted to Road to the Show, where you'll advance Programs that unlock better Archetypes and Perks, allowing you to build Playstyles that buff your ratings in key areas.

How to Create a Ballplayer

If this is your first time playing, you'll need to create a Ballplayer by starting a new game in Road to the Show. You can have multiple different save files and Ballplayers if you like, and this year you can choose between a male or female athlete.

When you Create Ballplayer, you'll need to determine your Playstyle. You can choose to be a Pitcher, Position Player, or Two-Way Player. It's worth noting that selecting Two-Way Player from the beginning will give you a better opportunity to do a bit of everything in the game, but it's really up to you how you want to play.

Whatever you select, you'll need to pick a position focus and/or pitching focus, as well as a fielding position and/or pitching position, which will help to determine your starting Program. For the purposes of this guide, we went with Two-Way Player, focusing on the Shortstop and Closing Pitcher positions, with an emphasis on Velocity and Power. All this determines your starting Skill Set, and you can then add Perks to greater personalise your Playstyle.

How to Change Your Ballplayer's Loadout

Once you've created a Ballplayer, you can create different Playstyles to suit various different situations. For example, if you need Speed to steal bases, then attach Perks like Speed I to further boost that playing style. You can also attach Equipment to your Ballplayer which gives further Speed advantages, like different cleats.

If you select your Ballplayer from the Road to the Show menu then browse to Playstyles then you can Create New. This allows you to personalise your player in a different way. Here you can create a completely different Playstyle that allows your Ballplayer to excel in different areas, such as Power or whatever you require.

How to Improve Your Ballplayer's Ratings

Now that you've created a Ballplayer, you'll want to know how to improve your Ballplayer's ratings. Ratings determine how your Ballplayer performs on the field. As mentioned above, your Skill Set and Perks assigned to your Playstyle will play a big part in this. However, there are additional ways you can improve your Ballplayer's ratings, which include playing Road to the Show, attaching Equipment, and completing Skill Set Programs.

Simply progressing through Road to the Show matches will help you to increase your base ratings by performing well on the field. Regardless of your position, hitting the ball into play, pitching strikeouts, and even showing discipline at the plate will boost your ratings up to a maximum of 50. You'll also have opportunities on rest days to train a particular attribute by visiting the Batting Cage or Bullpen. It's up to you to determine what you want to focus on, but as you make your way up to the big leagues, your Ballplayer's attributes will grow with you. You'll also encounter Dynamic Challenges during big moments in matches, which will allow you to further advance attributes if you fulfil the requirements of your chosen mission.

Remember, you can also attach Equipment to boost your Ballplayer's ratings as well. Select your Ballplayer from the Road to the Show menu and browse to Playstyle > Equipment to change your gear. Generally you're going to want to equip Equipment that complements your Playstyle, so if you're a speedy player then ensure you have some good Cleats on and so on.

Finally, you're going to want to progress your Skill Set Program. Go back to your Ballplayer's profile and select Playstyle. Scroll down to your Skill Set and select See Tasks and Rewards. As you play matches in Road to the Show, you'll complete Road to the Show Missions which will reward you with Skill Set Points. These unlock new Packs along the way, which include additional Perks and Equipment, as well as Stubs. Once you reach the end of an Skill Set Program, you'll unlock an even better version of your Skill Set, which will award you with an even greater boost to your base ratings and a brand new Program to work on.

At the end of a match or series, you'll be able to see which parts of the Skill Set Program you advanced, and if you unlocked any rewards they'll be shown here. Remember to push the touchpad to bring up the quick menu and select My Collection > My Inventory > My Packs to open any packs you may have unlocked.

It's also worth noting that you can purchase some Perks with Stubs from the Community Market. Push the touchpad to bring up the quick menu and then select My Collection > Community Market > Equipment & Perks > Perks. Depending on how good the Perks are, these may cost quite a lot of Stubs, but can give you a huge boost to your Ballplayer's performance. Remember to equip any Perks or Equipment that you purchase to your Playstyle in order to benefit from the statistical upgrade.

Do you have any other tips for how to improve your Ballplayer in Road to the Show in MLB The Show 24? Take a look at our MLB The Show 24 guide, and let us know in the comments section below.