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
▪️ Monday’s Sidelights Sidebar
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2025 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Monday, Aug. 18.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 20.1 |
| 2 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 17.4 |
| 3 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 17.1 |
| 4 | Nick Pivetta | pi sp | Padres | 16.7 |
| 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 | Nathan Eovaldi | pi sp | Rangers | 13.4 |
| 9 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 13.0 |
| 10 | Carlos Rodón | pi sp | Yankees | 12.7 |
Also Monday, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes rises to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Other Player of the Game winners Monday include Phillies pitcher Ranger Suárez, Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta and Kyle Teel of the White Sox.
Player of the Day
Flaherty struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 10-0 win over the Astros.
Flaherty earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season, 79th among all players and 34th among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day
Phillies pitcher Ranger Suárez struck out 10 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, four hits and no walks, in the 12-7 win over the Mariners.
Suárez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 10.8 for the season, 15th among all players and eighth among NL pitchers.
Suárez becomes the 24th player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2025. It is his second season and second straight season with 10 or more points. He also did it in 2024 with the Phillies, when he had 10.4 points, 23rd among NL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day
Kyle Teel of the White Sox homered and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in one run, in the 13-9 win over the Braves.
National League Batter of the Day
There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because no NL batter won Player of the Game honors in the 12 games completed.
2025 Box-Toppers points—NL pitchers 1—Zack Wheeler #Phillies 20.1 2—Paul Skenes #Pirates 17.1* 3—Nick Pivetta #Padres 16.7 4—Sonny Gray #STLCards 14.0 5—Yoshinobu Yamamoto #Dodgers 14.0 6—Jesús Luzardo #Phillies 12.7 *Earns 1.0 B-T pt as Player of the Game Monday www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/8/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Aug 19, 2025 at 7:33 AM
Rankings
Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes rises from fourth to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Skenes (6IP 5H 2R BB 8K ND in the 5-2 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.1 for the season. He passes Padres pitcher Nick Pivetta (16.7) in player rankings and now ranks behind Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (20.1 points) and Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (17.4 points). Skenes rises to second among NL pitchers, 3.0 points behind Wheeler.
It would take Skenes at least two starts (earning a maximum of 2.0 points in each start) to pass Wheeler for the lead overall and among NL pitchers. Wheeler underwent surgery on Monday to remove a blood clot from his right upper arm. He is on the 15-day injured list, but the team has indicated his timetable for return is uncertain.
Nathaniel Lowe, 30, signed by #RedSox (after release from #Nationals). His 5.5 Box-Toppers points in 2025 earned with WSH is now 18th among AL batters, 3rd among AL 1Bs & 3rd among all BOS batters: 1—Wilyer Abreu 8.5 2—Trevor Story 8.0 3—Lowe 5.5 4—Ceddanne Rafaela 4.5
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Aug 19, 2025 at 7:58 AM
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Notable
Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta now has 11.7 Box-Toppers points in 2025—13th overall and seventh among NL pitchers—after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Peralta (6IP H 0R 3BB 6K W in the 7-0 win over the Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point as Player of the Game Monday.
Debut
Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Monday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Rockies pitcher Luis Peralta (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K ND in the 4-3 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut Aug. 24, 2024, and was playing in his 26th career game.
Cardinals pitcher Matt Svanson (2IP H 0R 0BB K W in the 8-3 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut April 17 and was playing in his 25th career game.
Scoring
Flaherty earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Suárez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Teel earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day.
All of Monday’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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Monday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Reviewing the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest Box-Toppers game scores.Top pitching matchup
Result—PIT 5, TOR 2A Box-Toppers look at Monday’s pitching matchups Notable—TOR at PIT Kevin Gausman #BlueJays 10.4 B-T points in 2025, 21st* Paul Skenes #PIrates 16.1 B-T points in 2025, 4th* *Overall rank All Monday pitching matchups: www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/8/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Aug 18, 2025 at 1:15 PM
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Paul Skenes, Pirates, was Player of the Game (6IP 5H 2R BB 8K ND) with +4.0 B-T game score.
Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays, had -2.0 B-T game score in loss (5IP 5H 2R 2BB 4K ND).
Skenes earns 1.0 B-T point, giving him 17.1 for 2025, rising to 3rd overall.
High scores, no points
Highest Box-Toppers game scores for the day among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:▪️+6.0—Jurickson Profar, Braves (2HR 3-5 3R 5BI)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. CHW.
Player of the Game—Kyle Teel, White Sox (HR 4-5 2R BI) with +2.0 game score.
▪️+5.0—Trea Turner, Phillies (HR 2B 4-6 2R 5BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. SEA.
Player of the Game—Teammate Ranger Suárez (6.2IP 4H 2R 0BB 10K W) with +8.2 game score.
▪️+3.0—Colt Keith, Tigers (HR 2B 3-4 2R 2BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. HOU.
Player of the Game—Teammate Jack Flaherty (7IP 3H 0R BB 9K W) with +12.0 game score.
