The Boston Red Sox maintain their lead in Box-Toppers team rankings for the fourth straight week.
Team rankings
Here are Box-Toppers 2018 season team rankings, through the games of Thursday, Aug. 23. 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 Aug. 17 to Aug. 23. The column Wk ago shows the team's rank as of Aug. 16.| Teams | BTP | BTP/wk | Wk ago | |
| 1 | Red Sox | 121.5 | 5.0 | 1 |
| 2 | Yankees | 105.6 | 4.0 | 2 |
| 3 | Astros | 101.1 | 3.5 | 3 |
| 4 | Indians | 101.0 | 4.4 | 4 |
| 5 | Athletics | 96.6 | 7.0 | 6 |
| 6 | Diamondbacks | 95.4 | 6.0 | 7 |
| 7 | Cubs | 95.3 | 5.0 | 5 |
| 8 | Phillies | 91.6 | 4.7 | 11 |
| 9 | Dodgers | 91.6 | 2.0 | 8 |
| 10 | Braves | 91.1 | 4.7 | 12 |
| 11 | Brewers | 91.0 | 3.7 | 10 |
| 12 | Cardinals | 90.8 | 10.0 | 14 |
| 13 | Mariners | 89.8 | 2.0 | 9 |
| 14 | Rockies | 83.5 | 5.5 | 15 |
| 15 | Nationals | 79.8 | -2.5 | 13 |
| 16 | Pirates | 74.1 | 2.0 | 16 |
| 17 | Giants | 72.0 | 2.0 | 17 |
| 18 | Twins | 69.7 | 4.5 | 18 |
| 19 | Angels | 66.3 | 1.5 | 19 |
| 20 | Mets | 61.2 | 5.2 | 20 |
| 21 | Marlins | 59.1 | 4.5 | 21 |
| 22 | Rays | 58.9 | 5.0 | 22 |
| 23 | Reds | 57.0 | 4.0 | 23 |
| 24 | Rangers | 56.4 | 4.2 | 24 |
| 25 | Tigers | 51.7 | 3.0 | 25 |
| 26 | Blue Jays | 51.6 | 4.0 | 26 |
| 27 | White Sox | 50.0 | 4.2 | 27 |
| 28 | Padres | 42.7 | 2.0 | 28 |
| 29 | Royals | 37.7 | 1.0 | 29 |
| 30 | Orioles | 35.4 | 1.0 | 30 |
Meanwhile, the Arizona Diamondbacks squeak past the Chicago Cubs to top National League teams and the St. Louis Cardinals are the week’s hottest team.
Red Sox players have accumulated 121.5 Box-Toppers points through the games of Aug. 23, picking up 5.0 points in the past week. They also have baseball’s best winning percentage (.698).
The Red Sox are led by pitcher Chris Sale with 20.1 Box-Toppers points, who ranks second in Box-Toppers season player rankings. Top batter is J.D. Martinez (11.5 points), who ranks first among American League batters. Twenty-one different Red Sox players have earned Player of the Game honors so far this season.
The Arizona Diamondbacks rise to top NL teams with 95.4 Box-Toppers points, picking up 6.0 points in the past week, rising from seventh to sixth place overall. They pass last week’s leaders, the Chicago Cubs, who fall from fifth to seventh place overall with 95.3 points—just 0.1 behind the Diamondbacks. The Cubs picked up 5.0 points in the past week.
Top player for the Diamondbacks is pitcher Patrick Corbin (15.0 Box-Toppers points), who ranks 11th among all players, third among NL pitchers. David Peralta leads Cubs batters with 8.5 Box-Toppers points, first among NL batters. Twenty-three different Cubs players have earned Box-Toppers points so far in 2018.
The St. Louis Cardinals are the week’s hottest team, picking up 10.0 Box-Toppers points in the past week, giving them 90.8 points for the season, rising from 14th place last week to 12th place this week.
The Cardinals pick up 6.0 of the 10.0 points they earned this week in five wins. They earned the rest by acquiring first baseman Matt Adams this week from the Washington Nationals, who has earned 4.0 points this season.
The Nationals experience the biggest net loss in Box-Toppers points since last week, with a net loss of 2.5 points, the only team this week with a net loss. The Nationals traded away two players who had earned a combined total of 5.5 points this season—Adams, with 4.0, who went to the Cardinals and second baseman Daniel Murphy (1.5 points) who went to the Cubs.
The Nationals fall from 13th to 15th place in team rankings with 79.8 points. As recently as June 22, they led NL teams in team rankings, a position they held for six straight weeks. The Nationals were also Box-Toppers’ preseason pick to win the NL.
The Philadelphia Phillies make the biggest jump up Box-Toppers rankings this week, climbing three spots from 11th to eighth place with 91.6 points, picking up 4.7 in the past week.
The Seattle Mariners drop the furthest of any team, falling four spots from ninth to 13th place with 89.8 points, picking up 2.0 points in the past week.
One other team joining the top 10 this week: The Atlanta Braves rise from 12th to 10th place with 91.1 points, picking up 4.7 in the past week. One other team falling from the top 10 this week: The Milwaukee Brewers fall from 10th to 11th place with 91.0 points, picking up 3.7 points in the past week.
The Baltimore Orioles remain in 30th and last place for the fifth straight week with 35.4 Box-Toppers points, picking up 1.0 point 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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