In five of the six major postseason player awards, the 2024 Box-Toppers points leader for each honor is among the finalists announced by baseball writers Monday.
Award finalists
Here are finalists for the Cy Young, Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year awards to be given this month, as named by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Players are listed with their Box-Toppers point (BTP) total for 2024 and their Box-Toppers rank in their award category.| Cy Young finalists | |||
| AL finalists | Team | BTP | Rank* |
| Tarik Skubal | Tigers | 21.1 | 1 |
| Seth Lugo | Royals | 14.1 | 7 |
| Emmanuel Clase | Guardians | 4.0 | 70 |
| NL finalists | Team | BTP | Rank* |
| Zack Wheeler | Phillies | 21.4 | 1 |
| Chris Sale | Braves | 19.1 | 4 |
| Paul Skenes | Pirates | 13.0 | 10 |
| Most Valuable Player Awards finalists | |||
| AL finalists | Team | BTP | Rank* |
| Aaron Judge | Yankees | 13.0 | 1 |
| Juan Soto | Yankees | 11.0 | 2 |
| Bobby Witt Jr. | Royals | 8.9 | 5 |
| NL finalists | Team | BTP | Rank* |
| Shohei Ohtani | Dodgers | 11.0 | 1 |
| Francisco Lindor | Mets | 10.9 | 2 |
| Ketel Marte | D-backs | 7.0 | 12 |
| Rookie of the Year finalists | |||
| AL finalists | Team | BTP | Rank† |
| Luis Gil | Yankees | 17.4 | 1 |
| Colton Cowser | Orioles | 2.5 | 23 |
| Austin Wells | Yankees | 2.5 | 24 |
| NL finalists | Team | BTP | Rank† |
| Paul Skenes | Pirates | 13.0 | 2 |
| Jackson Chourio | Brewers | 5.7 | 12 |
| Jackson Merrill | Padres | 5.0 | 14 |
| **Shota Imanaga | Cubs | 20.7 | 1 |
* Rank shows a player’s rank among potential players eligible for the award. For example, AL Cy Young finalists are ranked among AL pitchers, AL MVP finalists are ranked among AL batters.
** Player led the league category in Box-Toppers points but is not among the three finalists for the award.
† Rookie of the Year candidates are ranked among their league’s rookies in Box‑Toppers points. However, for awards in which batters and pitchers directly compete, such as Rookie of the Year, we adjust the batters’ total (doubling it) to make them more competitive.
Here are the five awards for which Box-Toppers top-ranked players are among the finalists:
American League Cy Young Award—Tarik Skubal of the Tigers.
National League Cy Young Award—Zack Wheeler of the Phillies.
AL Most Valuable Player—Aaron Judge of the Yankees.
NL Most Valuable Player—Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers.
AL Rookie of the Year—Luis Gil of the Yankees.
The only award in which a Box-Toppers leader is not among the finalists is NL Rookie of the Year. Shota Imanaga of the Cubs led NL rookies with 20.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024 but is not among the three finalists for top NL rookie.
Since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, Box-Toppers points leaders have never won all four major postseason awards—both league’s Most Valuable Player and Cy Young awards. But this year, in the 30th season of tracking, there is a chance for the first time that the four Box-Toppers points category leaders (both league’s batters and pitchers) may win the four major awards because all four leaders are among the finalists announced Monday.
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America, which votes on the awards winners, announced the finalists, the top three in voting for each award. In addition to Cy Young and MVP awards, the group also announced the top three finalists for Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year in each league. Rookie of the Year Awards will be given Monday, Nov. 18, Manager of the Year on Tuesday, Nov. 19, Cy Young Awards on Wednesday, Nov. 20 and MVP Awards on Thursday, Nov. 21.
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.
AL Cy Young
Skubal, our choice for the award, led AL pitchers in 2024 with 21.1 Box-Toppers points, second among all players.
The other finalists:
Royals pitcher Seth Lugo, 14.1 Box-Toppers points, seventh among AL pitchers.
Guardians closing pitcher Emmanuel Clase, 4.0 points, 70th among AL pitchers and eighth among AL closers.
NL Cy Young
Wheeler, our choice for the award, led NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 21.4, also first among all players.
The other finalists:
Braves pitcher Chris Sale, 19.1 Box-Toppers points, fourth among NL pitchers.
Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, 13.0 points, 10th among NL pitchers.
Sale, who won the NL pitching Triple Crown by leading in wins (18), earned run average (2.38) and strikeouts (225), is considered by many to be the favorite.
AL MVP
Judge, our choice for the award, led AL batters in Box-Toppers points with 13.0, 21st among all players.
The other finalists:
Juan Soto of the Yankees, 11.0 Box-Toppers points, second among AL batters.
Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals, 8.9 Box-Toppers points, fifth among AL batters.
NL MVP
Ohtani, our choice for the award, led NL batters in Box-Toppers points with 11.0, 41st among all players.
The other finalists:
Francisco Lindor of the Mets, 10.9 points, second among NL batters.
Ketel Marte of the Diamondbacks, 7.0 points, seventh among NL batters.
AL Rookie of the Year
Gil, our choice for the award, had 17.4 Box-Toppers points in 2024, first among AL rookies, second among AL pitchers and sixth among all players.
The other finalists:
Colton Cowser of the Orioles, 2.5 points, 23rd among AL rookies, 87th among AL batters.
Austin Wells of the Yankees, 2.5 points, 24th among AL rookies, 89th among AL batters.
NL Rookie of the Year
Imanaga led NL rookies with 20.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, fourth among all players and third among NL pitchers. However, Imanaga was not among the three finalists announced Monday for the award.
They are:
Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, 13.0 Box-Toppers points, second among NL rookies, 10th among NL pitchers and 23rd among all players.
Jackson Chourio of the Brewers, 5.7 points, 12th among NL rookies and 22nd among NL batters.
Jackson Merrill of the Padres, 5.0 points, 14th among NL rookies and 34th among NL batters.
Some voters may be reluctant to vote Imanaga as top rookie since he is 31 years old and spent eight seasons pitching in Japan’s professional league. But he is new to the Major Leagues and is technically a rookie.
Skenes got off to a slower start in 2024, starting the season in the minor leagues and did not make his Major League debut until May 11, by which point Imanaga already had earned 7.7 Box-Toppers points. From the time of Skenes’ Box-Toppers debut (May 17), both pitchers earned the same Box-Toppers point total for the remainder of the season—13.0.
Box-Toppers votes in internet writers ballot
Even if only three of the four Box-Toppers leaders win postseason awards in 2024, it would still be rare. Only four times since 1995 have three of the four Box-Toppers points leaders won postseason awards: 1997, 2009, 2013 and 2022.
Box-Toppers stats are used in casting a ballot in Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) voting, completed at the end of the regular season, prior to the start of postseason play. The internet baseball writers group will tabulate results from member writers and announce them this month.
While the IBWAA voting is not the same as the official voting for the awards by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), the results are often similar.
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