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
▪️ Sunday’s Sidelights Sidebar
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Angels pitcher José Soriano is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors, passing Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler, who had led since May 11.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2025 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Sunday, Aug. 31.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 20.4 |
| 2 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 20.1 |
| 3 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 18.1 |
| 4 | Nick Pivetta | pi sp | Padres | 17.7 |
| 5 | Garrett Crochet | pi sp | Red Sox | 16.1 |
| 6 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | pi sp | Dodgers | 15.7 |
| 7 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 14.7 |
| 8 | Nathan Eovaldi | pi sp | Rangers | 14.4 |
| 9 | Sonny Gray | pi sp | Cardinals | 14.0 |
| 10 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 14.0 |
In addition, Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Other Player of the Game winners Sunday include Twins pitcher Joe Ryan, Giants pitcher Justin Verlander, Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom, Jarren Duran of the Red Sox and Reds pitcher Brady Singer.
Player of the Day
Soriano struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and three walks, in the 3-0 win over the Astros.
Soriano earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season, 15th among all players and sixth among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and no walks, in the 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks. Yamamoto did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Diamondbacks tied the game after he exited.
Yamamoto earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 15.7 for the season, rising from 10th to sixth place overall and fourth among NL pitchers.
Yamamoto recorded a +11.0 Box-Toppers game score Sunday, same as Soriano. But Soriano beat Yamamoto for overall Player of the Day honors because he earned the win in his game, while Yamamoto picked up a no-decision.
American League Batter of the Day
Jarren Duran of the Red Sox hit a three-run, inside-the-park home run, doubled and went 2-for-2, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 5-2 win over the Pirates.
Duran earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, 15th among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day
There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Sunday because no NL batter won Player of the Game honors in the 15 games completed.
Rankings: Skubal is new Box-Toppers points leader
Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal rises from second to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
2025 lead changes
Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead. It also shows the number of days they led player rankings.| Date | Leader | Team | BTP | Days led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/18 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Dodgers | 2.0 | 9 |
| 3/27 | Logan Gilbert | Mariners | 2.0 | 6 |
| 4/2 | Zack Wheeler | Phillies | 2.7 | 1 |
| 4/3 | Aaron Judge | Yankees | 3.5 | 4 |
| 4/7 | Logan Gilbert | Mariners | 3.7 | 4 |
| 4/11 | Pete Alonso | Mets | 4.5 | 2 |
| 4/13 | Logan Gilbert | Mariners | 4.7 | 3 |
| 4/16 | Nick Pivetta | Padres | 5.0 | 3 |
| 4/19 | Garrett Crochet | White Sox | 5.4 | 3 |
| 4/22 | Nick Pivetta | Padres | 6.0 | 17 |
| 5/9 | Hunter Brown | Astros | 6.4 | 2 |
| 5/11 | Zack Wheeler | Phillies | 7.4 | 112 |
| 8/31 | Tarik Skubal | Tigers | 20.4 | 1 |
Skubal (7IP 4H 0R 2BB 4K W in the 5-0 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 20.4 for the season. He passes the previous leader, Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (20.1 points), who had led for 112 straight days since taking the lead May 11 and now falls to second place.
Wheeler’s 2025 season was cut short when he was diagnosed with venous thoracic outlet syndrome. He will undergo thoracic outlet decompression surgery and recovery time is expected to be six to eight months.
Wheeler last earned Player of the Game honors Aug. 10, went on the injured list Aug. 16 with a diagnosed blood clot and was ruled out for the season on Aug. 23 with his most recent diagnosis.
Wheeler seemed on course to repeat as Box-Toppers Player of the Year. Wheeler led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2024 with 21.4. Since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, only three players have won Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors in consecutive seasons:
Randy Johnson led all players in five straight seasons: 1998 (with the Mariners and Astros) and 1999-2002 with the Diamondbacks.
Johan Santana led all players for three straight seasons: 2004-2006, all with the Twins.
Clayton Kershaw led all players in 2013 and 2014 with the Dodgers. He also led all players in 2011.
Skubal also extends his lead among American League pitchers, 4.3 points ahead of second-place Garrett Crochet of the Red Sox (16.1). It would take Crochet at least three starts, earning a maximum of 2.0 points each time, to pass Skubal in player rankings.
Skubal becomes the second player to reach 20 Box-Toppers points in 2025. It is his second season and second straight season with 20.0 points. He had 21.1 points in 2024 with the Tigers, second among all players (behind Wheeler’s 21.4) and first among AL pitchers. Skubal reached 20 points in 2024 on Sept. 24.
