Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners.
▪️ Box-Toppers points of the day’s top players.
▪️ Top 10 players in 2023 Box-Toppers points.
▪️ A B-T look at upcoming pitching matchups.
▪️ Subscribe to Box-Toppers Email Newsletter.
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2023. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Friday, Aug. 25.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Strider, Spencer 4626 | pi sp | atl nl | 19.1 |
| 2 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 18.4 |
| 3 | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | fla nl | 15.1 |
| 4 | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 14.7 |
| 5 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 13.7 |
| 6 | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | pi sp | mil nl | 13.7 |
| 7 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | tor al | 13.4 |
| 8 | Lopez, Pablo 4028 | pi sp | min al | 13.4 |
| 9 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | tex al | 13.4 |
| 10 | Miller, Bryce 4797 | pi sp | sea al | 13.1 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Also Friday, Braves pitcher Spencer Strider rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors, passing Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani, who had led since June 13.
Player of the Day
Cole struck out 11 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned), three hits and no walks, in the 6-2 win over the Rays.
Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season, 14th among all players and eighth among American League pitchers.
2023 lead changes
Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.| Date | Player | Team | BTP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/30 | Dylan Cease | chi al | 2.0 |
| 4/4 | Luis Castillo | sea al | 2.7 |
| 4/5 | Jesus Luzardo | fla nl | 3.7 |
| 4/7 | Bryan Reynolds | pit nl | 3.7 |
| 4/8 | Jeffrey Springs | tb al | 3.7 |
| 4/9 | Drew Rasmussen | tb al | 4.0 |
| 4/12 | Kevin Gausman | tor al | 4.0 |
| 4/16 | Gerrit Cole | nyy al | 4.0 |
| 4/17 | Jacob deGrom | tex al | 5.0 |
| 4/19 | Drew Rasmussen | tb al | 5.0 |
| 4/22 | Gerrit Cole | nyy al | 5.0 |
| 4/23 | Kevin Gausman | tor al | 6.0 |
| 4/26 | Zac Gallen | ari nl | 6.7 |
| 4/28 | Jacob deGrom | tex al | 7.7 |
| 5/8 | Zac Gallen | ari nl | 7.7 |
| 5/21 | Shohei Ohtani | ana al | 8.4 |
| 5/24 | Shane McClanahan | tb al | 8.7 |
| 5/30 | Zac Gallen | ari nl | 8.7 |
| 5/31 | Shohei Ohtani | ana al | 9.4 |
| 6/1 | Kevin Gausman | tor al | 10.0 |
| 6/13 | Shohei Ohtani | ana al | 12.9 |
| 8/25 | Spencer Strider | atl nl | 19.1 |
Cole becomes the 27th player this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points. It is his sixth season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points and his third straight:
In 2015, he earned 19.0 points with the Pirates, ninth overall and sixth among National League pitchers.
In 2018, he earned 18.0 points with the Astros, eighth overall and sixth among AL pitchers.
In 2019, he earned 32.2 points with the Astros, first overall and the fourth-highest single-season point total by any player since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.
In 2021, he earned 22.4 points with the Yankees, second overall and first among AL pitchers.
In 2022, he earned 15.4 points with the Yankees, eighth among AL pitchers.
Cole has reached 10 points in four of the past five years, missing the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when he had 7.4 points with the Yankees, fifth among AL pitchers.
Cole also now has 149.3 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 27th among all players in career points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his 2.0 points Friday, he passes two players on the “all-time” career points list—Javier Vazquez (148.3) and Chipper Jones (149.0). Cole now trails 26th-ranked player, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale (151.3). Cole ranks eighth among active players in career points, fifth among active AL pitchers.
National League Player of the Day
Braves pitcher Spencer Strider struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 5-1 win over the Giants.
Strider earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 19.1 for the season, rising from second to first in season player rankings, passing Shohei Ohtani of the Angels (18.4), who has held the lead continuously since June 13.
This is the first time Strider has held the Box-Toppers season player rankings lead at any point in the season in his two years in the Majors. He finished 2022 with 13.4 Box-Toppers points with the Braves, 13th among NL pitchers.
Strider also increases his lead among NL pitchers in 2023 Box-Toppers points, ahead of second-place Jesus Luzardo of the Marlins (15.1).
American League Batter of the Day
Nick Allen of the Athletics homered and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 12-4 win over the White Sox.