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores
Out of 347 total players Monday, 98 pitchers-20.0—Spencer Strider, Braves (3IP 10H 7R BB 2K L vs. CHW)
-18.0—Logan Gilbert, Mariners
-14.8—Tayler Scott, Astros
-13.0—Casey Legumina, Mariners
-12.9—Owen White, White Sox
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
Out of 249 total batters Monday-5.0—Colton Cowser, Orioles 0-5 3K
-5.0—Cal Raleigh, Mariners 0-5 3K
-5.0—Drake Baldwin, Braves 0-5 K
-5.0—Masyn Winn, Cardinals 0-5
-4.0—Alek Thomas, Diamondback 0-4 3K
-4.0—Daulton Varsho, Blue Jays 0-4 3K
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).| 8/18 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +12.0 | DET 10, HOU 0 | Jack Flaherty (W, 7‑12) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| NL | +8.2 | PHI 12, SEA 7 | Ranger Suárez (W, 9‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | |
| +8.0 | MIL 7, CHC 0 | Freddy Peralta (W, 15‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| +7.0 | BAL 6, BOS 3 | Trevor Rogers W, 6‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +5.2 | SF 4, SD 3 | Robbie Ray (W, 10‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +5.1 | CLE 3, ARI 1 | Gavin Williams (W, 8‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +4.1 | CIN 4, LAA 1 | Scott Barlow (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +4.0 | `PIT 5, TOR 2 | Paul Skenes | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| +4.0 | `COL 4, LAD 3 | Luis Peralta | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | CHW 13, ATL 9 | Kyle Teel C | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.0 | `STL 8, MIA 3 | Matt Svanson (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.0 | KC 4, TEX 3 | Mike Yastrzemski DH | 3 | 1 | 2 | 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skenes, Paul 5005 | pi sp | pit nl | 17.1 | 30.1 | 30.1 | 30.1 | +4.1 |
| Peralta, Freddy 3965 | pi sp | mil nl | 11.7 | 25.1 | 64.9 | 81.6 | -1.7 |
| Suarez, Ranger 4228 | pi sp | phi nl | 10.8 | 21.2 | 38.9 | 39.9 | +0.4 |
| Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | sf nl | 9.4 | 13.1 | 46.2 | 89.3 | +5.7 |
| Rogers, Trevor 4311 | pi sp | bal al | 7.7 | 9.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 | +5.7 |
| Williams, Gavin 4865 | pi sp | cle al | 7.0 | 10.7 | 14.7 | 14.7 | +3.3 |
| Flaherty, Jack 3971 | pi sp | det al | 6.7 | 18.7 | 34.4 | 64.0 | -5.3 |
| Barlow, Scott 3981 | pi mr | cin nl | 4.0 | 6.0 | 21.0 | 24.0 | +2.0 |
| Teel, Kyle 5213 | ca | chi al | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | +3.5 |
| Yastrzemski, Mike 4203 | rf dh | kc al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 13.5 | 14.5 | +3.0 |
| Peralta, Luis 5257 | pi mr | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Svanson, Matt 5258 | pi mr | stl nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Tuesday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIL | Patrick, Chad 5131 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| CHC | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | 10.7 | 13.7 | 17.7 | 42.5 |
| HOU | Brown, Hunter 4729 | 12.4 | 24.4 | 35.5 | 35.5 |
| DET | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 17.4 | 38.5 | 68.6 | 68.6 |
| STL | McGreevy, Michael 5113 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| MIA | Cabrera, Edward 4641 | 8.7 | 10.7 | 20.8 | 20.8 |
| TOR | Scherzer, Max 2588 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 59.5 | 256.7 |
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 5.7 | 17.4 | 36.4 | 37.4 |
| NYM | Peterson, David 4347 | 4.0 | 8.7 | 21.7 | 21.7 |
| WSH | Irvin, Jake 4805 | 7.7 | 17.7 | 20.7 | 20.7 |
| SEA | Miller, Bryce 4797 | 2.0 | 17.7 | 30.8 | 30.8 |
| PHI | Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 | 10.0 | 21.4 | 25.4 | 25.4 |
| BAL | Sugano, Tomoyuki 5163 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| BOS | Buehler, Walker 3943 | 5.0 | 6.7 | 33.1 | 64.6 |
| CHW | Smith, Shane 5158 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| ATL | Elder, Bryce 4709 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 14.7 | 14.7 |
| NYY | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | 12.7 | 25.4 | 57.9 | 83.0 |
| TB | Baz, Shane 4560 | 7.0 | 11.0 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| ATH | Lopez, Jacob 5202 | 10.4 | 10.4 | 10.4 | 10.4 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 10.7 | 20.4 | 46.5 | 46.5 |
| TEX | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 10.7 | 12.7 | 43.7 | 51.7 |
| KC | Lugo, Seth 3729 | 4.0 | 18.1 | 29.5 | 42.5 |
| MIL | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 58.6 | 68.3 |
| CHC | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | 5.4 | 13.4 | 38.5 | 64.9 |
| LAD | Sheehan, Emmet 4886 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| COL | Gomber, Austin 3985 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 20.0 | 24.7 |
| CIN | Greene, Hunter 4651 | 7.4 | 17.1 | 28.8 | 28.8 |
| LAA | Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | 5.0 | 10.7 | 30.4 | 84.3 |
| CLE | Bibee, Tanner 4792 | 4.0 | 18.0 | 26.7 | 26.7 |
| ARI | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 27.7 | 71.9 |
| SF | Teng, Kai-Wei 5247 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| SD | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 16.7 | 26.4 | 49.1 | 70.8 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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