Notable
Several Sunday Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners recorded notable achievements:
Joe Ryan rises to 19th
Twins pitcher Joe Ryan (7IP 5H 0R BB 8K W in the 7-2 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season, 19th among all players and 10th among AL pitchers.
Sunday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers post reviewing the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest Box-Toppers game scores is on Substack:
⬛ Luzardo records best game score among Sunday’s non-Player of the Game winners
DeGrom reaches 10 points, 150.2 career points
Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom (5IP 2H 0R BB 6K W in the 9-6 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season, 31st among all players and 17th among AL pitchers.
deGrom is the 30th player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2025. It is his seventh season with 10 points and his first since 2021 with the Mets, when he had 16.7 points, ninth overall and seventh among NL pitchers. Since then, deGrom has struggled with injury and underwent elbow surgery in 2023 that kept him out more than a year. He earned 1.0 point in his 2024 return with the Rangers.
deGrom’s best season was 2015 with the Mets, when he had 22.4 points, third overall and third among NL pitchers.
deGrom also now has 150.2 career Box-Toppers points, 28th-most among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 27th-ranked player Barry Bonds (152.2). (It should be noted that Bonds would have a projected 230 career Box-Toppers points if his entire career from 1986 were tracked.)
deGrom ranks sixth among active, signed players in career points, third among active AL pitchers, behind Max Scherzer of the Blue Jays (256.7) and Gerrit Cole of the Yankees (165.0).
Singer reaches 10 points
Reds pitcher Brady Singer (6IP 5H 3R 0BB 8K W in the 7-4 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season, 30th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers.
Singer is the 31st player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2025. It is his third season with 10 or more points and second in a row. His best season was 2022 with the Royals, when he had 11.7 points, 18th among AL pitchers. In 2024, he had 10.0 points with the Royals, 27th among AL pitchers.
2025 Box-Toppers points—AL pitchers 1—Tarik Skubal #Tigers 20.4* 2—Garrett Crochet #RedSox 16.1 3—Nathan Eovaldi #Rangers 14.4 4—Bryan Woo #Mariners 14.0 5—Carlos Rodón #Yankees 12.7 6—José Soriano #Angels 12.7† *Earns 1.0 B-T pt Sunday †Earns 2.0 B-T pts Sunday www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/8/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Sep 1, 2025 at 6:29 AM
2025 Box-Toppers points—NL pitchers 1—Zack Wheeler #Phillies 20.1 2—Paul Skenes #Pirates 18.1 3—Nick Pivetta #Padres 17.7 4—Yoshinobu Yamamoto #Dodgers 15.7* 5—Jesús Luzardo #Phillies 14.7 6—Sonny Gray #STLCards 14.0 *Earns 1.7 B-T pt as SU’s NL Player of the Day www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/8/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Sep 1, 2025 at 6:39 AM
Career Box-Toppers points—active players 1—Clayton Kershaw #Dodgers 278.8 2—Max Scherzer #BlueJays 256.7 3—Justin Verlander #SFGiants 248.0* 4—Chris Sale #Braves 179.8 5—Gerrit Cole #Yankees 165.0 6—Jacob deGrom #Rangers 150.2* *Earns 1.0 B-T point Sunday www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/8/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Sep 1, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Verlander reaches 248.0 career points with first of 2025
Giants pitcher Justin Verlander (5IP 3H 0R 4BB 10K W in the 13-2 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point—his first of the season—and now has 248.0 career points, fourth-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. That ranks third among active players, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (278.8 points) and Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (256.7 points). It ranks second among active NL players, behind Kershaw.
This was Verlander’s first Player of the Game honor of 2025 in his 24th start of the season. Verlander would now have a 20-season streak earning Box-Toppers points, except he earned no points in 2021 as he rehabilitated from Tommy John surgery. Still, Verlander is now the only player to earn Box-Toppers points in both 2006 (when he made his Box-Toppers debut) and 2025.
Scoring
Soriano earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Yamamoto earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Duran earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day.
All of Sunday’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).
