Top 100 players of 2020
Here are Box-Toppers Top 100 players of 2020, ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP).| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 2 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cin nl | 10.0 |
| 3 | Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | chi nl | 9.7 |
| 4 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | tex al | 9.1 |
| 5 | Lamet, Dinelson 3808 | pi sp | sd nl | 9.0 |
| 6 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 7 | Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | min al | 8.4 |
| 8 | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 8.0 |
| 9 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.7 |
| 10 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 7.7 |
| 11 | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 7.7 |
| 12 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 7.4 |
| 13 | Giolito, Lucas 3900 | pi sp | chi al | 7.0 |
| 14 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 7.0 |
| 15 | Bundy, Dylan 3655 | pi sp | ana al | 7.0 |
| 16 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | oak al | 6.4 |
| 17 | Ryu, Hyun Jin 3139 | pi sp | tor al | 6.0 |
| 18 | Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.0 |
| 19 | Montas, Frankie 3803 | pi sp | oak al | 6.0 |
| 20 | Lopez, Pablo 4028 | pi sp | fla nl | 6.0 |
| 21 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.0 |
| 22 | Voit, Luke 4053 | 1b | nyy al | 6.0 |
| 23 | Keller, Brad 4008 | pi sp | kc al | 6.0 |
| 24 | Walker, Taijuan 3453 | pi sp | tor al | 6.0 |
| 25 | Buehler, Walker 3943 | pi sp | lad nl | 5.7 |
| 26 | Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | atl nl | 5.7 |
| 27 | Gonzales, Marco 3408 | pi sp | sea al | 5.7 |
| 28 | Jimenez, Eloy 4107 | lf | chi al | 5.5 |
| 29 | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | pi sp | cin nl | 5.0 |
| 30 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 5.0 |
| 31 | Kepler, Max 3664 | rf | min al | 5.0 |
| 32 | Tucker, Kyle 4277 | lf | hou al | 5.0 |
| 33 | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | pi sp | stl nl | 4.7 |
| 34 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | cin nl | 4.7 |
| 35 | Valdez, Framber 4048 | pi sp mr | hou al | 4.7 |
| 36 | Gonsolin, Tony 4211 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.7 |
| 37 | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | oak al | 4.7 |
| 38 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf dh | atl nl | 4.5 |
| 39 | Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362 | 1b dh 3b | dc nl | 4.5 |
| 40 | Trout, Mike 2949 | cf | ana al | 4.5 |
| 41 | Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b | chi al | 4.5 |
| 42 | Anderson, Tim 3659 | ss | chi al | 4.5 |
| 43 | Grisham, Trent 4246 | cf | sd nl | 4.5 |
| 44 | Plesac, Zach 4168 | pi sp | cle al | 4.4 |
| 45 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 4.0 |
| 46 | Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | nyy al | 4.0 |
| 47 | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | pi sp | ari nl | 4.0 |
| 48 | Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b ph | min al | 4.0 |
| 49 | Hendriks, Liam 3339 | pi cp | oak al | 4.0 |
| 50 | Brault, Steven 3911 | pi sp | pit nl | 4.0 |
| 51 | Turnbull, Spencer 4086 | pi sp | det al | 4.0 |
| 52 | Mills, Alec 4052 | pi sp | chi nl | 4.0 |
| 53 | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | pi sp | bos al | 4.0 |
| 54 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 4.0 |
| 55 | Duvall, Adam 3573 | lf dh rf ph | atl nl | 4.0 |
| 56 | Candelario, Jeimer 4025 | 1b 3b | det al | 4.0 |
| 57 | Rosenthal, Trevor 3124 | pi cp | sd nl | 4.0 |
| 58 | Ruf, Darin 3575 | lf dh | sf nl | 4.0 |
| 59 | Bard, Daniel 2657 | pi cp mr | col nl | 4.0 |
| 60 | Foster, Matt 4281 | pi mr | chi al | 4.0 |
| 61 | McKenzie, Triston 4303 | pi sp | cle al | 4.0 |
| 62 | Singer, Brady 4337 | pi sp | kc al | 4.0 |
| 63 | Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | tb al | 3.7 |