National League Batter of the Day
Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 7-4 win over the Red Sox.
Freeman earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, sixth among NL batters.
Notable
Pirates pitcher Mitch Keller becomes the 28th player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2023 after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Keller (8IP 4H 0R BB 6K W in the 2-1 win over the Cubs) earns 1.0 point, giving him 10.0 for the season, 26th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers.
It is his first season with 10 or more points. His previous best was 4.0 in 2021 with the Pirates. He had 2.0 points in 2022 with the Pirates.
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Scoring
Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Strider earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Allen and Freeman each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Friday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
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.
For additional updates, follow Box-Toppers on Twitter.
Friday’s best performances by players who did not earn Box-Toppers points (thread):
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 26, 2023
Framber Valdez @Astros 7IP 0H 0R 5BB 6K ND
Nick Martini @Reds 2HR 2-3 3R 4BI
Kodai Senga @Mets 6.2IP 4H 2R 3BB 10K L
Friday’s B-T Player of the Game winners—https://t.co/scUMvDyo2B
Friday’s lowest Box-Toppers game scores:
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 26, 2023
-20.9—Dylan Cease @WhiteSox 4.1IP 9H 9R 8ER 5BB 6K L
-13.0—Mason Thompson @Nationals
-12.8—Hunter Greene @Reds
-11.0—Lance Lynn @Dodgers
-11.0—Brett Kennedy @Reds
-10.9—Logan Webb @SFGiants https://t.co/scUMvDyo2B
Friday’s lowest Box-Toppers game score by batters:
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 26, 2023
-5.0—TJ Friedl @Reds, Maikel Garcia @Royals, both 0-5 2Ks
-5.0—Justin Turner @RedSox 0-5 K
-4.0—Mickey Moniak @Angels 0-4 4K
-4.0—4 were 0-4 w/ 3Ks, including Paul DeJong @SFGiants, Xander Bogaerts @Padreshttps://t.co/scUMvDyo2B
Spencer Strider @Braves is Box-Toppers Player of Friday’s ATL-SF Game (7IP 3H R BB 9K W vs. SF) with +10.0 B-T game score. He was also overall NL Player of the Day.@SFGiants starter Logan Webb had -10.9 B-T game score (5.1IP 6H 5R BB K L).https://t.co/scUMvDyo2B pic.twitter.com/5JhN1jGSJq
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 26, 2023
Among Box-Toppers' top 3-ranked Friday starters, only Spencer Strider @Braves earned Player of the Game honors.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 26, 2023
Chris Bassitt @BlueJays was on a losing team & another @Mariners player won Player of the Game over Bryce Miller in SEA win.
(Details, thread)https://t.co/scUMvDyo2B
Career Box-Toppers points, active AL pitchers
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 26, 2023
1—Max Scherzer @Rangers 249.7
2—Justin Verlander @Astros 240.3
3—Zack Greinke @Royals 224.5
4—Chris Sale @RedSox 151.3
5—Gerrit Cole @Yankees 149.3*
*Earns 2.0 B-T points as Friday Player of the Dayhttps://t.co/tT5Wt8UI01
2023 Box-Toppers points, NL batters
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 26, 2023
1—Pete Alonso @Mets 9.0
2—Nolan Gorman @Cardinals 9.0
3—Ronald Acuña Jr. @Braves 7.7
4—James Outman @Dodgers 7.7
5—Mookie Betts @Dodgers 7.0
6—Freddie Freeman @Dodgers 7.0*
*Earns 1.5 B-T pts as FR’s NL Batter of the Dayhttps://t.co/tT5Wt8VfPz pic.twitter.com/PQcZXZYmh6
Box‑Toppers Player of the Game winners
Here is the top player from each of the day’s games listed from highest to lowest Box‑Toppers game score (BTG).| 8/25 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +12.2 | NYY 6, TB 2 | Gerrit Cole (W, 11‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | |
| NL | +10.0 | ATL 5, SF 1 | Spencer Strider (W, 15‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| +9.0 | PIT 2, CHC 1 | Mitch Keller (W, 11‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +9.0 | MIL 7, SD 3 | Brandon Woodruff (W, 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 11 | ||
| +7.1 | `DET 4, HOU 1 | Matt Manning | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +7.0 | WSH 7, MIA 4 | Joan Adon (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +6.0 | OAK 12, CHW 4 | Nick Allen SS | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | LAA 3, NYM 1 | Patrick Sandoval (W, 7‑10) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | ||
| +4.0 | MIN 12, TEX 2 | Matt Wallner LF | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | LAD 7, BOS 4 | Freddie Freeman 1B | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | SEA 7, KC 5 | J.P. Crawford SS | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | BAL 5, COL 4 | Gunnar Henderson 3B‑SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | PHI 7, STL 2 | Cristopher Sánchez (W, 2‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | ||
| +2.2 | ARI 10, CIN 8 | Kevin Ginkel (S, 4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | CLE 5, TOR 2 | Ramon Laureano RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box‑Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box‑Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box‑Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box‑Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no‑decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