Walker Buehler, 31, signed to minor league deal by #Phillies. He had 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025 with #RedSox, which is now 48th among NL pitchers. Prior to 2022 Tommy John surgery, with #Dodgers: 2018—15.1 B-T points, 5th* 2019—16.4, 7th* 2021—16.7, 8th* *Top 10 rank among NL pitchers
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Sep 1, 2025 at 7:16 AM
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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).| 8/31 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +11.0 | LAA 3, HOU 0 | José Soriano (W, 10‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | |
| NL | +11.0 | `LAD 5, ARI 4 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | |
| +9.0 | MIN 7, SD 2 | Joe Ryan (W, 13‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| +8.0 | SF 13, BAL 2 | Justin Verlander (W, 3‑10) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | ||
| +8.0 | TEX 9, ATH 6 | Jacob deGrom (W, 11‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +6.0 | MIA 5, NYM 1 | Sandy Alcantara (W, 8‑11) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +5.0 | DET 5, KC 0 | Tarik Skubal (W, 12‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| +5.0 | `COL 6, CHC 5 | Tanner Gordon | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| +4.2 | `ATL 3, PHI 1 | Hurston Waldrep | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | BOS 5, PIT 2 | Jarren Duran LF | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | CIN 7, STL 4 | Brady Singer (W, 12‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | ||
| +3.0 | TB 7, WSH 4 | Ian Seymour (W, 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| +3.0 | SEA 4, CLE 2 | Andrés Muñoz (S, 32) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | TOR 8, MIL 4 | Myles Straw CF‑LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | CHW 3, NYY 2 | Mike Vasil (S, 3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skubal, Tarik 4414 | pi sp | det al | 20.4 | 41.5 | 71.6 | 71.6 | -0.7 |
| Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | pi sp | lad nl | 15.7 | 22.1 | 22.1 | 22.1 | +9.3 |
| Soriano, Jose 4884 | pi sp | ana al | 12.7 | 15.7 | 16.7 | 16.7 | +9.7 |
| Ryan, Joe 4539 | pi sp | min al | 11.7 | 21.4 | 47.5 | 47.5 | +2.0 |
| Singer, Brady 4337 | pi sp | cin nl | 10.0 | 20.0 | 43.7 | 43.7 | 0.0 |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | tex al | 10.0 | 11.0 | 53.5 | 150.2 | +9.0 |
| Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 7.0 | 7.0 | 47.8 | 54.2 | +7.0 |
| Duran, Jarren 4783 | lf | bos al | 6.0 | 8.5 | 16.0 | 16.0 | +3.5 |
| Straw, Myles 4152 | lf cf | tor al | 4.7 | 4.7 | 7.2 | 8.2 | +4.7 |
| Waldrep, Hurston 5248 | pi sp | atl nl | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | +4.7 |
| Munoz, Andres 4222 | pi cp mr | sea al | 3.0 | 9.0 | 14.0 | 15.0 | -3.0 |
| Vasil, Mike 5187 | pi mr cp | chi al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Seymour, Ian 5265 | pi sp | tb al | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | +2.7 |
| Gordon, Tanner 5230 | pi sp | col nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | sf nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 42.4 | 248.0 | -1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Monday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIA | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| WSH | Alvarez, Andrew* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| NYM | Manaea, Sean 3637 | 1.0 | 16.4 | 43.8 | 70.3 |
| DET | Morton, Charlie 2503 | 7.0 | 16.4 | 51.5 | 120.5 |
| TOR | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 5.0 | 12.7 | 63.9 | 76.6 |
| CIN | Greene, Hunter 4651 | 8.4 | 18.1 | 29.8 | 29.8 |
| CLE | Messick Parker 5266 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| BOS | Bello, Brayan 4727 | 7.4 | 15.1 | 18.1 | 18.1 |
| LAA | Kikuchi, Yusei 4136 | 6.7 | 17.4 | 40.8 | 44.8 |
| HOU | Garcia, Luis 4423 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 22.7 | 22.7 |
| CHW | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIN | Ober, Bailey 4441 | 1.0 | 14.4 | 32.8 | 32.8 |
| ATH | Morales, Luis 5268 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| STL | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 14.0 | 26.4 | 60.0 | 124.3 |
| ATL | Strider, Spencer 4626 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 39.5 | 39.5 |
| CHC | Rea, Colin 3582 | 2.0 | 12.4 | 17.4 | 21.1 |
| PHI | Walker, Taijuan 3453 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 35.8 | 62.2 |
| MIL | Misiorowski, Jacob 5200 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| SF | Teng, Kai-Wei 5247 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| COL | Dollander, Chase 5169 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| BAL | Bradish, Kyle 4597 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 25.0 | 25.0 |
| 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 |
| TB | Baz, Shane 4560 | 7.0 | 11.0 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| TEX | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | 6.0 | 11.0 | 28.8 | 103.4 |
| ARI | Nelson, Ryne 4728 | 8.4 | 16.8 | 25.2 | 25.2 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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