The Houston Astros maintain a big lead in Box-Toppers team rankings this week, leading for the third straight week.
Team rankings
Here are Box-Toppers 2019 season team rankings, through the games of Thursday, Aug. 8. 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. 2 to Aug. 8. The column Wk ago shows the team's rank as of Aug. 1.| Teams | BTP | BTP/wk | Wk ago | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Astros | 114.3 | +7.4 | 1 |
| 2 | Nationals | 95.9 | +8.5 | 3 |
| 3 | Dodgers | 94.3 | +6.5 | 2 |
| 4 | Rays | 88.8 | +3.0 | 4 |
| 5 | Yankees | 87.6 | +9.0 | 6 |
| 6 | Athletics | 85.1 | +3.0 | 5 |
| 7 | Indians | 83.9 | +6.0 | 8 |
| 8 | Twins | 82.5 | +5.0 | 9 |
| 9 | Cubs | 81.5 | +7.7 | 11 |
| 10 | Phillies | 80.0 | +2.0 | 7 |
| 11 | Braves | 79.3 | +2.0 | 10 |
| 12 | Red Sox | 76.1 | +3.0 | 12 |
| 13 | Brewers | 73.7 | +3.0 | 13 |
| 14 | Mets | 72.3 | +7.0 | 14 |
| 15 | Reds | 68.7 | +8.5 | 18 |
| 16 | Cardinals | 65.1 | 0.0 | 15 |
| 17 | Rockies | 64.7 | +2.0 | 16 |
| 18 | Rangers | 62.9 | +1.7 | 17 |
| 19 | Diamondbacks | 61.1 | +2.5 | 19 |
| 20 | Padres | 59.5 | +4.7 | 21 |
| 21 | White Sox | 58.9 | +5.5 | 23 |
| 22 | Angels | 58.4 | 0.0 | 20 |
| 23 | Giants | 54.2 | 0.0 | 22 |
| 24 | Pirates | 46.4 | +1.0 | 24 |
| 25 | Mariners | 46.0 | +1.0 | 25 |
| 26 | Marlins | 44.1 | +0.7 | 26 |
| 27 | Blue Jays | 42.5 | +4.0 | 28 |
| 28 | Royals | 40.2 | +1.7 | 27 |
| 29 | Orioles | 39.4 | +2.0 | 29 |
| 30 | Tigers | 33.4 | +2.0 | 30 |
Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals rise to lead National League teams, ending the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 10-week lead among NL teams. Plus, the New York Yankees are the week’s hottest team.
Astros players have accumulated 114.3 Box-Toppers points, picking up 7.4 in the past week. They lead the second-place Nationals by 18.4 points. The Astros have baseball’s third-best winning percentage (.652) behind the Yankees (.661) and Dodgers (.658). The Yankees are fifth in Box-Toppers team rankings (87.6) and the Dodgers are third (94.3).
The Astros are led by pitcher Justin Verlander, who has 20.8 Box-Toppers points, first among all players and AL pitchers. Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole is second in Box-Toppers player rankings (18.8 points). Top batter is Alex Bregman (8.0 points, second among AL batters). Twenty-five different Astros players have earned Box-Toppers points so far this season.
This is the fifth straight week the Astros have led AL teams. They’ve led AL teams 11 of the past 12 weeks, including leading all teams for five straight weeks from May 16 to June 13.
The Nationals rise to lead NL teams with 95.9 Box-Toppers points, picking up 8.5 points over the past week. The Nationals rise from third to second place overall, passing the Dodgers, who had led NL teams for 10 straight weeks.
The Nationals won four games this week and picked up another 3.5 Box-Toppers points this week by signing third baseman Asdrubal Cabrera, who earned 3.5 points this season before being released by the Texas Rangers.
Though the Nationals lead NL teams in Box-Toppers points, they are fourth among NL teams in winning percentage (.535), behind the Dodgers (.658), the Atlanta Braves (.581) and Chicago Cubs (.548). The Nationals are second in the NL East, 5 1/2 games behind the Braves, but currently hold the top NL Wild Card position. The Dodgers rank third among all teams in Box-Toppers points (94.3), while the Braves rank 11th (79.3) and the Cubs rank ninth (81.5).
The Nationals are led by pitcher Stephen Strasburg with 15.7 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players, second among NL pitchers and first among NL starting pitchers. Two other Nationals pitchers are among the overall top 10—Max Scherzer ranks seventh with 14.4 points and Patrick Corbin ranks ninth with 13.4. Top batter is Kurt Suzuki (4.5 Box-Toppers points), who ranks 27th among NL batters. Twenty-four different Nationals players have earned Box-Toppers points so far this season.
The New York Yankees are the week’s hottest team, picking up 9.0 Box-Toppers points in the past week, rising from sixth to fifth place overall with 87.6 points. Though the Yankees have baseball’s best winning percentage (.661) and lead the AL East by 10 1/2 games, they trail AL East rival Tampa Bay Rays in Box-Toppers points (87.6 vs. 88.8).
The Cincinnati Reds made the biggest rise in Box-Toppers team rankings, rising three spots from 18th to 15th place with 68.7 Box-Toppers points, picking up 8.5 points in the past week.
The Philadelphia Phillies had the biggest decline, falling three spots from seventh to 10th place with 80.0 points, picking up 2.0 points in the past week.
The Detroit Tigers maintain 30th and last place in Box-Toppers team rankings for the third straight week with 33.4 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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