The Washington Nationals and the Detroit Tigers lead the way with the most players on Box-Toppers’ 2014 preseason all-star team.
The Nationals have four players on the National League team and the Tigers have three players on the American League team. The teams were selected based on which player had the highest Box-Toppers points total at their position in 2013. (The top three outfielders and top four starting pitchers in each league were also selected.)
Preseason All-Star Team
Here is Box-Toppers' 2014 preseason all-star team, featuring top players in each position in both the American and National Leagues. The column at right (BTP) shows the number of Box-Toppers points the player scored in 2013. Players are listed based on positions they primarily played during 2013. It is expected some players will change positions in 2014, including Miguel Cabrera, moving from third to first base. The bottom four lines list the top overall pitchers and batters in both leagues in 2013.| POS | PLAYER | TEAM | BTP |
|---|---|---|---|
| AL | |||
| 1B | Davis, Chris 2478 | bal al | 12.7 |
| 2B | Cano, Robinson 2092 | sea al | 12.5 |
| SS | Lowrie, Jed 2437 | oak al | 8.0 |
| 3B | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | det al | 16.9 |
| CA | McCann, Brian 2179 | nyy al | 7.0 |
| OF | Soriano, Alfonso 1445 | nyy al | 12.9 |
| OF | Raburn, Ryan 2340 | cle al | 9.5 |
| OF | Jones, Adam 2347 | bal al | 8.0 |
| DH | Ortiz, David | bos al | 12.4 |
| SP | Scherzer, Max 2588 | det al | 18.1 |
| SP | Sanchez, Anibal 2187 | det al | 17.1 |
| SP | Masterson, Justin 2462 | cle al | 16.4 |
| SP | Sale, Chris 2806 | chi al | 16.1 |
| CP | Holland, Greg 2906 | kc al | 11.0 |
| NL | |||
| 1B | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | ari nl | 13.7 |
| 2B | Murphy, Daniel 2589 | nym nl | 8.5 |
| SS | Desmond, Ian 2673 | dc nl | 5.5 |
| 3B | Zimmerman, Ryan 2180 | dc nl | 9.2 |
| CA | Ramos, Wilson 2904 | dc nl | 7.5 |
| OF | Cuddyer, Michael 1826 | col nl | 11.5 |
| OF | Gonzalez, Carlos 2460 | col nl | 11.0 |
| OF | Harper, Bryce 3011 | dc nl | 9.4 |
| SP | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | lad nl | 21.7 |
| SP | Wainwright, Adam 2150 | stl nl | 20.2 |
| SP | Greinke, Zack 1871 | lad nl | 19.4 |
| SP | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | fla nl | 19.0 |
| CP | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | atl nl | 12.7 |
| ALMVP | Scherzer, Max 2588 | det al | 18.1 |
| ALBAT | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | det al | 16.9 |
| NLMVP | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | lad nl | 21.7 |
| NLBAT | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | ari nl | 13.7 |
The four Nationals players include:
• Shortstop Ian Desmond, who had 5.5 Box-Toppers points in 2013.
• Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman with 9.2.
• Catcher Wilson Ramos with 7.5.
• Outfielder Bryce Harper with 9.4.
The three Tigers players include:
• Third baseman Miguel Cabrera with 16.9 (Cabrera is slated to move to first base for the 2014 season).
• Starting pitcher Max Scherzer with 18.1.
• Starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez with 17.1.
If Cabrera’s move to first base were taken into account, he would bump Chris Davis of the Orioles (12.7 Box-Toppers points) from the AL first base all-star spot. Cabrera’s third base spot would be filled by Josh Donaldson of the Athletics, who had the second-most points among AL third basemen in 2013 with 9.5.
The NL team is led by overall Box-Toppers points leader for 2013, pitcher Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, who had 21.7 points. The top NL batter is first baseman Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks, who had 13.7 Box-Toppers points in 2013.
Scherzer led all AL players with 18.1 Box-Toppers points and Cabrera’s 16.9 led all AL batters.
Five other teams had two players on the all-star teams, the Orioles, the Yankees, the Indians, the Rockies and the Dodgers.
Two of the all-stars are on new teams in 2014:
• AL second baseman Robinson Cano (12.5 points) moved from the Yankees to the Mariners.
• AL catcher Brian McCann (7.0 points) moved from the Braves to the Yankees.
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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.
What are those numbers after players' names?