| American League | National League | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starters | Starters | |||||||||
| Pos | Player | Team | BTP | Rank | Pos | Player | Team | BTP | Rank | |
| CA | Salvador Perez | Royals | 2.0 | 298 | CA | # Buster Posey | Giants | 4.0 | 124 | |
| 1B | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | Blue Jays | 2.7 | 199 | 1B | Freddie Freeman | Braves | 3.5 | 142 | |
| 2B | Marcus Semien | Blue Jays | 5.2 | 66 | 2B | Adam Frazier | Pirates | 0.0 | 966 | |
| 3B | Rafael Devers | Red Sox | 6.5 | 48 | 3B | Nolan Arenado | Cardinals | 5.0 | 75 | |
| SS | Xander Bogaerts | Red Sox | 6.5 | 49 | SS | Fernando Tatis Jr. | Padres | 5.5 | 63 | |
| OF | # Mike Trout | Angels | 1.0 | 391 | OF | # Ronald Acuna Jr. | Braves | 1.0 | 422 | |
| OF | Aaron Judge | Yankees | 3.0 | 157 | OF | Nick Castellanos | Reds | 8.0 | 26 | |
| OF | Teoscar Hernandez | Blue Jays | 0.0 | 673 | OF | Jesse Winker | Reds | 5.0 | 71 | |
| DH | Shohei Ohtani | Angels | 8.4 | 24 | ||||||
| Reserves | Reserves | |||||||||
| Pos | Player | Team | BTP | Rank | Pos | Player | Team | BTP | Rank | |
| CA | Mike Zunino | Rays | 1.0 | 484 | CA | # Yadier Molina | Cardinals | 2.0 | 257 | |
| 1B | Matt Olson | Athletics | 4.5 | 95 | CA | Omar Narvaez | Brewers | 1.5 | 360 | |
| 1B | Jared Walsh | Angels | 5.0 | 80 | CA | J.T. Realmuto | Phillies | 2.5 | 212 | |
| 2B | # Jose Altuve | Astros | 3.0 | 184 | 1B | Max Muncy | Dodgers | 3.5 | 144 | |
| 2B | Whit Merrifield | Royals | 3.5 | 148 | 2B | Ozzie Albies | Braves | 4.0 | 116 | |
| 3B | Jose Ramirez | Cleveland | 6.0 | 52 | 2B | Jake Cronenworth | Padres | 3.0 | 191 | |
| SS | Tim Anderson | White Sox | 2.0 | 243 | 3B | Kris Bryant | Cubs | 1.5 | 350 | |
| SS | Bo Bichette | Blue Jays | 3.5 | 150 | 3B | Eduardo Escobar | Diamondbacks | 2.5 | 221 | |
| SS | # Carlos Correa | Astros | 3.0 | 169 | 3B | Manny Machado | Padres | 5.9 | 57 | |
| SS | Joey Wendle | Rays | 1.7 | 328 | 3B | Justin Turner | Dodgers | 2.7 | 200 | |
| OF | # Michael Brantley | Astros | 2.0 | 272 | SS | Brandon Crawford | Giants | 5.5 | 64 | |
| OF | Joey Gallo | Rangers | 2.5 | 230 | SS | Trea Turner | Nationals | 1.0 | 398 | |
| OF | Adolis Garcia | Rangers | 4.0 | 133 | OF | # Mookie Betts | Dodgers | 2.0 | 251 | |
| OF | Cedric Mullins | Orioles | 3.5 | 151 | OF | Bryan Reynolds | Pirates | 7.0 | 34 | |
| DH | Nelson Cruz | Twins | 1.5 | 337 | OF | # Kyle Schwarber | Nationals | 3.0 | 168 | |
| DH | J.D. Martinez | Red Sox | 9.7 | 15 | OF | Juan Soto | Nationals | 2.5 | 216 | |
| OF | Chris Taylor | Dodgers | 2.0 | 247 | ||||||
| Pitchers | Pitchers | |||||||||
| Pos | Player | Team | BTP | Rank | Pos | Player | Team | BTP | Rank | |
| CP | Matt Barnes | Red Sox | 5.0 | 78 | SP | Walker Buehler | Dodgers | 8.0 | 25 | |
| SP | Chris Bassitt | Athletics | 9.7 | 9 | SP | Corbin Burnes | Brewers | 7.4 | 32 | |
| SP | # Shane Bieber | Cleveland | 6.7 | 39 | SP | # Yu Darvish | Padres | 10.4 | 8 | |
| CP | Aroldis Chapman | Yankees | 3.0 | 173 | SP | # Jacob deGrom | Mets | 16.7 | 1 | |
| SP | Gerrit Cole | Yankees | 15.4 | 2 | SP | # Kevin Gausman | Giants | 9.7 | 14 | |
| SP | Nathan Eovaldi | Red Sox | 6.7 | 41 | CP | Josh Hader | Brewers | 3.0 | 178 | |
| SP | Kyle Gibson | Rangers | 6.7 | 43 | CP | Craig Kimbrel | Cubs | 6.7 | 45 | |
| CP | Liam Hendriks | White Sox | 3.0 | 156 | SP | German Marquez | Rockies | 12.7 | 6 | |
| SP | Yusei Kikuchi | Mariners | 4.0 | 113 | CP | Mark Melancon | Padres | 0.0 | 819 | |
| SP | Lance Lynn | White Sox | 8.7 | 22 | SP | Freddy Peralta | Brewers | 9.7 | 13 | |
