Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Players of the Game
▪️ B-T points of day’s top players
▪️ Top 10 players in 2025
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
▪️ Friday’s Sidelights Sidebar
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Orioles pitcher Brandon Young is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, earning his first career Box-Toppers points.
Also Friday, Christian Yelich of the Brewers extends his lead among National League batters in 2025 Box-Toppers points—becoming the first batter to reach 10 Box-Toppers points this season—after earning NL Batter of the Day honors.
Other Player of the Game winners Friday include Braves pitcher Hurston Waldrep, Orioles pitcher Charlie Morton, Colby Thomas of the Athletics and Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.
Player of the Day
Young struck out six over eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no walks, in the 7-0 win over the Astros.
Young was pitching a perfect game until giving up a single to Ramón Urías with two outs in the eighth inning.
Young earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is tied for 393rd among all players and tied for 114th among American League pitchers.
This was Young’s Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. Young made his Major League debut April 19 and was playing in his 11th career game.
National League Player of the Day
Braves pitcher Hurston Waldrep struck out seven over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 2-0 win over the Guardians.
Waldrep earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, tied for 84th among NL pitchers.
2025 Box-Toppers points—NL batters 1—Christian Yelich #Brewers 11.2* 2—Seiya Suzuki #Cubs 9.5 3—Pete Crow-Armstrong #Cubs 9.5 4—Kyle Schwarber #Phillies 9.0† 5—James Wood #Nationals 7.7 6—Max Muncy #Dodgers 7.5 *Earns 1.5 B-T pts Friday †Earns 1.0 B-T pt Friday www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/8/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Aug 16, 2025 at 8:49 AM
National League Batter of the Day
Christian Yelich of the Brewers hit two home runs, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 10-8 win over the Reds.
Yelich earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 11.2 for the season, most among Friday’s Player of the Game winners, 13th among all players and first among NL batters, extending his lead ahead of second-place Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs (9.5 points).
Yelich becomes the 23rd player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2025 and the first batter. In 2024, 59 players reach 10 Box-Toppers points, including six batters. (In 2024, Aaron Judge of the Yankees was the first to reach 10 Box-Toppers points on July 27.)
This is the third season Yelich has reached 10 Box-Toppers points. Previously, he did it:
In 2018, 11.5 points with the Brewers, first among NL batters.
In 2019, 11.7 points with the Brewers, second among NL batters.
In 2024, he earned 3.5 points with the Brewers, 58th among NL batters.
By reaching 11.2 Box-Toppers points, Yelich guarantees there will be no record set in 2025 for the lowest Box-Toppers point total to lead NL batters. The lowest season total to lead NL batters since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 was 10.7 by Nolan Arenado of the Rockies in 2016.
American League Batter of the Day
Colby Thomas of the Athletics hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 10-3 win over the Angels.
This was Thomas’s Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. Thomas made his Major League debut June 30 and was playing in his 21st career game.
Notable
Two players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Friday:
Career Box-Toppers points since 1995 1—Randy Johnson 282.5 2—Clayton Kershaw #Dodgers 277.1* 3—Max Schezer #BlueJays 256.7 4—Justin Verlander #SFGiants 247.0 5—Pedro Martinez 244.8 6—Zack Greinke 224.5 7—Albert Pujols 207.8 *Earns 1.0 B-T pt as Player of Game FR www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/8/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Aug 16, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Kershaw ranks 1st among active players in career points
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (6IP 2H R BB 3K W in the 3-2 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 277.1 career Box-Toppers points, second among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and first among all active players.
Kershaw trails overall leader Randy Johnson (282.5) by 5.4 points. (It should be noted that Johnson began his career in 1988, before the advent of Box-Toppers tracking. If his entire career were tracked, rough projections put his Box-Toppers point total at 380.)
Kershaw leads active players in career points ahead of the second-place player, Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (256.7). Kershaw leads active NL pitchers ahead of second-place Justin Verlander of the Giants (247.0).
Kershaw now has 4.7 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 50th among NL pitchers. He has only two seasons with fewer points than the 4.7 he has now—his 2009 rookie season (4.0) and 2024 (2.0), both with the Dodgers.
