The Houston Astros rise to lead Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report, passing the leader of the previous two weeks, the New York Yankees.
Team rankings
Here are Box-Toppers 2018 season team rankings, through the games of Thursday, May 17. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players on the team accumulated this season. The column BTP/wk shows have many points teams accumulated from May 11 to May 16. The column Wk ago shows the team's rank as of May 10.| Teams | BTP | BTP/wk | Wk ago | |
| 1 | Astros | 38.5 | 5.7 | 2 |
| 2 | Yankees | 35.9 | 2.0 | 1 |
| 3 | Red Sox | 35.1 | 4.7 | 3 |
| 4 | Nationals | 33.5 | 5.2 | 5 |
| 5 | Braves | 30.8 | 4.7 | 7 |
| 6 | Diamondbacks | 30.0 | 1.0 | 4 |
| 7 | Angels | 29.7 | 3.0 | 6 |
| 8 | Pirates | 29.2 | 5.0 | 11 |
| 9 | Phillies | 28.6 | 3.7 | 9 |
| 10 | Cubs | 28.6 | 3.5 | 8 |
| 11 | Brewers | 28.4 | 5.0 | 13 |
| 12 | Rockies | 28.4 | 3.5 | 10 |
| 13 | Blue Jays | 26.9 | 3.0 | 12 |
| 14 | Indians | 26.7 | 4.0 | 15 |
| 15 | Mariners | 26.0 | 3.0 | 14 |
| 16 | Twins | 25.4 | 3.7 | 18 |
| 17 | Athletics | 25.2 | 4.5 | 20 |
| 18 | Giants | 24.9 | 3.0 | 17 |
| 19 | Cardinals | 24.5 | 2.0 | 16 |
| 20 | Dodgers | 23.6 | 2.0 | 19 |
| 21 | Tigers | 22.5 | 6.0 | 24 |
| 22 | Mets | 22.0 | 2.5 | 21 |
| 23 | Padres | 21.4 | 4.0 | 22 |
| 24 | Rays | 20.5 | 5.0 | 26 |
| 25 | Rangers | 19.4 | 2.7 | 23 |
| 26 | Marlins | 18.7 | 3.0 | 25 |
| 27 | Reds | 18.5 | 4.5 | 27 |
| 28 | Orioles | 16.9 | 3.5 | 28 |
| 29 | White Sox | 13.7 | 2.0 | 30 |
| 30 | Royals | 13.5 | 1.0 | 29 |
Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals rise to lead National League teams in Box-Toppers team rankings and the Detroit Tigers were the week’s hottest team.
Astros players have accumulated 38.5 Box-Toppers points through the games of May 17, rising from second place last week to lead all teams this week. They picked up 5.7 points in the past week. Through the games of May 17, they had baseball’s third-best winning percentage (.622), behind both the New York Yankees (.700) and Boston Red Sox (.682). The Yankees rank second in Box-Toppers team rankings (35.9 points) and the Red Sox rank third (35.1 points).
The Astros are led by pitcher Gerrit Cole with 10.0 Box-Toppers points, who ranks third among all players. There are three Astros pitchers among the overall top 10 in Box-Toppers points—Cole, Charlie Morton (ranked fourth with 8.4 points) and Justin Verlander (ranked ninth with 5.7 points). Astros’ top batter is Josh Reddick (2.5 points). Ten different Astros players have earned Player of the Game honors so far this season.
The Astros pass the Yankees for top spot. The Yankees, who earned only 2.0 Box-Toppers points in the past week, fall to second overall.
The Nationals rise to lead NL teams in Box-Toppers points with 33.5, picking up 5.2 in the past week. They rise from fifth place to fourth place overall and pass the Diamondbacks, the leader among NL teams for the previous four weeks. The Diamondbacks have 30.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, picking up just 1.0 point in the past week and falling from fourth to sixth among all teams, third among NL teams, behind both the Nationals and the Atlanta Braves (30.8 points).
Top player for the Nationals is pitcher Max Scherzer, who leads all players with 11.4 Box-Toppers points. Outfielder Bryce Harper leads Nationals batters with 3.0 points, sixth among NL batters. Eleven different Nationals players have earned Box-Toppers points so far in 2018.
The Detroit Tigers are the past week’s hottest team, picking up 6.0 Box-Toppers points in the past week, rising from 24th to 21st place with 22.5 points.
The Tigers are among three teams that rose three spots on the list, most of any team. The others:
The Pittsburgh Pirates rise from 11th to 8th place with 28.2 Box-Toppers points, picking up 5.0 points in the past week.
The Oakland Athletics rise from 20th to 17th with 25.2 Box-Toppers points, picking up 4.5 points in the past week.
The St. Louis Cardinals fell further than any team in the past week, dropping from 16th to 19th place with 24.5 Box-Toppers points, earning 2.0 points in the past week.
The Kansas City Royals fall from 29th to 30th and last place among all teams with 13.5 Box-Toppers points, picking up 1.0 point in the past week. Last week’s lowest-ranked team, the Chicago White Sox, rise to 29th place with 13.7 Box-Toppers points, picking up 2.0 points in the past week.
About Box-Toppers—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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