Trade deadline deals helped both the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres rise closer to the top of Box-Toppers team rankings this week.
Team rankings
Here are Box-Toppers 2022 team rankings through games of Thursday, Aug. 4. 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 July 29 to Aug. 4. The column Wk ago shows the team's rank on July 28.| Teams | BTP | BTP/wk | Wk ago | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yankees | 90.0 | +2.2 | 1 |
| 2 | Dodgers | 87.3 | +2.8 | 2 |
| 3 | Braves | 83.4 | +12.6 | 6 |
| 4 | Padres | 82.6 | +15.0 | 7 |
| 5 | Astros | 82.6 | +2.3 | 3 |
| 6 | Mets | 81.6 | +6.5 | 4 |
| 7 | Mariners | 78.3 | +15.0 | 11 |
| 8 | Twins | 76.2 | +11.5 | 8 |
| 9 | Blue Jays | 72.5 | +8.7 | 9 |
| 10 | Phillies | 71.6 | +10.0 | 12 |
| 11 | Cardinals | 71.5 | +10.4 | 13 |
| 12 | Brewers | 70.3 | -2.0 | 5 |
| 13 | Rays | 67.4 | +4.0 | 10 |
| 14 | Guardians | 64.8 | +4.5 | 15 |
| 15 | White Sox | 63.1 | +6.0 | 17 |
| 16 | Giants | 61.1 | +0.5 | 14 |
| 17 | Marlins | 58.5 | +1.0 | 16 |
| 18 | Rockies | 56.7 | +2.5 | 20 |
| 19 | Red Sox | 56.6 | -0.5 | 18 |
| 20 | Orioles | 54.7 | +1.0 | 21 |
| 21 | Angels | 54.6 | -1.5 | 19 |
| 22 | Rangers | 54.5 | +3.0 | 22 |
| 23 | Diamondbacks | 50.7 | -0.5 | 23 |
| 24 | Tigers | 47.4 | +0.5 | 24 |
| 25 | Royals | 44.3 | +1.7 | 26 |
| 26 | Athletics | 43.2 | +1.5 | 27 |
| 27 | Cubs | 41.4 | -2.0 | 25 |
| 28 | Pirates | 41.0 | +0.5 | 29 |
| 29 | Nationals | 40.5 | -0.3 | 28 |
| 30 | Reds | 33.0 | -7.0 | 30 |
The Seattle Mariners had the biggest trade-aided rise in team rankings this week, rising four spots into the top 10, as the hottest team of the week.
But the top two spots in Box-Toppers team rankings remain the same with the New York Yankees in first place and the top National League team, the Los Angeles Dodgers in second. However, the race at the top is tightening—last week the gap between the fifth-place Milwaukee Brewers (72.3) and top-ranked Yankees (87.8) was 15.5 points. This week the gap between the top five teams is just 7.4 points.
Yankees
Yankees players have accumulated 90.0 Box-Toppers points, picking up 2.2 since last week. They lead all teams for the eighth straight week and lead AL teams for the 12th straight week. The Yankees have baseball’s second-best winning percentage (.660), behind the Dodgers (.686).
Their lead over the second-place Dodgers has fallen from 3.3 points last week to 2.7 points this week. On July 7, their lead was 10.7 points.
The Yankees are led by pitcher Gerrit Cole (11.4 Box-Toppers points, 11th among all players and fifth among AL pitchers). The Yankees top batter is Aaron Judge (8.2 Box-Toppers points, fourth among AL batters). There are 22 different Yankees players who have earned Player of the Game honors so far in 2022.
At the Aug. 2 trade deadline, the Yankees acquired three key players and traded away another three, resulting in a net loss of 1.7 Box-Toppers points. They acquire Frankie Montas (3.0 points) and Lou Trivino (1.0) from the Athletics and traded JP Sears (3.0) to the Athletics, Jordan Montgomery (2.7) to the Cardinals and Joey Gallo (1.0) to the Dodgers.
Dodgers
The Dodgers lead NL teams for the fourth week with 87.3 Box-Toppers points, picking up 2.8 points in the past week. The Dodgers maintain their second-place rank and have baseball’s best winning percentage (.686).
The Dodgers are led by pitcher Julio Urias (12.7 Box-Toppers points, seventh among all players and third among NL pitchers). The Dodgers top batter is Mookie Betts (9.0 Box-Toppers points, second among NL batters). There are 21 different Dodgers players who have earned Player of the Game honors so far in 2022.
At the Aug. 2 trade deadline, the Dodgers acquired one key player and traded away another two, resulting in a net loss of 3.7 Box-Toppers points. They acquired Joey Gallo (1.0) from the Yankees and traded Mitch White (2.7) to the Blue Jays and Jake Lamb (2.0) to the Mariners.
Mariners, Padres
Two teams each gained 15.0 Box-Toppers points in the past week, both boosted by their trade deadline deals—the Seattle Mariners and the San Diego Padres.
