The Wild Card round of Major League Baseball’s postseason begins Tuesday with four best-of-three series.
Team rankings
Here are Box-Toppers final 2024 team rankings through games of Monday, Sept. 30. 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 Sept. 20 to Sept. 30. The column Wk ago shows the team's rank as of Sept. 19.| Teams | BTP | BTP/wk | Wk ago | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phillies | 124.9 | 5.5 | 1 |
| 2 | Brewers | 123.7 | 7.2 | 2 |
| 3 | Padres | 121.8 | 6.0 | 3 |
| 4 | Yankees | 120.9 | 6.7 | 4 |
| 5 | Braves | 118.9 | 9.7 | 6 |
| 6 | Royals | 115.1 | 4.5 | 5 |
| 7 | Mets | 113.8 | 5.2 | 7 |
| 8 | Dodgers | 113.7 | 7.5 | 9 |
| 9 | Diamondbacks | 110.9 | 4.0 | 8 |
| 10 | Astros | 110.5 | 5.0 | 10 |
| 11 | Mariners | 109.4 | 10.7 | 13 |
| 12 | Orioles | 106.5 | 6.7 | 12 |
| 13 | Guardians | 106.3 | 3.5 | 11 |
| 14 | Red Sox | 104.9 | 6.2 | 14 |
| 15 | Cubs | 96.8 | 5.5 | 16 |
| 16 | Cardinals | 96.6 | 6.0 | 17 |
| 17 | Giants | 96.2 | 7.7 | 18 |
| 18 | Twins | 93.4 | -2.0 | 15 |
| 19 | Reds | 90.8 | 4.5 | 20 |
| 20 | Rangers | 87.1 | 5.0 | 21 |
| 21 | Pirates | 86.9 | -0.5 | 19 |
| 22 | Tigers | 84.9 | 5.0 | 22 |
| 23 | Rays | 79.8 | 6.4 | 25 |
| 24 | Athletics | 76.3 | 2.0 | 24 |
| 25 | Blue Jays | 76.0 | 1.0 | 23 |
| 26 | Nationals | 74.4 | 4.0 | 26 |
| 27 | Rockies | 66.1 | 2.5 | 27 |
| 28 | Angels | 64.3 | 1.0 | 28 |
| 29 | Marlins | 51.7 | 6.0 | 29 |
| 30 | White Sox | 36.1 | 4.5 | 30 |
All series take place at the higher-seed’s home ballpark. The winners of each series will face one of their league’s top-two seeded teams in league divisional series beginning Saturday.
All Game 1 matches are Tuesday, all Game 2 matches are Wednesday and any Game 3 matches, if necessary, will be Thursday.
Here is a Box-Toppers look at the eight teams competing in the four Wild Card round series:
American League Wild Card Round: Tigers at Astros
The Houston Astros host the Detroit Tigers in one AL Wild Card series. The winner will face the Cleveland Guardians, the second-seeded AL team, in the AL Division Series.
The Astros, winners of the AL West Division, are the third-seeded team in the AL. The Tigers, the third-ranked AL Wild Card team, are the sixth seed.
The Astros rank 10th in Box-Toppers team rankings with its players accumulating 110.5 Box-Toppers points in 2024, including picking up 5.0 points in the final 10 days of the season.
The Tigers rank 22nd with 84.9 Box-Toppers points, including picking up 5.0 points in the final 10 days of the season. The Tigers rank lowest among all postseason in Box-Toppers rankings, behind 10 teams that did not qualify for the postseason, including four AL teams.
Starting pitchers for Game 1 are:
Tigers—Tarik Skubal, 21.1 Box-Toppers points in 2024, second among all players and first among AL pitchers.
Astros—Framber Valdez, 15.4 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 10th among all players and fifth among AL pitchers.
Both starters lead their teams in 2024 Box-Toppers points.
Key Tigers players include:
After Skubal, it’s a big drop-off. The second-ranked Tigers player is pitcher Kenta Maeda with 5.4 points, 55th among AL pitchers.
Top batter is Riley Greene, 5.2 points, 19th among AL batters
Key Astros players include:
Starting pitcher Hunter Brown 12.0 points, 31st overall and 15th among AL pitchers.
Closing pitcher Josh Hader, 11.0 points, 44th overall and first among closing AL pitchers.
Starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, 10.7 points, 47th overall, 22nd among AL pitchers.
Starting pitcher Ronel Blanco, 10.7 points, 49th overall, 24th among AL pitchers.
Top batter is Yordan Alvarez, 7.5 points, eighth among AL batters.
American League Wild Card Round: Royals at Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles host the Kansas City Royals in one AL Wild Card series. The winner will face the New York Yankees, the top-seeded AL team, in the AL Division Series.
The Orioles, the top AL Wild Card team, are the fourth-seeded team in the AL. The Royals, the second-ranked AL Wild Card team, are the fifth seed.
Though the Orioles are the higher seed, the Royals rank higher in Box-Toppers team rankings. The Royals are sixth overall and second among AL teams with 115.1 Box-Toppers points. The Orioles are 12th overall and fifth among AL teams with 106.5 Box-Toppers points.