Career Box-Toppers points—Active AL pitchers 1—Max Scherzer #BlueJays 256.7 2—Gerrit Cole #Yankees 165.0 3—Jacob deGrom #Rangers 149.2 4—Charlie Morton #Tigers 119.5* 5—Kevin Gausman #BlueJays 108.5 6—Patrick Corbin #Rangers 101.4 *Earns 1.0 B-T point Friday www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/8/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Aug 16, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Morton ranks 10th among active players in career points
Tigers pitcher Charlie Morton (6IP 2H 0R 3BB 5K W in the 7-0 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 119.5 career points, 52nd-most among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
With his 1.0 point Friday, he passes two players on the “all-time” career points list—Carlos Delgado (118.7) and Cliff Lee (119.1). He now trails 51st-ranked player Gary Sheffield (124.1). (Sheffield began his career before the 1995 advent of Box-Toppers. If his entire career from 1988 were tracked, Box-Toppers estimates his career total at 155.)
Morton ranks 10th among active, signed players in career points, fourth among active AL pitchers.
Morton now has 6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 36th among AL pitchers.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2025 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Friday, Aug. 15.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 20.1 |
| 2 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 17.4 |
| 3 | Nick Pivetta | pi sp | Padres | 16.7 |
| 4 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 16.1 |
| 5 | Garrett Crochet | pi sp | Red Sox | 14.1 |
| 6 | Sonny Gray | pi sp | Cardinals | 14.0 |
| 7 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | pi sp | Dodgers | 14.0 |
| 8 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 13.0 |
| 9 | Carlos Rodón | pi sp | Yankees | 12.7 |
| 10 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 12.7 |
Also notable
Blue Jays closing pitcher Jeff Hoffman earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Friday.
Hoffman (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 6-5 win over the Rangers) was also Player of the Game Thursday in the 2-1 win over the Cubs (1IP H 0R 0BB 3K Sv). He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point each day, giving him 8.0 for the season, 24th among AL pitchers and first among AL closing pitchers, ahead of second-place Josh Hader of the Astros (7.0 points).
Scoring
Young earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Waldrep earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Yelich and Thomas 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.
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Friday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Reviewing the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest Box-Toppers game scores.Top pitching matchup
Result—PHI 6, WSH 2A Box-Toppers look at Friday’s pitching matchups Notable—PHI at WSH Zack Wheeler #Phillies 20.1 B-T points in 2025, 1st* MacKenzie Gore #Nationals 8.7 B-T points in 2025, 13th* *Rank among NL pitchers, 2025 All Friday pitching matchups: www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/8/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Aug 15, 2025 at 3:39 PM
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Neither starter was Player of the Game.
Zack Wheeler, Phillies, had +1.0 B-T game score (5IP 4H 2R 2BB 6K ND).
MacKenzie Gore, Nationals, had +3.0 B-T game score in loss (6IP 4H 2R 2BB 7K ND).
Player of the Game—Kyle Schwarber, Phillies (HR 1-3 2R 3BI) with +3.0 B-T game score.
High scores, no points
Highest Box-Toppers game scores for the day among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:▪️+8.0—Sandy Alcantara, Marlins (6IP 2H R BB 7K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. BOS.
Player of the Game—Aroldis Chapman, Red Sox (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K W) with +2.0 game score.
▪️+8.0—Jacob deGrom, Rangers (5IP 2H 0R 0BB 5K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. TOR.
Player of the Game—Jeff Hoffman, Blue Jays (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K W) with +4.0 game score.
▪️+5.2—José Ureña, Twins (5.2IP 2H 0R BB 3K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. DET
Player of the Game—Charlie Morton, Tigers (6IP 2H 0R 3BB 5K W) with +6.0 game score.
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores
Out of 449 total players Friday, 142 pitchers-16.9—Pierson Ohl, Twins (2.1IP 8H 7R 3ER 2BB K L vs. DET)
-16.8—Nick Martinez, Reds
-13.0—Luis Castillo, Mariners
-12.9—Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
Out of 307 total batters Friday-5.0—Josh Lowe, Rays 0-5 3K
-5.0—Pete Alonso, Mets 0-5 2K
-5.0—J.P. Crawford, Mariners 0-5 2K
-5.0—Cody Bellinger, Yankees 0-5 K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.