| 64 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 3.7 |
| 65 | Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 3.7 |
| 66 | Belt, Brandon 2943 | 1b | sf nl | 3.7 |
| 67 | Chatwood, Tyler 2856 | pi sp cp mr | chi nl | 3.7 |
| 68 | Heyward, Jason 2695 | rf | chi nl | 3.7 |
| 69 | Akin, Keegan 4320 | pi sp | bal al | 3.7 |
| 70 | Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b ph | atl nl | 3.5 |
| 71 | Realmuto, J.T. 3491 | ca | phi nl | 3.5 |
| 72 | Biggio, Cavan 4183 | 2b rf | tor al | 3.5 |
| 73 | Reyes, Franmil 4036 | dh | cle al | 3.5 |
| 74 | Gregorius, Didi 3184 | ss | phi nl | 3.5 |
| 75 | LeMahieu, DJ 3091 | 2b | nyy al | 3.5 |
| 76 | Rojas, Miguel 3642 | ss | fla nl | 3.5 |
| 77 | Davis, J.D. 4146 | lf 3b dh | nym nl | 3.5 |
| 78 | Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b dh | cle al | 3.5 |
| 79 | Seager, Corey 3587 | ss | lad nl | 3.5 |
| 80 | Heaney, Andrew 3515 | pi sp | ana al | 3.4 |
| 81 | Paddack, Chris 4093 | pi sp | sd nl | 3.0 |
| 82 | Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224 | dh | min al | 3.0 |
| 83 | Yarbrough, Ryan 3962 | pi mr sp | tb al | 3.0 |
| 84 | Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | min al | 3.0 |
| 85 | Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | col nl | 3.0 |
| 86 | Vogelbach, Daniel 4070 | dh 1b | mil nl | 3.0 |
| 87 | Grichuk, Randal 3474 | cf | tor al | 3.0 |
| 88 | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 3.0 |
| 89 | Lugo, Seth 3729 | pi sp cp | nym nl | 3.0 |
| 90 | Turner, Trea 3730 | ss | dc nl | 3.0 |
| 91 | Ponce de Leon, Daniel 4037 | pi sp | stl nl | 3.0 |
| 92 | Reynolds, Bryan 4169 | lf | pit nl | 3.0 |
| 93 | Smith, Will 4175 | ca | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 94 | Tatis, Fernando Jr. 4101 | ss | sd nl | 3.0 |
| 95 | Taylor, Chris 3684 | ss 2b lf | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 96 | Tellez, Rowdy 4078 | 1b dh | tor al | 3.0 |
| 97 | Chavis, Michael 4127 | 1b lf | bos al | 3.0 |
| 98 | Senzatela, Antonio 3760 | pi sp | col nl | 3.0 |
| 99 | Pollock, A.J. 3142 | lf dh cf | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 100 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp mr | kc al | 3.0 |
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Indians pitcher Shane Bieber tops Box-Toppers list of the top 100 players of 2020.
Bieber had 11.4 Box-Toppers points during the pandemic-shortened regular season. And because it was such a short season—reduced from 162 games to 60—it is the lowest total to lead all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, beating the previous low set by Royals pitcher Zack Greinke, who led all players with 21.5 points in 2009.
Bieber was on pace to earn 30.8 Box-Toppers points in a regular, 162-game season, which would be the eighth-highest single-season point total since 1995. But players rarely consistently pace at the same rate earning Box-Toppers points through a season, plus 60 games is a pretty small sample size to extrapolate performance over an entire 162-game season.
One could take the point totals from the 60-game 2020 season and multiply them by 2.7 to get a sense of what players might have earned over an entire 162 game season. But for the purposes of this post, we’ll stick to what players actually earned during the course of the 60 games played.
Bieber earned his 11.4 Box-Toppers points by being Box-Toppers Player of the Game in eight of the Indians 35 wins, earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point each time. In addition, he earned bonus points:
Twice for being American League Player of the Day (0.7 extra points each time, for a total of 1.4 more Box-Toppers points).
Twice for being overall Player of the Day (1.0 extra point each time, for a total of 2.0 more Box-Toppers points).
Bieber earned the win in seven of his eight Player of the Game honors. He picked up a no-decision on Sept. 23, but still was Player of the Game.
Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer ranked second overall in Box-Toppers points, first among all National League players, with 10.0 points. Bauer won Player of the Game honors six times, including earning Player of the Day honors four times.
Both Bieber and Bauer won their league’s Cy Young Awards for top pitchers in 2020.
It took 3.0 Box-Toppers points for a player to make the top 100 list in the pandemic-shortened 60-game 2020 season. By contrast, in the 2019 season in which 162 games were played, the 100th-ranked player had 7.5 Box-Toppers points.
Box-Toppers points are a measure of how much a player provides key contributions to his teams win. Specifically, Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
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Here are some other highlights from the top 100 list:
12. Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, who led all players in 2019 with 32.2 Box-Toppers points, had 7.4 points in 2020, fifth among AL pitchers.
22. Luke Voit of the Yankees led all batters and all AL batters with 6.0 Box-Toppers points. While it is a pandemic-shortened season, that’s the lowest total to lead all AL batters in any season, beating the record set in 2017, when Edwin Encarnacion of the Indians led AL batters with 12.1 points.
32. Kyle Tucker of the Astros had the most Box-Toppers points (5.0) of all players who made their Box-Toppers debut in 2020. Tucker made his Major League debut in 2018 and his rookie status was exceeded in 2019, but he did not earn his first career Player of the Game honor until 2020. He ranked fourth among AL batters.
36. Dodgers pitcher Tony Gonsolin had the most Box-Toppers points (4.7) among all NL rookies. However, he finished fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
37. Athletics pitcher Jesus Luzardo had the most Box-Toppers points (4.7) among all AL rookies. However, he finished 10th in AL Rookie of the Year voting. (While Gonsolin and Luzardo both had 4.7 points in 2020, Gonsolin ranked one spot higher because he had more 2019 points—3.0 vs. 0.0.)
41. Jose Abreu of the White Sox was voted AL Most Valuable Player. He had 4.5 Box-Toppers points, sixth among AL batters, but just 1.5 points behind Voit.
70. Freddie Freeman of the Braves was voted NL Most Valuable Player. He had 3.5 Box-Toppers points, eighth among NL batters, but just 1.0 point behind Ozuna.
Box-Toppers tends to favor pitchers, so most of the top 100 players are pitchers (62). However, that’s fewer than in either of the previous two full seasons—2019 (71) and 2018 (82).
Here is a breakdown of this year’s top 100 players by their primary position:
56—Starting pitcher
14—Outfield (8 LF, 3 CF, 3 RF)
8—First base
7—Shortstop
4—Closing pitcher
3—Designated hitter
2—Second base
2—Third base
2—Catcher
2—Middle relief pitcher
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The World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers had the most players among the top 100—seven:
7. Clayton Kershaw, starting pitcher, 7.7 points.
26. Walker Buehler, starting pitcher, 5.7 points.
37. Tony Gonsolin, starting pitcher, 4.7 points.
80. Corey Seager, shortstop, 3.5 points.
94. Will Smith, catcher, 3.0 points.
96. Chris Taylor, infielder/outfielder, 3.0 points.
99. AJ Pollock, outfielder, designated hitter, 3.0 points.
Two other teams each had six players among the top 100—the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians. All 30 teams had at least one player among the top 100. Three teams had just one player on the list—the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers.
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In the pandemic-shortened, 60-game 2020 season, 497 different players earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. There are 129 players who have more than 2.0 Box-Toppers points. There were two players who had 10.0 or more points. There are 96 players who made their Box-Toppers debut this season, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors.
Here are comparisons with those numbers from recent seasons:
Players earning Player of the Game honors—2019 (767), 2018 (744), 2017 (763), 2016 (730), 2015 (751), 2014 (722).
Players earning more than 2.0 Box-Toppers points—2019 (400), 2018 (400), 2017 (409), 2016 (395), 2015 (402), 2014 (399).
Players earning 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points—2019 (44), 2018 (52), 2017 (38), 2016 (54), 2015 (47), 2014 (58).
Players making their Box-Toppers debut—2019 (184), 2018 (175), 2017 (169), 2016 (151), 2015 (172), 2014 (135).
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Related: Top 100 players in 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014.