| SP | Shohei Ohtani | Angels | 8.4 | 24 | SP | Taijuan Walker | Mets | 9.4 | 18 | |
| CP | # Ryan Pressly | Astros | 3.0 | 162 | SP | Zack Wheeler | Phillies | 14.1 | 3 | |
| SP | Carlos Rodon | White Sox | 6.7 | 46 | CP | Alex Reyes | Cardinals | 4.7 | 86 | |
| CP | Gregory Soto | Tigers | 1.0 | 216 | SP | # Brandon Woodruff | Brewers | 13.4 | 4 | |
| SP | Trevor Rogers | Marlins | 9.0 | 21 | ||||||
| SP | Max Scherzer | Nationals | 9.7 | 10 | ||||||
| Worthy but unchosen | Worthy but unchosen | |||||||||
| Pos | Player | Team | BTP | Rank | Pos | Player | Team | BTP | Rank | |
| CA | Martin Maldonado | Astros | 3.0 | 185 | 1B | Ryan ZImmerman | Nationals | 4.0 | 131 | |
| 1B | Jose Abreu | White Sox | 5.5 | 62 | OF | Adam Duvall | Marlins | 7.0 | 33 | |
| OF | Randal Grichuk | Blue Jays | 4.5 | 93 | SP | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | 11.4 | 7 | |
| OF | Ramon Laureano | Athletics | 4.0 | 109 | 3B | Austin Riley | Braves | 4.5 | 94 | |
| OF | Luis Arraez | Twins | 4.2 | 99 | ||||||
| SP | Tyler Glasnow | Rays | 12.7 | 5 | ||||||
| SP | Aaron Civale | Indians | 9.7 | 11 | ||||||
| 2B | Brandon Lowe | Rays | 5.0 | 79 | ||||||
Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow is the most deserving player not selected to the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star teams.
Glasnow has 12.7 Box-Toppers points in 2021, fifth among all players and second among American League pitchers.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2021. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Sunday, July 11.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 16.7 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 15.4 |
| 3 | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 14.1 |
| 4 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 13.4 |
| 5 | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 12.7 |
| 6 | Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | col nl | 12.7 |
| 7 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | sd nl | 10.4 |
| 9 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | oak al | 9.7 |
| 10 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 9.7 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Granted, Glasnow has been on the injured list for a month with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament and a flexor tendon strain. He is a candidate for Tommy John surgery, which would keep him from pitching for a year to 18 months after such a surgery, but is hoping to avoid the knife by rehabbing to pitch again late this season. So even if he were selected as an All-Star, there was no way he would play.
However, other injured players were named All-Stars and won’t play, including Mike Trout of the Angels, Shane Bieber of the Indians, Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves and Kyle Schwarber of the Nationals. Plus, while Glasnow was healthy, he dominated Box-Toppers season player rankings, leading on three different occasions, including from April 12 to May 12 and May 26 to June 16.
Other key players not chosen for the All-Star Game who rank among Box-Toppers top players this season:
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is the most worthy but unchosen NL pitcher.
Adam Duvall of the Marlins is the most worthy but unchosen NL batter.
Jose Abreu of the White Sox is the most worthy but unchosen AL batter.
Major League Baseball’s 2021 All-Star Game is Tuesday, July 13, in Denver.
Kershaw
Kershaw has 11.4 Box-Toppers points in 2021, seventh among all players and fifth among National League pitchers.