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Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s Player of the Game winners
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Player of the Game winners. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2023 (’23). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’22-23), the period 2018-2023 (’18-23) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2023 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2022 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strider, Spencer 4626 | pi sp | atl nl | 19.1 | 32.5 | 32.5 | 32.5 | +5.7 |
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 11.0 | 26.4 | 106.4 | 149.3 | -4.4 |
| Keller, Mitch 4230 | pi sp | pit nl | 10.0 | 12.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | +8.0 |
| Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | lad nl | 7.0 | 15.5 | 41.2 | 82.9 | -1.5 |
| Henderson, Gunnar 4739 | dh 3b ss | bal al | 6.5 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | +3.3 |
| Ginkel, Kevin 4830 | pi mr cp | ari nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +5.0 |
| Crawford, J.P. 3937 | ss | sea al | 4.5 | 6.5 | 17.0 | 17.0 | +2.5 |
| Wallner, Matt 4824 | lf rf | min al | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | +3.5 |
| Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 3.0 | 23.8 | 56.6 | 57.6 | -17.8 |
| Sandoval, Patrick 4357 | pi sp | ana al | 3.0 | 11.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | -5.0 |
| Manning, Matt 4550 | pi sp | det al | 2.7 | 5.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | -0.3 |
| Allen, Nick 4891 | ss | oak al | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | +2.5 |
| Adon, Joan 4580 | pi sp | dc nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +1.0 |
| Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 | pi sp | phi nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Laureano, Ramon 4054 | rf dh | cle al | 1.0 | 3.5 | 14.2 | 14.2 | -1.5 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Saturday’s pitching matchups
A Box-Toppers look at the upcoming day’s probable pitching matchups. Teams are paired below with visiting teams on top and home teams on the bottom. Each team’s starting pitcher is shown with their Box-Toppers point total from 2023 (’23), over a two-year period (’22-23), over a six-year period (’18-23) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLE | Allen, Logan T. 4789 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| TOR | Ryu, Hyun Jin 3139 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 45.5 | 71.6 |
| ATL | Fried, Max 4011 | 4.0 | 20.0 | 48.5 | 48.5 |
| SF | Walker, Ryan* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| KC | Lyles, Jordan 3100 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 23.4 | 31.1 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 10.7 | 24.8 | 31.8 | 31.8 |
| LAD | Urias, Julio 3652 | 11.0 | 30.4 | 56.5 | 63.2 |
| BOS | Paxton, James 3280 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 36.1 | 60.9 |
| NYY | Schmidt, Clarke 4581 | 2.0 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.4 |
| TB | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 44.8 | 44.8 |
| WSH | Irvin, Jake 4805 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| MIA | Perez, Eury 4814 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| HOU | Brown, Hunter 4729 | 8.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 |
| DET | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 44.8 | 64.2 |
| COL | Flexen, Chris 4368 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 13.7 | 13.7 |
| BAL | Bradish, Kyle 4597 | 11.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| LAA | Silseth, Chase 4605 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| NYM | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | 1.7 | 11.4 | 43.2 | 111.5 |
| OAK | Sears, JP 4627 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| CHW | Toussaint, Touki 4110 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| SD | Avila, Pedro 4105 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| MIL | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | 13.7 | 21.1 | 52.5 | 52.5 |
| STL | Hudson, Dakota 4035 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 17.4 | 17.4 |
| PHI | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | 10.0 | 24.4 | 66.2 | 78.9 |
| TEX | Scherzer, Max 2588 | 13.4 | 23.4 | 93.0 | 249.7 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 7.0 | 21.7 | 24.4 | 24.4 |
| CHC | Assad, Javier 4899 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| PIT | Selby, Colin* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CIN | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ARI | Davies, Zach 3581 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 15.0 | 30.7 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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