For many players of MLB The Show 26, custom rosters are one of the most exciting and interesting parts of the game. Whether you’re updating real-life prospects that SDS missed, fixing “inaccurate” ratings, or building completely fictional dream teams, the roster editor gives you a ton of creative freedom. We’ve already seen some great community-created rosters in the roster vault so far.
With that said, while the creativity and expression from the community are great, there are some caveats to worry about. One of the offline roster designers at SDS has pointed out that official rosters are intentionally conservative with high-potential players. This is because those specific rosters are built for long-term Franchise balance. If you’re making a custom roster and pumping everyone’s potential sky high, you might unintentionally break the long-term health of your Franchise saves.
Why SDS Keeps Official Potential Conservative
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In MLB The Show 26, potential ratings play a big role. The developers, SDS, intentionally limit the number of true superstar prospects because they understand how potential and development systems work across multiple seasons. In real baseball, only a handful of players per draft class ever become legitimate stars. The Show wants to reflect that reality.
Potential also acts almost as an overall rating ceiling. For example, if a player has an 82 (B) for potential, it’s unlikely that when they reach 82 OVR, their rating will go above that. Well, at least not in the given season. Even if you have a player like this and they improve in one area, they may lose attributes in another.
If you start editing players and give every top prospect 90+ potential or bump up large groups of players into A or B tiers, you’re working against the system. Also, note that C-potential players develop noticeably slower. SDS has given lower potential ratings this time around, even giving some 1st round picks C potential. Again, this is to control the number of star players in the game, especially as you get into Year 4 or beyond.
How Custom Rosters Can Break Franchise Mode
As people bicker and argue over the potential ratings of their favorite players, many will raise potential ratings as a quick solution. However, keep in mind that just after a few seasons of heavy editing like this, the entire league can have a surplus of 90+ overall players by Year 5. Various teams will have multiple MVP candidates every season, which makes realistic builds almost impossible.
Now, if that is the type of franchise gameplay you’re going for, more power to you. We just want to make you aware of what the consequences can be of going this route. Many people will think of these highly-tuned custom rosters as a welcome change, but it helps to know exactly what you’re getting into. If you don’t want sim results to become inflated and unrealistic, be wary of some of these custom rosters.
How To Use Custom Rosters Without Ruining Your Save
Before we get into a few tips, remember that you can only fully edit real players (ratings, potential, etc) if you stat your Franchise in Full Control mode. If you choose the Streamlined option at the beginning, you lose the ability to make deep roster changes, demote/promote players freely, or edit existing MLB players. Thankfully, even if you do start a Steamlined Franchise, you can switch to Full Control without restarting from the Tasks tab.
Now, custom rosters can still be fun if you approach them thoughtfully. The key is to actually look closely at the rosters you get from the community or create yourself. A good idea would be to only boost potentials on players who realistically have star upside in real life. Also, try to be a bit conservative with A and B potential ratings, as these are supposed to be a bit rarer. You might also consider lowering some older veterans’ potential to reflect real aging curves.
At the end of the day, a little restraint now can make your Franchise saves fun and believable for the long run. If you care about realism, or just don’t want to turn the game into a superteam simulator, know what you’re getting into with custom rosters.
Published: Apr 3, 2026 02:30 pm