White Sox’ Cease tops players for Saturday, Sept. 23; Cubs’ Assad tops NL players

White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

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.

White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Cease struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings, allowing six hits and no walks, in the 1-0 win over the Red Sox.

Cease earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season, 44th among all players and 23rd among American League pitchers.

Cease becomes the 48th player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2023. It is his third season and third straight season with 10 or more points. He also did it:

  • In 2021 with the White Sox, 14.4 points, fifth among AL pitchers.

  • In 2022 with the White Sox, 20.4 points, fifth overall and third among AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day is Cubs pitcher Javier Assad.

National League Player of the Day

Cubs pitcher Javier Assad struck out six over four scoreless middle relief innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 6-3 win over the Rockies.

Assad earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, 61st among NL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day is Alfonso Rivas of the Pirates.

National League Batter of the Day

Alfonso Rivas of the Pirates doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring once and driving in five runs, in the 13-12 win over the Reds.

American League Batter of the Day

There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Saturday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Saturday’s win over the Giants.

Notable

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has the most 2023 Box-Toppers points among Saturday’s 13 Player of the Game winners.

Kershaw (5IP 2H 0R 2BB 5K W in the 7-0 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.1 for the season, 27th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers.

Kershaw also now has 270.4 career Box-Toppers points, second-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails overall leader Randy Johnson (282.5). (It should be noted Johnson would have more Box-Toppers points if his entire career from 1988 were tracked—projections put his point total at about 385.) Kershaw leads active players in career Box-Toppers points ahead of Rangers pitcher Max Scherzer (251.7). He leads active NL pitchers ahead of Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals (153.3).

Rangers pitcher Jordan Montgomery is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Saturday’s win over the Mariners.

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 Saturday, Sept. 23.

Player Pos Team BTP
1 Strider, Spencer 4626 pi sp atl nl 21.1
2 Ohtani, Shohei 3933 pi sp dh ana al 19.4
3 Gausman, Kevin 3191 pi sp tor al 18.7
4 Bassitt, Chris 3413 pi sp tor al 18.1
5 Luzardo, Jesus 4282 pi sp fla nl 17.8
6 Peralta, Freddy 3965 pi sp mil nl 17.7
7 Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 pi sp sea al 16.1
8 Gallen, Zac 4171 pi sp ari nl 15.7
9 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp tex al 15.4
10 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp nyy al 15.0
What are those numbers after players' names?
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Back to top

Also notable

Rangers pitcher Jordan Montgomery becomes the 49th player in 2023 to reach 10 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Montgomery (7IP 5H 0R 2BB 6K W in the 2-0 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season, 40th overall and 19th among AL pitchers. Montgomery has earned 3.7 of his 10.4 points in 2023 since being traded from the Cardinals to the Rangers.

This is Montgomery’s first season with 10 or more points. In 2022, he earned 9.4 points with the Yankees and Cardinals, finishing the year 29th among NL pitchers.

One more notable thing

Cardinals pitcher Casey Lawrence earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Saturday for the first time in more than six years.

Lawrence (2IP 0H 0R 2BB K W in the 5-2, 11-inning win over the Padres) earned his only previous Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor Aug. 8, 2017, with the Mariners. That was his 14th Major League game. Saturday was his 55th career game.

Lawrence, 35, played in Japan in 2018, was unsigned in 2019 and did not play in 2020, according to Baseball Reference. Since playing for the Mariners, he has been signed by the Twins and Blue Jays. He now has 2.0 career Box-Toppers points.

Debut

Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, both with their first career Player of the Game honors:

  • Athletics pitcher Joe Boyle (6IP 5H R 0ER BB 5K W in the 4-1 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut Sept. 17 and was playing in his second career game.

  • Angels pitcher Kenny Rosenberg (5IP 5H 0R 2BB 5K W in the 1-0 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut April 18, 2022, and was playing in his ninth career game.

Scoring

  • Cease earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.

  • Assad earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.

  • Rivas earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day.

  • All of Saturday’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.

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).

