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
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fifth place in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2025 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Wednesday, Aug. 20.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 20.1 |
| 2 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 19.4 |
| 3 | Nick Pivetta | pi sp | Padres | 17.7 |
| 4 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 17.1 |
| 5 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 14.7 |
| 6 | Garrett Crochet | pi sp | Red Sox | 14.1 |
| 7 | Sonny Gray | pi sp | Cardinals | 14.0 |
| 8 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | pi sp | Dodgers | 14.0 |
| 9 | Nathan Eovaldi | pi sp | Rangers | 13.4 |
| 10 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 13.0 |
Other Player of the Game winners Wednesday include Yankees pitcher Cam Schlitter, Gavin Sheets of the Padres, Tigers pitcher Charlie Morton and Tyler Soderstrom of the Athletics.
Player of the Day
Luzardo struck out 12 over six innings, allowing one run, three hits and no walks, in the 11-2 win over the Mariners.
Luzardo earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.7 for the season, fifth among all players and fourth among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day
Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler struck out eight over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, in the 6-4, 10-inning win over the Rays. Schlitter did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Rays tied the game after he exited.
Schlittler earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and ranks 128th among AL pitchers.
This is Schlittler’s Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. Schlittler made his Major League debut July 9 and was playing in his seventh career game.
National League Batter of the Day
Gavin Sheets of the Padres hit two home runs, including a three-run homer, in the 8-1 win over the Giants. Sheets went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs.
Sheets earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 5.5 for the season, 20th among NL batters.
American League Batter of the Day
Tyler Soderstrom of the Athletics homered, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in one run, in the 4-2, 10-inning win over the Twins.
Soderstrom earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.5 for the season, 28th among AL batters.
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 120.5* 5—Kevin Gausman #BlueJays 108.5 6—Patrick Corbin #Rangers 101.4 *Earns 1.0 B-T point Wednesday www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/8/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Aug 21, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Notable
Tigers pitcher Charlie Morton now has 120.5 career Box-Toppers points—52nd-most among all players since tracking began in 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Morton (6IP 3H 2R 3BB 8K W in the 7-2 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now trails 51st-ranked player Gary Sheffield (124.1) on the “all-time” career points list. (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 7.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 31st among AL pitchers.
Debut
In addition to Schlitter, Matt Shaw of the Cubs also made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Shaw (HR 1-2 2R BI in the 4-3 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut March 18 and was playing in his 93rd career game.
2025 Box-Toppers points—NL pitchers 1—Zack Wheeler #Phillies 20.1 2—Nick Pivetta #Padres 17.7 3—Paul Skenes #Pirates 17.1 4—Jesús Luzardo #Phillies 14.7* 5—Sonny Gray #STLCards 14.0 6—Yoshinobu Yamamoto #Dodgers 14.0 *Earns 2.0 B-T pts as WE’s Player of the Day www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/8/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Aug 21, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Scoring
Luzardo earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Schlitter earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Sheets and Soderstrom each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Wednesday’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 Bluesky or Twitter (X).
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).| 8/20 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +13.0 | PHI 11, SEA 2 | Jesús Luzardo (W, 12‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | |
| AL | +11.2 | `NYY 6, TB 4 (F/10) | Cam Schlittler | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| +9.0 | ATL 1, CHW 0 | Hurston Waldrep (W, 4‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +7.0 | MIA 6, STL 2 | Sandy Alcantara (W, 7‑11) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| +6.0 | PIT 2, TOR 1 | Johan Oviedo (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +5.1 | `TEX 6, KC 3 | Jacob Latz | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | SD 8, SF 1 | Gavin Sheets LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | DET 7, HOU 2 | Charlie Morton (W, 9‑10) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||
| +3.0 | COL 8, LAD 3 | Orlando Arcia 3B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | ATH 4, MIN 2 (F/10) | Tyler Soderstrom LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.0 | CHC 4, MIL 3 | Matt Shaw 3B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | `ARI 3, CLE 2 (F/10) | Brandon Pfaadt | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +2.0 | LAA 2, CIN 1 | Reid Detmers (W, 4‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| +1.0 | WSH 5, NYM 4 | Josh Bell 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | phi nl | 14.7 | 16.7 | 50.6 | 50.6 | +12.7 |
| Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | det al | 7.0 | 16.4 | 51.5 | 120.5 | -2.4 |
| Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 | 19.1 | 22.8 | 22.8 | -5.7 |
| Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 6.0 | 6.0 | 46.8 | 53.2 | +6.0 |
| Sheets, Gavin 4457 | lf dh | sd nl | 5.5 | 8.5 | 17.0 | 17.0 | +2.5 |
| Soderstrom, Tyler 5039 | 1b lf | oak al | 4.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | +2.5 |
| Detmers, Reid 4513 | pi sp mr | ana al | 4.0 | 7.7 | 22.4 | 22.4 | +0.3 |
| Waldrep, Hurston 5248 | pi sp | atl nl | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | +3.7 |
| Bell, Josh E. 3682 | dh 1b | dc nl | 3.0 | 9.0 | 19.0 | 36.7 | -3.0 |
| Latz, Jacob 5204 | pi cp | tex al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Schlittler, Cam 5261 | pi sp | nyy al | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | +1.7 |
| Arcia, Orlando 3717 | 3b ss | col nl | 1.0 | 2.5 | 10.0 | 18.2 | -0.5 |
| Oviedo, Johan 4442 | pi sp | pit nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 13.7 | 13.7 | +1.0 |
| Shaw, Matt 5262 | 3b | chi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
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 Thursday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATH | Perkins, Jack 5225 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| MIN | Urena, Jose 3492 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 25.4 |
| TEX | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 26.8 | 101.4 |
| KC | Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 23.7 | 32.2 |
| MIL | Priester, Quinn 5059 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| CHC | Imanaga, Shota 4960 | 7.0 | 27.7 | 27.7 | 27.7 |
| LAD | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | 4.7 | 6.7 | 49.6 | 277.1 |
| COL | Dollander, Chase 5169 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| NYM | Manaea, Sean 3637 | 1.0 | 16.4 | 43.8 | 70.3 |
| WSH | Gore, MacKenzie 4582 | 8.7 | 16.7 | 28.4 | 28.4 |
| SF | Verlander, Justin 2112 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 41.4 | 247.0 |
| SD | Cease, Dylan 4231 | 8.7 | 29.8 | 74.6 | 76.6 |
| BOS | Giolito, Lucas 3900 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 35.8 | 56.5 |
| NYY | Gil, Luis 4498 | 0.0 | 17.4 | 18.4 | 18.4 |
| HOU | Alexander, Jason 5241 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| BAL | Young, Brandon 5253 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| STL | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 14.0 | 26.4 | 60.0 | 124.3 |
| TB | Boyle, Joe 4948 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
* Player has yet to earn any career 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