Video games have evolved tremendously over the years and sports are one of the most popular gaming genres in the world. Many sports fans have become immersed in being able to use their favorite players to try and win a championship or play against their friends. Another large drawing point is an ability to create your own player and play alongside the best players in the world.

FIFA, NBA 2K, and Madden are the top 3 sports games on a yearly basis but as America’s pastime baseball wouldn’t be too far down the list. There are some years where MLB The Show more success has than others but a lot of that has to do with gameplay than anything else. As any gamer will tell you, a lot of times, the cover athlete for a game can drive sales.

Video games are very similar to DVDs as there is a picture that comes on the case and sometimes is even printed on the physical disc. For video games this image will also show on the thumbnail and on the loading screen. Some players will buy a game that they don’t intend to play often just because of the cover photo.

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Last January, they announced who the cover athlete for MLB The Show would be and many fans are expected for this year to be along a similar timeline. The announcement came in the last week of the month but could come at any time this year. Many fans of the game and baseball overall have started to speculate about who will grace this year’s cover.

Many fans have hinted that Tarik Skubal, the ace starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers will be the next MLB The Show cover athlete. Every year, they go looking for hints and Easter eggs to try and find out early and this year, they think they have it narrowed down.

Sports Illustrated via MSN reports:

Now that he is widely acknowledged by most as the best in the game today, he may be taking a major step for his personal brand. As pointed out by a user on X, the website for the popular video game MLB The Show has updated their site to reflect a background of blue and orange as they prepare to release the cover athlete. Now, it should of course be noted here that blue and orange could also be an indicator of a New York Mets cover athlete, with both Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto seeming like realistic possibilities as well. However, it certainly does seem to be a bit more navy and darker Detroit orange than Mets orange, and frankly, Skubal is the most deserving potential cover athlete in the game right now.

As of now these are all just rumors and guesses but there is one thing that could be in Skubal’s way of being the cover king, trade rumors. There have been rumors of Tarik Skubal being traded from Detroit so that may be something the MLB is monitoring but until then we will have to wait to see who graces the cover.

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