Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz said he is the newest MLB The Show cover athlete. So did Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes and Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson.

De La Cruz broke his news in a video posted to social media on Monday where he expressed his excitement.

“What's up my people, this is Elly De La Cruz from the Cincinnati Reds and I'm excited to be on the cover of MLB The Show 25,” he announced in Spanish. “You already know I'mma beat everyone.”

Henderson shared a video of his own shortly after. In full uniform and in front of his Orioles locker, he challenged De La Cruz for the honor.

“What's up everyone?” Henderson began. “I heard that Elly was gonna be on the cover of MLB The Show 25. But I thought it was supposed to be me. So Elly, call me.”

Not to be outdone, Skenes came next, claiming both Henderson and De La Cruz are wrong.

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“What's up, this is Paul Skenes. Gunnar, Elly, I heard you guys are claiming the cover of The Show and I just want to let you know that the cover's mine. So let's settle this before the cover drops.”

It's not difficult to see what's happening here. The trio of MLB phenoms put the videos out in some sort of coordinated effort to tease the upcoming cover announcement. We just don't know what the actual announcement is. The most likely scenario is the three sharing the cover together, but The Show has yet to make an official announcement.

MLB The Show cover candidates represent an electrifying MLB future Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) plays a ground ball off the bat of Pittsburgh Pirates second base Nick Yorke (38) in the second inning of the MLB National League Game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. The Pirates led 1-0 after four innings.

Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesNo matter what the cover of The Show actually looks like, you really can't go wrong with the above trio. All three players are 23 or younger and have burst onto the scene, this season or last, in electrifying fashion.

De La Cruz came up in 2023 and hit for the cycle just two weeks later. Days after that, he became the first Reds player in a century to steal second, third and home in the same inning. As an encore, he hit 25 home runs and stole 67 bases in 2024, making him the first shortstop in MLB history to have a 20/60 season.

Meanwhile Skenes started 23 games for the Pirates in 2024 and finished his Rookie of the Year campaign with a sparkling 1.96 ERA and dominant 33.1% strikeout rate. He finished third in Cy Young voting and set the Pirates rookie record with 143 strikeouts in a season.

As for Henderson, the 2023 American League Rookie of the Year hit 25 home runs as a rookie, including the longest ever hit onto Eutaw Street at Camden Yards (462 feet). Somehow, he came back even stronger in 2024. He hit 37 home runs and hit .281, racking up 9.1 bWAR along the way. Henderson finished fourth in AL MVP voting.