Starting pitchers for Game 1 are:
Royals—Cole Ragans, 12.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 32nd among all players and 16th among AL pitchers.
Orioles—Corbin Burnes 11.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 38th among all players and 18th among AL pitchers.
Burnes is the top-ranked Orioles player. Ragans is the second-ranked Royals player.
Key Royals players include:
Starting pitcher Seth Lugo, 14.1 points, 13th overall, seventh among AL pitchers, and first among all Royals players.
Starting pitcher Michael Wacha, 10.4 points, 51st overall, 25th among AL pitchers.
Starting pitcher Brady Singer, 10.0 points, 56th overall, 27th among AL pitchers.
Top batter is Bobby Witt Jr., 8.9 points, fifth among AL batters.
Key Orioles players include:
Starting pitcher Dean Kremer, 8.7 points, 77th overall, 34th among AL pitchers.
Top batter is Ryan Mountcastle, 8.0 points, sixth among AL batters.
National League Wild Card Round: Mets at Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers host the New York Mets in one NL Wild Card series. The winner will face the Philadelphia Phillies, the second-seeded NL team, in the NL Division Series.
The Brewers, winners of the NL Central Division, are the third-seeded team in the NL. The Mets, the third-ranked NL Wild Card team, are the sixth seed.
The Brewers rank second in Box-Toppers team rankings with its players accumulating 123.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, including picking up 7.2 points in the final 10 days of the season.
The Mets rank seventh with 113.8 Box-Toppers points, including picking up 5.2 points in the final days of the season.
Starting pitchers for Game 1 are:
Mets—Luis Severino, 6.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 111th among all players, 45th among NL pitchers.
Brewers—Freddy Peralta, 13.4 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 15th among all players, seventh among NL pitchers.
Other key Mets players include:
Starting pitcher Sean Manaea, 15.4 points, 11th overall, sixth among NL pitchers.
Leading Mets batter Francisco Lindor, 10.9 points, 45th overall, second among NL batters.
Starting pitcher Jose Quintana, 10.0 points, 58th overall, 25th among NL pitchers.
Other key Brewers pitchers include:
Leading Brewers batter Willy Adames, 10.5 points, 50th overall, third among NL batters.
Starting pitcher Colin Rea, 10.4 points, 52nd overall, 22nd among NL pitchers.
Starting pitcher Tobias Myers, 10.0 points, 59th overall, 26th among NL pitchers.
National League Wild Card Round: Braves at Padres
The San Diego Padres host the Atlanta Braves in one NL Wild Card series. The winner will face the Los Angeles Dodgers, the top-seeded NL team, in the NL Division Series.
The Padres, the top NL Wild Card team, are the fourth-seeded team in the NL. The Braves, the second-ranked NL Wild Card team, are the fifth seed.
The Padres rank third in Box-Toppers team rankings with its players accumulating 121.8 Box-Toppers points in 2024, including picking up 6.0 points in the final 10 days of the season.
The Braves rank fifth with 118.9 Box-Toppers points, including picking up 9.7 points in the final days of the season.
Starting pitchers for Game 1 are:
Braves—AJ Smith-Shawver, 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2024, 173rd among NL pitchers.
Padres—Michael King, 12.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 25th among all players, 12th among NL pitchers.
Key Braves players include:
Starting pitcher Chris Sale, 19.1 points, fifth overall, fourth among NL pitchers. Sale was slated to start in the Braves’ final game of the season Monday but was a late scratch with back spasms and is unlikely to be available to pitch in the Wild Card series.
Starting pitcher Max Fried, 13.4 points, 17th overall, ninth among NL pitchers.
Starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez, 12.8 points, 24th overall, 11th among NL pitchers.
Leading batter Marcell Ozuna, 7.5 points, ninth among NL batters.
Key Padres players include:
Starting pitcher Dylan Cease, 21.1 points, third overall, second among NL pitchers.
Starting pitcher Joe Musgrove, 9.7 points, 66th overall, 28th among NL pitchers.
Leading batter Manny Machado, 7.0 points, 13th among NL batters.
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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A Box-Toppers look at Tuesday’s Wild Card round 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 2024 (’24), this year and last year (’23-24), over a six-year period (’19-24) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’24 | ’23‑24 | ’19‑24 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DET | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 21.1 | 31.8 | 51.2 | 51.2 |
| HOU | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 15.4 | 25.4 | 54.8 | 56.8 |
| KC | Ragans, Cole 4889 | 12.0 | 16.4 | 16.4 | 16.4 |
| BAL | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | 11.7 | 23.4 | 64.6 | 67.6 |
| NYM | Severino, Luis 3567 | 6.7 | 11.4 | 21.1 | 64.9 |
| MIL | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | 13.4 | 31.1 | 61.2 | 69.9 |
| ATL | Smith-Shawver, AJ 4951 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| SD | King, Michael 4549 | 12.7 | 21.7 | 27.4 | 27.4 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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