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).| 8/15 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +13.0 | BAL 7, HOU 0 | Brandon Young (W, 1‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| NL | +9.0 | ATL 2, CLE 0 | Hurston Waldrep (W, 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| BAT | +7.0 | MIL 10, CIN 8 | Christian Yelich DH | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | DET 7, MIN 0 | Charlie Morton (W, 8‑10) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | ATH 10, LAA 3 | Colby Thomas CF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | `COL 4, ARI 3 | Jimmy Herget (H, 4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +4.0 | LAD 3, SD 2 | Clayton Kershaw (W, 7‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | `PIT 3, CHC 2 | Braxton Ashcraft | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +4.0 | TOR 6, TEX 5 | Jeff Hoffman (W, 8‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | KC 3, CHW 1 | Carlos Estévez (S, 31) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | SEA 11, NYM 9 | Cal Raleigh C | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | PHI 6, WSH 2 | Kyle Schwarber DH | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | NYY 4, STL 3 | David Bednar (S, 19) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | TB 7, SF 6 | Chandler Simpson LF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | BOS 2, MIA 1 | Aroldis Chapman (W, 4‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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 2025 (’25). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’24-’25), the period 2020-2025 (’20-25) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2025 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2024 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’25 | ’24‑25 | ’20‑25 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yelich, Christian 3334 | dh | mil nl | 11.2 | 14.7 | 34.4 | 78.1 | +7.7 |
| Schwarber, Kyle 3536 | dh | phi nl | 9.0 | 17.5 | 31.0 | 49.5 | +0.5 |
| Hoffman, Jeff 3806 | pi cp | tor al | 8.0 | 13.0 | 19.0 | 22.7 | +3.0 |
| Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | det al | 6.0 | 15.4 | 50.5 | 119.5 | -3.4 |
| Raleigh, Cal 4481 | ca | sea al | 6.0 | 12.2 | 23.7 | 23.7 | -0.2 |
| Bednar, David 4499 | pi cp | nyy al | 5.0 | 7.0 | 22.0 | 22.0 | +3.0 |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.7 | 6.7 | 49.6 | 277.1 | +2.7 |
| Chapman, Aroldis 2826 | pi cp | bos al | 4.0 | 7.0 | 18.0 | 73.1 | +1.0 |
| Estevez, Carlos 3641 | pi cp | kc al | 4.0 | 7.0 | 10.0 | 16.0 | +1.0 |
| Ashcraft, Braxton 5208 | pi sp mr | pit nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Waldrep, Hurston 5248 | pi sp | atl nl | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | +2.7 |
| Simpson, Chandler 5162 | cf lf | tb al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Young, Brandon 5253 | pi sp | bal al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Thomas, Colby 5254 | cf | oak al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +1.5 |
| Herget, Jimmy 4610 | pi mr cp | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +1.0 |
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 2025 (’25), this year and last year (’24-25), over a six-year period (’20-25) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’25 | ’24‑25 | ’20‑25 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIT | Burrows, Mike 5196 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| CHC | Imanaga, Shota 4960 | 6.0 | 26.7 | 26.7 | 26.7 |
| TEX | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 26.8 | 101.4 |
| TOR | Lauer, Eric 4017 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 25.4 | 38.8 |
| PHI | Walker, Taijuan 3453 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 35.8 | 62.2 |
| WSH | Cavalli, Cade 5244 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| MIA | Quantrill, Cal 4195 | 6.7 | 11.7 | 27.4 | 29.4 |
| BOS | Bello, Brayan 4727 | 6.4 | 14.1 | 17.1 | 17.1 |
| SEA | Woo, Bryan 4842 | 13.0 | 24.7 | 33.4 | 33.4 |
| NYM | McLean, Nolan* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIL | Priester, Quinn 5059 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| CIN | Littell, Zack 4533 | 5.7 | 14.1 | 20.1 | 20.1 |
| ATL | Wentz, Joey 4639 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| CLE | Cecconi, Slade 4913 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| BAL | Garcia, Rico* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| HOU | Alexander, Jason 5241 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
| CHW | Burke, Sean 5124 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| KC | Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 23.7 | 32.2 |
| DET | Mize, Casey 4377 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 13.7 | 13.7 |
| MIN | Matthews, Zebby 5186 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| NYY | Fried, Max 4011 | 10.7 | 24.1 | 66.6 | 77.6 |
| STL | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 14.0 | 26.4 | 60.0 | 124.3 |
| ARI | Nelson, Ryne 4728 | 8.4 | 16.8 | 25.2 | 25.2 |
| COL | Dollander, Chase 5169 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| TB | Houser, Adrian 4162 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 19.1 | 21.1 |
| SF | Verlander, Justin 2112 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 41.4 | 247.0 |
| SD | Cease, Dylan 4231 | 8.7 | 29.8 | 74.6 | 76.6 |
| LAD | Snell, Blake 3688 | 2.0 | 17.7 | 60.6 | 106.8 |
| LAA | Anderson, Tyler 3656 | 4.0 | 12.0 | 36.4 | 49.4 |
| ATH | Morales, Luis* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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