Jose Fernandez was not just an elite pitcher, but he twice was a midseason leader in Box-Toppers player rankings and was contending for the season-ending lead this year.
Jose Fernandez’ Box-Toppers points leads
Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez twice led all players in Box-Toppers points. This chart shows when he took the season points lead and his Box-Toppers point (BTP) total at the time. It also shows who passed him and when and that player’s Box-Toppers point total at the time he passed him.| Date taking lead |
Player | Team | BTP |
| 9/6/2013 | Jose Fernandez | Marlins | 19.0 |
| 9/18/2013 | Adam Wainwright | Cardinals | 19.2 |
| 4/29/2014 | Jose Fernandez | Marlins | 7.0 |
| 5/2/2014 | Troy Tulowitzki | Rockies | 7.4 |
Fernandez, who was killed Sept. 25 in a boating accident at the age of 24, nearly led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2013, his rookie season.
On Sept. 6, 2013, Fernandez took the overall season Box-Toppers points lead when he reached 19.0 points for 2013. It was the first time he took the lead and with only a few weeks to go in the season, he had a seemingly good shot of winning Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors.
However, that was to be his final start of 2013 to protect his arm and because his team, the Miami Marlins, was out of playoff contention. So though he narrowly led in Box-Toppers points for nearly two weeks, even Box-Toppers conceded he probably would not win the National League Cy Young Award that year.
Finally, on Sept. 18, 2013, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright passed Fernandez in Box-Toppers points, reaching 19.2. Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw took the lead from Wainwright on Sept. 22, 2013, reaching 20.7 Box-Toppers points and held on to lead all players with 21.7 points in 2013. Wainwright finished second with 20.2 and Fernandez finished fourth with 19.0, behind third-place player, Zack Greinke of the Dodgers (19.4).
Then in 2014, Fernandez led in Box-Toppers points earlier in the season. On April 29, 2014, Fernandez earned Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors and took the lead with 7.0 Box-Toppers points, passing previous leader Wainwright (6.0). His stay at the top was brief. On May 2, 2014, Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies passed Fernandez, reaching 7.4 Box-Toppers points.
Fernandez made two more starts in May 2014 (and did not earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in either) before going on the disabled list May 12 with an injury that would end his 2014 season, forcing him to undergo Tommy John surgery.
In 2015, he opened the season on the disabled list and did not start until July 2. He had another disabled-list stint in August, returning in September and ended that year with just 4.7 Box-Toppers points.
However, in 2016, Fernandez was a contender for the overall lead late in the season, though he had not held the lead at any point. On Sept. 22, 2016, with just over a week to go in the season, Fernandez was listed as one of just five players who had the chance to end the season with the Box-Toppers points lead. Fernandez ranked third among all players in points with 22.4, which was just 2.3 points behind the leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, who at the time had 24.7.
Fernandez briefly rose to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings in 2016. On Sept. 9, 2016, he passed Kershaw (20.0) with 20.4 Box-Toppers points. But Kershaw regained second place on Sept. 14, reaching 21.0 points.
Fernandez earned his final Box-Toppers points on Sept. 20, 2016, in his final start. He earned Player of the Day honors worth 2.0 Box-Toppers points, giving him 22.4 for the season, maintaining his spot in third place among all players, just 1.3 points behind overall leader Scherzer (then with 23.7).
Fernandez made his Major League debut April 7, 2013. He made his Box-Toppers debut April 13, 2013, with his first Player of the Game honor. The next time he earned Player of the Game honors on May 4, 2013, he also won his first overall Player of the Day honor.