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
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Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Red Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Other Player of the Game winners Saturday include Cubs pitcher Cade Horton, Blue Jays pitcher José Berríos, Casey Schmitt of the Giants and Colson Montgomery of the White Sox.
Player of the Day
Leiter struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 10-0 win over the Guardians.
Leiter earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, 153rd among all players and 53rd among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day
Cubs pitcher Cade Horton struck out seven over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 12-1 win over the Angels.
Horton earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, 26th among NL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day
Casey Schmitt of the Giants hit a three-run home run, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 7-1 win over the Brewers.
American League Batter of the Day
Colson Montgomery of the White Sox hit a grand slam and went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 7-3 win over the Twins.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2025 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Saturday, Aug. 23.| 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 | Garrett Crochet | pi sp | Red Sox | 15.1 |
| 6 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 14.7 |
| 7 | Nathan Eovaldi | pi sp | Rangers | 14.4 |
| 8 | Sonny Gray | pi sp | Cardinals | 14.0 |
| 9 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 14.0 |
| 10 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | pi sp | Dodgers | 14.0 |
Rankings
Red Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet rises from seventh to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Crochet (7IP 5H R BB 11K W in the 12-1 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.1 for the season. He rises to second place among AL pitchers, passing Nathan Eovaldi of the Rangers (14.4 points) and now trails top-ranked AL pitcher Tarik Skubal of the Tigers (19.4 points) by 4.3 points. It would take Crochet at least three starts, earning a maximum of 2.0 points in each start, to pass Skubal.
Notable
Blue Jays pitcher José Berríos now has 11.7 Box-Toppers points in 2025 after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Berríos (6.1IP 4H 2R 0BB 8K ND in the 7-6, 12-inning win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now ranks 14th among all players, seventh among AL pitchers. He’s one of 24 players with 10 or more Box-Toppers points in 2025.
Saturday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers post reviewing the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest Box-Toppers game scores is on Substack:
⬛ Cubs’ Reese McGuire shines Saturday but fails to win Player of the Game honors
Scoring
Leiter earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Horton earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Schmitt and Montgomery each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Saturday’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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2025 Box-Toppers points leader Zack Wheeler #Phillies now ruled out for season & may require thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, sidelining him 6-8 months. Wheeler leads players with 20.1 B-T points & also led all players in 2024 with 21.4.
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Aug 23, 2025 at 2:43 PM
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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).| 8/23 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +15.0 | TEX 10, CLE 0 | Jack Leiter (W, 8‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| +10.0 | BOS 12, NYY 1 | Garrett Crochet (W, 14‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | ||
| NL | +9.0 | CHC 12, LAA 1 | Cade Horton (W, 8‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| +8.0 | SD 5, LAD 1 | Nestor Cortes (W, 2‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +7.0 | PIT 5, COL 1 | Carmen Mlodzinski (W, 3‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| +6.1 | `TOR 7, MIA 6 (F/12) | Jose Berríos | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | SF 7, MIL 1 | Casey Schmitt 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.1 | DET 4, KC 2 | Will Vest (S, 19) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | NYM 9, ATL 2 | Jeff McNeil 2B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | ARI 10, CIN 1 | Blaze Alexander 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | CHW 7, MIN 3 | Colson Montgomery SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.1 | `ATH 2, SEA 1 (F/10) | Jeffrey Springs | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| +2.0 | HOU 9, BAL 8 | Victor Caratini C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | PHI 6, WSH 4 | Edmundo Sosa 2B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crochet, Garrett 4434 | pi sp | bos al | 15.1 | 25.8 | 26.8 | 26.8 | +4.4 |
| Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | tor al | 11.7 | 21.4 | 53.2 | 90.7 | +2.0 |
| Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | pi sp | oak al | 8.7 | 13.7 | 31.1 | 31.1 | +3.7 |
| Horton, Cade 5216 | pi sp | chi nl | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | +7.7 |
| Vest, Will 4608 | pi cp mr | det al | 5.0 | 6.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | +4.0 |
| Leiter, Jack 5132 | pi sp | tex al | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +5.0 |
| Schmitt, Casey 4807 | 3b 2b | sf nl | 3.5 | 3.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +3.5 |
| Cortes, Nestor 4160 | pi sp | sd nl | 3.0 | 18.4 | 40.8 | 42.8 | -12.4 |
| Caratini, Victor 4026 | dh ca | hou al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 12.0 | +3.0 |
| Montgomery, Colson 5235 | 3b ss | chi al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| McNeil, Jeff 4050 | 2b rf | nym nl | 2.5 | 6.5 | 11.0 | 15.0 | -1.5 |
| Mlodzinski, Carmen 4894 | pi sp mr | pit nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 |
| Alexander, Blaze 4971 | 3b ss dh | ari nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Sosa, Edmundo 4495 | 2b | phi nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Sunday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COL | Brown, McCade* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| PIT | Skenes, Paul 5005 | 17.1 | 30.1 | 30.1 | 30.1 |
| STL | Liberatore, Matthew 4662 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| TB | Pepiot, Ryan 4714 | 7.0 | 16.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 |
| HOU | Arrighetti, Spencer 5022 | 1.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| BAL | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 7.7 | 9.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 |
| NYM | Peterson, David 4347 | 5.7 | 10.4 | 23.4 | 23.4 |
| ATL | Elder, Bryce 4709 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 14.7 | 14.7 |
| WSH | Irvin, Jake 4805 | 7.7 | 17.7 | 20.7 | 20.7 |
| PHI | Suarez, Ranger 4228 | 10.8 | 21.2 | 38.9 | 39.9 |
| KC | Lugo, Seth 3729 | 5.0 | 19.1 | 30.5 | 43.5 |
| DET | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | 6.7 | 18.7 | 34.4 | 64.0 |
| TOR | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | 10.4 | 20.4 | 66.5 | 108.5 |
| MIA | Perez, Eury 4814 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| MIN | Bradley, Taj 4780 | 6.0 | 18.1 | 23.1 | 23.1 |
| CHW | Gómez, Yoendrys 5249 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| SF | Ray, Robbie 3502 | 9.4 | 13.1 | 46.2 | 89.3 |
| MIL | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CLE | Williams, Gavin 4865 | 7.0 | 10.7 | 14.7 | 14.7 |
| TEX | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 10.7 | 12.7 | 43.7 | 51.7 |
| CHC | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | 6.4 | 14.4 | 39.5 | 65.9 |
| LAA | Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | 5.0 | 10.7 | 30.4 | 84.3 |
| CIN | Singer, Brady 4337 | 8.0 | 18.0 | 41.7 | 41.7 |
| ARI | Gallen, Zac 4171 | 8.0 | 20.4 | 65.8 | 71.5 |
| LAD | Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | 14.0 | 20.4 | 20.4 | 20.4 |
| SD | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 17.7 | 27.4 | 50.1 | 71.8 |
| ATH | Lopez, Jacob 5202 | 11.4 | 11.4 | 11.4 | 11.4 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 9.4 | 22.4 | 56.9 | 56.9 |
| BOS | May, Dustin 4214 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 15.4 | 17.4 |
| NYY | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | 12.7 | 25.4 | 57.9 | 83.0 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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