In addition to that, Kershaw ranks second among all players in career Box-Toppers points (246.6) since 1995, when player tracking began. In fact, he recently rose to that second-place spot on June 27, passing Pedro Martinez (244.8), who had held that second-place spot since 1999, more than 22 years.
Kershaw ranks first among all active players, ahead of Astros pitcher Zack Greinke (215.8) and has been the active leader in career Box-Toppers points since April 2017.
Not only is Kershaw having an All-Star worthy season but it seems he should be one of those players, like Mike Trout, who should be named an All-Star even when he’s having a subpar season. He’s accomplished enough in the past to earn a lifetime pass. And this season, he is not resting on his laurels but is among one of the overall top 10 players, top five NL pitchers and is having a Kershavian season.
Duvall
Duvall ranks second among NL batters with 7.0 Box-Toppers points and is the second-ranked NL outfielder, behind Nick Castellanos of the Reds (8.0). Duvall ranks ahead of the other two selected NL outfield starters—Jesse Winker of the Reds (5.0) and Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves (1.0).
Abreu
Abreu ranks sixth among AL batters with 5.5 Box-Toppers points and is the top-ranked AL first baseman, ahead of second-ranked Jared Walsh of the Angels (5.0) and ahead of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays (2.7), who was selected AL All-Star first baseman.
Worthy but unchosen
Other Box-Toppers’ “worthy but unchosen” All-Stars, listed in the chart above were selected either because they ranked highly in Box-Toppers season player rankings or they ranked higher than the starters selected as All-Stars. They include:
Martin Maldonado of the Astros, 3.0 Box-Toppers points, second among AL catchers.
Randal Grichuk of the Blue Jays, 4.5 points, first among AL outfielders.
Ramon Laureano of the Athletics, 4.0 points, third among AL outfielders.
Luis Arraez of the Twins, 4.2 points, who ranks second among AL outfielders.
Aaron Civale of the Indians, 9.7 points, who ranks 11th overall and fourth among AL pitchers.
Brandon Lowe of the Rays, 5.0 points, who ranks eighth among AL batters, second among AL second basemen.
Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals, 4.0 points, who ranks first among NL first basemen.
Austin Riley of the Braves, 4.5 points, who ranks ninth among NL batters and third among NL third basemen.
No points
There are two All-Star starters who have 0.0 Box-Toppers points in 2021, meaning they have not earned Player of the Game honors in any of their team’s wins:
Teoscar Hernandez of the Blue Jays, selected as an AL All-Star outfielder starter. Hernandez had 1.5 Box-Toppers points in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and has 12.2 career points, but never more than 2.5 in any season.
Adam Frazier of the Pirates, selected as an NL All-Star starter at second base. Frazier also had no Box-Toppers points in the 2020 season and just 1.0 in 2019. He has 8.0 career Box-Toppers points, most earned in 2017 (4.5).
Both Hernandez and Frazier rank outside the 588 players who have earned Box-Toppers points so far in 2021, with their ranking based on their point totals from last season or the season before. Hernandez ranks 673rd and Frazier, the lowest-ranked All-Star, is 966th.
Leaders
Players leading each league’s batters and pitchers in Box-Toppers points all made the All-Star teams for 2021:
Jacob deGrom of the Mets, who leads all players with 16.7 Box-Toppers points, is on the NL All-Star roster. But deGrom is opting out of the All-Star Game to rest. He has battled injury in the first half of the season, which has limited his starts.
Gerrit Cole of the Yankees, who leads AL players with 13.4 Box-Toppers points, is on the AL All-Star roster.
J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox, who leads AL batters with 9.7 Box-Toppers points, is on the AL All-Star roster, though was not elected as a starter at his designated hitter position.
Nick Castellanos of the Reds, who leads NL batters with 8.0 Box-Toppers points, is on the NL All-Star roster as a starting outfielder.
Notable
Shohei Ohtani of the Angels was selected as an All-Star as both a batter and a pitcher. His 8.4 Box-Toppers points ranks second among AL batters (behind Martinez’s 9.7) and seventh among AL pitchers. He has earned 3.0 of those points as a designated hitter and 5.4 as a starting pitcher. However, he earned 1.7 of those points as a pitcher for his performance as a batter.
Ohtani was named AL starting pitcher and will also bat in the leadoff spot for the AL.
Max Scherzer of the Nationals was selected as NL starting pitcher. He ranks seventh among NL pitchers with 9.7 Box-Toppers points. But, like Kershaw, he’s proven himself to be a perennially worthy All-Star with 210.9 career Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players since player tracking began in 1995 and third among active players in career points.
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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