MLB THE SHOW 27 FRANCHISE WISHLIST — More Customization, Dynamic Quirks & Deeper Franchise
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I’ve been playing MLB The Show Franchise for years, and one thing I would really love to see in MLB The Show 27 is a greater focus on customization, player development, and giving Franchise players control over the universe we create.
First, I want to give SDS credit for continuing to improve Franchise. The changes to trades, CPU roster logic, lineups, rotations, bullpen management, free agency, scouting, and other systems have made the mode better. However, I think the next major step for Franchise should be giving players more freedom to shape their own league and allowing the game world to evolve naturally over multiple seasons.
Editable and Dynamic Quirks
My biggest request is an overhaul to the quirk system in Franchise.
Please allow us to add and remove quirks from players through Edit Player.
Franchise is an offline mode and every save eventually becomes its own baseball universe. After several seasons, the MLB in my Franchise may look completely different from the real MLB. Players become superstars, prospects break out, veterans reinvent themselves, and unexpected players can become some of the best players in baseball.
The quirk system should be able to reflect that.
Ideally, I would love to see both editable quirks and dynamic quirks.
For example, if a player consistently dominates fastballs for multiple seasons, perhaps he can naturally earn Dead Red. If another player consistently excels against breaking pitches, he could develop Breaking Ball Hitter. Players could gain or lose appropriate quirks throughout their careers based on their performance and development.
At the same time, please give Franchise users the ability to manually edit those quirks. If we want complete realism, we can allow the dynamic system to handle everything. If we want complete customization, we can change them ourselves.
An option such as:
Edit Player → Quirks → Add / Remove
would add an enormous amount of freedom to Franchise without changing how anyone else chooses to play the mode.
Deeper Player Development
I would also love to see player development become more dynamic.
A player’s career should not feel predetermined primarily by his original overall, potential, and age.
If a B-potential prospect becomes one of the best young players in baseball for several seasons, his potential should have the possibility of increasing. Likewise, highly rated prospects who repeatedly struggle should not automatically develop into stars simply because they originally had A potential.
Give us development paths such as:
- Contact-focused hitter
- Power-focused hitter
- Five-tool development
- Defensive specialist
- Velocity-focused pitcher
- Control-focused pitcher
- Starting pitcher development
- Bullpen conversion
Performance, coaching, playing time, age, potential, injuries, and organizational development should all interact.
This would make every Franchise save different.
More Manager and CPU Customization
For players who enjoy watching CPU-vs-CPU games or acting as the general manager/manager rather than controlling every pitch and swing, more managerial customization would completely change Franchise.
Give us sliders or tendencies for individual managers such as:
Starting Pitcher Hook
Bullpen Hook
Platoon Frequency
Pinch-Hit Frequency
Steal Aggressiveness
Bunt Frequency
Defensive Substitution Frequency
Player Rest Frequency
Lineup Construction PhilosophyDifferent managers should genuinely manage differently.
A conservative manager should feel different from an aggressive manager. An analytics-heavy organization should construct its roster and lineups differently from a traditional organization.
And if users want complete control, let us edit those tendencies ourselves.
Real Advance Scouting
Another feature that would add tremendous immersion is advance scouting for upcoming opponents.
The current scouting system focuses heavily on amateur prospects and the draft, but MLB organizations also prepare extensively for the teams they are about to play.
Allow us to assign scouts to upcoming opponents and receive reports on:
- Probable starting pitchers
- Pitch usage and tendencies
- Hitter strengths and weaknesses
- Platoon splits
- Hot and cold hitters
- Bullpen usage
- Defensive strengths and weaknesses
- Baserunning tendencies
- Recent team performance
Imagine reaching September during a playoff race and having three important series against contenders coming up. Being able to prepare for those opponents would make those games feel significantly more meaningful.
Deeper Coaching and Organizational Identity
Coaches should also have a greater impact on development and team philosophy.
A great hitting coach could specialize in power, contact, plate discipline, or developing young hitters.
Pitching coaches could specialize in velocity, command, breaking pitches, stamina, or bullpen development.
Organizations could eventually develop identities.
One organization might become known for developing pitchers. Another might specialize in power hitters. Another might prioritize defense, speed, and athleticism.
That would make managing an organization over 10–20 seasons much more rewarding.
Expanded Contract Options
Contracts could also use additional MLB-style flexibility.
I would love to see:
- Player options
- Team options
- Mutual options
- Opt-outs
- No-trade clauses
- Signing bonuses
- Performance incentives
- Front-loaded contracts
- Back-loaded contracts
- Deferred money
Roster construction is one of the biggest parts of being an MLB general manager. Giving us more realistic contract tools would create much more strategy during long-term Franchise saves.
Give Franchise Players a True Sandbox
Ultimately, my biggest request for MLB The Show 27 is simple:
Please trust Franchise players with more control.
Let us customize our own offline baseball universe.
Give us deeper player editing. Let us edit quirks, potential, tendencies, contracts, positions, pitch repertoires, and other aspects of players.
Over time, I would also love to see greater league customization such as expansion, realignment, customizable divisions, playoff formats, schedules, league rules, and additional CPU behavior settings.
None of these options need to interfere with players who prefer a realistic MLB simulation. Make advanced customization optional. Players who want the default SDS experience can leave everything untouched, while players who enjoy creating their own baseball universe can have the tools to do so.
Franchise is special because a save eventually stops being a recreation of the real MLB and becomes your MLB.
The unexpected prospect who becomes a superstar.
The veteran who somehow continues dominating into his late 30s.
The dynasty that develops organically.
The division rival that becomes your biggest obstacle every October.
Those stories are why people can play the same Franchise for hundreds of hours and multiple in-game seasons.
SDS has already improved important pieces of Franchise. For MLB The Show 27, I would love to see the next step be player development, dynamic and editable quirks, deeper managerial logic, advance scouting, and significantly more customization.
Don’t just give us more ways to simulate Major League Baseball.
Give us the tools to build our own baseball history.
