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
Marlins pitcher Edward Cabrera is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other Player of the Game winners Monday include Rays pitcher Ian Seymour, Angels pitcher José Soriano, Luis Torrens of the Mets and Jorge Polanco of the Mariners.
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. 25.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 20.1 |
| 2 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 19.4 |
| 3 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 18.1 |
| 4 | Nick Pivetta | pi sp | Padres | 17.7 |
| 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 |
Cabrera struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, in the 2-1 win over the Braves.
Cabrera earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season, 25th among all players and 11th among National League pitchers.
Cabrera becomes the 26th player in 2025 to reach 10 Box-Toppers points. It is his first season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. His best season was 2022 with the Marlins, when he had 6.4 points, 44th among NL pitchers. In 2024, he had 2.0 points with the Marlins.
Cabrera recorded a +14.0 Box-Toppers game score Monday, same as another Monday Player of the Game winner, Dodgers pitcher Emmet Sheehan (7IP 2H 0R BB 10K W in the 7-0 win over the Reds). But Cabrera beat Sheehan for Player of the Day honors on a tiebreaker, giving up fewer hits—one vs. two.
American League Player of the Day
Rays pitcher Ian Seymour struck out eight over five scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 9-0 win over the Guardians.
Seymour earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is 133rd among AL pitchers.
This was also Seymour’s Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. Seymour made his Major League debut June 9 and was playing in his 13th career game.
National League Batter of the Day
Luis Torrens of the Mets hit a three-run home run, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 13-3 win over the Phillies.
American League Batter of the Day
Jorge Polanco of the Mariners homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-6 win over the Padres.
Notable
Angels pitcher José Soriano becomes the 27th player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2025 after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Soriano (5.2IP 4H 0R BB 6K W in the 4-0 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season, 23rd among all players and 13th among AL pitchers.
This is Soriano’s first season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. His previous best season was 2024 with the Angels, when he had 3.0 points.
Monday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers post reviewing the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest Box-Toppers game scores is on Substack:
⬛ Skubal misses in chance to rise to 1st in 2025 Box-Toppers points
Scoring
Cabrera earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Seymour earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Torrens and Polanco each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s 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.
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).| 8/25 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +14.0 | MIA 2, ATL 1 | Edward Cabrera (W, 7‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
| +14.0 | LAD 7, CIN 0 | Emmet Sheehan (W, 5‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | ||
| AL | +11.0 | TB 9, CLE 0 | Ian Seymour (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| +8.0 | CHW 7, KC 0 | Shane Smith (W, 4‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +7.0 | NYY 10, WSH 5 | Cam Schlittler (W, 2‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| +6.2 | LAA 4, TEX 0 | José Soriano (W, 9‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | NYM 13, PHI 3 | Luis Torrens C | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +5.0 | SEA 9, SD 6 | Jorge Polanco 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | TOR 10, MIN 4 | Andrés Giménez 2B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | ATH 8, DET 3 | Nick Kurtz PH‑1B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | STL 7, PIT 6 | Alec Burleson 1B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | MIL 7, ARI 5 | Andruw Monasterio SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | BOS 4, BAL 3 | Jarren Duran LF | 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.
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soriano, Jose 4884 | pi sp | ana al | 10.7 | 13.7 | 14.7 | 14.7 | +7.7 |
| Cabrera, Edward 4641 | pi sp | fla nl | 10.7 | 12.7 | 22.8 | 22.8 | +8.7 |
| Duran, Jarren 4783 | lf | bos al | 4.5 | 7.0 | 14.5 | 14.5 | +2.0 |
| Kurtz, Nick 5221 | 1b ph | oak al | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | +4.5 |
| Smith, Shane 5158 | pi sp | chi al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +4.0 |
| Polanco, Jorge 3739 | dh 2b | sea al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 13.7 | 22.7 | +2.0 |
| Schlittler, Cam 5261 | pi sp | nyy al | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | +2.7 |
| Gimenez, Andres 4288 | 2b | tor al | 2.5 | 6.5 | 13.5 | 13.5 | ‑1.5 |
| Monasterio, Andruw 4837 | lf ss 3b ph | mil nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | +2.5 |
| Sheehan, Emmet 4886 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | +2.0 |
| Seymour, Ian 5265 | pi sp | tb al | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | +1.7 |
| Torrens, Luis 4452 | ca | nym nl | 1.5 | 3.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | ‑0.5 |
| Burleson, Alec 4874 | 1b dh | stl nl | 1.0 | 8.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | ‑6.5 |
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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOS | Giolito, Lucas 3900 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 35.8 | 56.5 |
| BAL | Bradish, Kyle 4597 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 25.0 | 25.0 |
| ATL | Waldrep, Hurston 5248 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 46.8 | 53.2 |
| TB | Baz, Shane 4560 | 7.0 | 11.0 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| CLE | Messick, Parker* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| WSH | Gore, MacKenzie 4582 | 8.7 | 16.7 | 28.4 | 28.4 |
| NYY | Gil, Luis 4498 | 0.0 | 17.4 | 18.4 | 18.4 |
| MIN | Ober, Bailey 4441 | 1.0 | 14.4 | 32.8 | 32.8 |
| TOR | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 5.0 | 12.7 | 63.9 | 76.6 |
| PHI | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | 14.7 | 16.7 | 50.6 | 50.6 |
| NYM | Manaea, Sean 3637 | 1.0 | 16.4 | 43.8 | 70.3 |
| ARI | Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 | 6.7 | 19.1 | 22.8 | 22.8 |
| MIL | Misiorowski, Jacob 5200 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| KC | Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 23.7 | 32.2 |
| CHW | Perez, Martin 3213 | 1.7 | 7.4 | 22.2 | 41.9 |
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 5.7 | 17.4 | 36.4 | 37.4 |
| STL | Pallante, Andre 4656 | 5.7 | 14.4 | 16.4 | 16.4 |
| LAA | Kikuchi, Yusei 4136 | 6.7 | 17.4 | 40.8 | 44.8 |
| TEX | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 26.8 | 101.4 |
| COL | Gordon, Tanner 5230 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| HOU | Brown, Hunter 4729 | 12.4 | 24.4 | 35.5 | 35.5 |
| SD | Cease, Dylan 4231 | 8.7 | 29.8 | 74.6 | 76.6 |
| SEA | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | 10.4 | 21.1 | 61.2 | 92.0 |
| CHC | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | 10.7 | 13.7 | 17.7 | 42.5 |
| SF | Verlander, Justin 2112 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 41.4 | 247.0 |
| DET | Morton, Charlie 2503 | 7.0 | 16.4 | 51.5 | 120.5 |
| ATH | Bido, Osvaldo 4882 | 1.7 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| CIN | Martinez, Nick 3430 | 5.7 | 15.4 | 27.8 | 34.5 |
| LAD | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | 4.7 | 6.7 | 49.6 | 277.1 |
* 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