9/23 BTG Game Player AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB +12.0 `CHW 1, BOS 0 Dylan Cease ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 7.0 6 0 0 0 11
NL +8.0 CHC 6, COL 3 Javier Assad (W, 5‑3) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 4.0 2 0 0 0 6
+7.1 BAL 2, CLE 1 John Means (W, 1‑1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 7.1 1 1 1 1 4
+6.0 TEX 2, SEA 0 Jordan Montgomery (W, 10‑11) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 7.0 5 0 0 2 6
+6.0 LAD 7, SF 0 Clayton Kershaw (W, 13‑4) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 5.0 2 0 0 2 5
BAT +4.0 PIT 13, CIN 12 Alfonso Rivas 1B 5 1 3 5 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+4.0 OAK 4, DET 1 Joe Boyle (W, 1‑0) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 6.0 5 1 0 1 5
+4.0 KC 3, HOU 2 Jordan Lyles (W, 5‑17) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 5.0 2 0 0 2 3
+3.2 `TB 7, TOR 6 Zack Littell ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 5.2 5 2 0 1 6
+3.0 LAA 1, MIN 0 Kenny Rosenberg (W, 2‑2) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 5.0 5 0 0 2 5
+3.0 MIA 5, MIL 4 Andrew Nardi (W, 8‑1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
+2.0 PHI 7, NYM 5 Bryce Harper DH 4 1 2 3 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+1.0 STL 5, SD 2 (F/11) Casey Lawrence (W, 1‑0) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 2.0 0 0 0 2 1
MLB—Overall Box‑Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box‑Toppers points.
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.
Back to top

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 +/‑
Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 11.1 21.8 63.6 270.4 +0.4
Montgomery, Jordan 3814 pi sp tex al 10.4 19.8 30.5 36.5 +1.0
Cease, Dylan 4231 pi sp chi al 10.0 30.4 46.8 46.8 -10.4
Assad, Javier 4899 pi sp chi nl 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 +4.7
Harper, Bryce 3011 dh 1b phi nl 3.0 9.0 31.5 65.9 -3.0
Nardi, Andrew 4855 pi cp mr fla nl 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 +3.0
Rivas, Alfonso 4664 1b pit nl 2.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 +1.5
Lyles, Jordan 3100 pi sp kc al 2.0 5.7 25.4 33.1 -1.7
Littell, Zack 4533 pi sp mr tb al 2.0 4.0 6.0 6.0 0.0
Means, John 4115 pi sp bal al 1.0 1.0 19.0 19.0 +1.0
Lawrence, Casey 3873 pi cp mr stl nl 1.0 1.0 1.0 2.0 +1.0
Boyle, Joe 4948 pi sp oak al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 +1.0
Rosenberg, Kenny 4949 pi sp ana al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 +1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default view.
Back to top

A Box-Toppers look at Sunday’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
TOR Kikuchi, Yusei 4136 10.0 15.7 27.4 27.4
TB Bradley, Taj 4780 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0
ARI Gallen, Zac 4171 15.7 34.4 50.1 50.1
NYY Rodon, Carlos 3494 1.0 20.8 38.5 57.6
ATL Wright, Kyle 4349 0.0 14.4 15.4 15.4
WSH Rutledge, Jackson* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
CHW Clevinger, Mike 3707 10.4 16.8 49.9 64.3
BOS Crawford, Kutter 4660 5.7 9.7 9.7 9.7
BAL Gibson, Kyle 3312 7.7 16.7 42.2 61.2
CLE McKenzie, Triston 4303 2.0 17.7 32.1 32.1
MIL Peralta, Freddy 3965 17.7 25.1 56.5 56.5
MIA Cabrera, Edward 4641 3.7 10.1 10.1 10.1
PIT Priester, Quinn* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
CIN Williamson, Brandon 4813 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7
LAA Undecided 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
MIN Ryan, Joe 4539 8.7 23.4 26.1 26.1
KC Cruz, Steven* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
HOU Brown, Hunter 4729 10.1 11.1 11.1 11.1
COL Blach, Ty 3754 2.0 4.0 6.0 10.0
CHC Wicks, Jordan 4912 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
SEA Woo, Bryan 4842 8.7 8.7 8.7 8.7
TEX Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 9.7 15.7 43.5 69.3
DET Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 11.0 11.0 45.8 65.2
OAK Sears, JP 4627 4.0 9.0 9.0 9.0
STL Rom, Drew 4935 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
SD Wacha, Michael 3276 9.0 17.4 32.5 59.2
NYM Butto, Jose 4933 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
PHI Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
ATL Strider, Spencer 4626 21.1 34.5 34.5 34.5
WSH Adon, Joan 4580 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
SF Walker, Ryan* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
LAD Lynn, Lance 2992 4.7 14.4 53.9 118.5
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default, game-by-game view.
Back to top