The Mariners had the biggest boost from trades, picking up three players who have earned a combined 10.5 Box-Toppers points in 2022: Luis Castillo (6.0) from the Reds, Curt Casali (2.5) from the Giants and Jake Lamb (2.0) from the Dodgers.
The Mariners made the biggest jump in Box-Toppers team rankings, rising four spots from 11th to seventh place with 78.3 points.
The Padres gained a net of 5.3 Box-Toppers points in trades, picking up Josh Hader (6.0) from the Brewers, Josh Bell (4.5) from the Nationals, Juan Soto (2.5) from the Nationals) and Brandon Drury (1.5) from the Reds. They traded away McKenzie Gore (4.7) to the Nationals, C.J. Abrams (1.5) to the Nationals, Luke Voit (1.0) to the Nationals, Trevor Rogers (1.0) to the Brewers and Eric Hosmer (1.0) to the Red Sox.
The Padres rise from seventh to fourth in team rankings with 82.6 points.
Braves
The Atlanta Braves rise from sixth to third place in team rankings with 83.4 Box-Toppers points, picking up 12.6 in the past week, including a net of 6.9 points in deadline trade deals.
The Braves acquired pitcher Jake Odorizzi from the Astros, whose 6.4 Box-Toppers points is the most among players dealt at the deadline. Odorizzi’s 6.4 points ranks 61st among all players and 24th among NL pitchers.
Also, the Braves acquired Robbie Grossman (1.5) from the Tigers and Raisel Iglesias (1.0) from the Angels and traded away Will Smith (1.0) to the Astros and Jesse Chavez (1.0) to the Angels.
Astros
The Houston Astros fall from third to fifth in team rankings with 82.6 points, gaining 2.3 in the past week, including a net loss of 4.4 in deadline trade deals.
The Astros traded Jake Odorizzi (6.4) to the Braves and acquired Will Smith (1.0) from the Braves and Trey Mancini (1.0) from the Orioles.
Mets
The New York Mets fall from fourth to sixth in team rankings with 81.6 points, gaining 6.5 in the past week, including 2.0 points in deadline trade deals this week, picking up Tyler Naquin (1.0) from the Reds and Mychal Givens (1.0) from the Cubs.
Twins
The Minnesota Twins maintain eighth place with 76.2 points, picking up 11.5 points in the past week, including a net gain of 9.0 points in trade deadline deals.
The Twins acquired Tyler Mahle (5.0) from the Reds and Jorge Lopez (5.0) from the Orioles, while trading away Yennier Cano (1.0) to the Orioles.
Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays maintain ninth place with 72.5 points, picking up 8.7 in the past week, including a gain of 3.7 points in trade deadline deals, acquiring Mitch White (2.7) from the Dodgers and Whit Merrifield (1.0) from the Royals.
Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies rise from from 12th to 10th with 71.6 points, picking up 10.0 in the past week, including 6.5 in trade deadline deals, acquiring Noah Syndergaard (2.0) from the Angels, David Robertson (2.0) from the Cubs, Brandon Marsh (1.5) from the Angels and Edmundo Sosa (1.0) from the Cardinals.
Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals rise from 13th to 11th with 71.5 points, picking up 10.4 in the past week, including a net gain of 0.7 in trade deadline deals.
The Cardinals acquired Jose Quintana (4.0) from the Pirates and Jordan Montgomery (2.7) from the Yankees, while trading away Edmundo Sosa (1.0) to the Phillies and Johan Oviedo (1.0) to the Pirates.
Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers had the biggest drop in Box-Toppers team rankings this week, falling seven spots from fifth to 12th place with 70.3 points, losing a net of 2.0 points, including losing 5.0 net points in trade deadline deals.
The Brewers traded away Josh Hader (6.0) to the Padres, acquiring Taylor Rogers (1.0) in return.
Teams with net losses in points
In addition to the Brewers, six other teams in the bottom half of Box-Toppers team rankings experienced a net loss in Box-Toppers points this week, after trading away players in Aug. 2 deadline deals.
The Red Sox fell from 18th to 19th with 56.6 points, losing a net 0.5 points.
The Angels fell from 19th to 21st with 54.6 points, losing a net 1.5 points.
The Diamondbacks maintained 23rd place with 50.7 points, losing a net 0.5 points.
The Cubs fell from 25th to 27th place with 41.4 points, losing a net 2.0 points.
The Nationals fell from 28th to 29th place with 40.5 points, losing a net 0.3 points.
The Cincinnati Reds traded away four players with a combined 13.5 Box-Toppers points in 2022, which led them to a net 7.0-point decline, the largest among all teams. However, the Reds did not decline in rankings as they already occupied the 30th and last place spot for the second straight week with 33.0 Box-Toppers points.
The four players traded away by the Reds:
Luis Castillo (6.0) to the Mariners.
Tyler Mahle (5.0) to the Twins.
Brandon Drury (1.5) to the Padres
Tyler Naquin (1.0) to the Mets.
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.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.