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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Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other Player of the Game winners Wednesday include Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams, Spencer Steer of the Reds, Giants pitcher Justin Verlander and Trent Grisham of the Yankees.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2025 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Wednesday, Sept. 17.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 22.1 |
| 2 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 20.1 |
| 3 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 20.1 |
| 4 | Garrett Crochet | pi sp | Red Sox | 18.8 |
| 5 | Nick Pivetta | pi sp | Padres | 17.7 |
| 6 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 17.0 |
| 7 | Ranger Suárez | pi sp | Phillies | 15.8 |
| 8 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | pi sp | Dodgers | 15.7 |
| 9 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 15.7 |
| 10 | Freddy Peralta | pi sp | Brewers | 14.7 |
Player of the Day
Snell struck out 12 over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 5-0 win over the Phillies.
Snell earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, 92nd among all players and 35th among National League pitchers.
Snell also now has 111.8 career Box-Toppers points, 71st among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. With his 2.0 points Wednesday, he passes two players on the “all-time” career points list—Jeff Kent (110.2) and Tom Glavine (110.6). (Both Kent and Glavine began their careers before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. Box-Toppers estimates that Kent would have about 125 career points if his career from 1992 were tracked and that Glavine would have about 170 career points if his career from 1987 were tracked.)
Snell now trails 70th-ranked player, Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman (112.2).
Snell ranks 14th among active, signed players in career points, ninth among active NL pitchers.
American League Player of the Day
Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams struck out nine over five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, in the 4-0 win over the Tigers.
Williams earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season, 32nd among all players and 18th among AL pitchers.
Williams becomes the 39th player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2025. It is his first season with 10 or more points. He’s earned points in three seasons, all with the Guardians, including 4.0 points in 2023 and 3.7 points in 2024.
National League Batter of the Day
Spencer Steer of the Reds hit a three-run home run and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in five runs, in the 6-2 win over the Cardinals.
American League Batter of the Day
Trent Grisham of the Yankees hit two home runs, including a three-run homer, in the 10-5 win over the Twins. Grisham went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs.
This was the second straight day Grisham earned Player of the Game honors, after he did it Tuesday in the 10-9 win over the Twins (HR SF 2-5 2R 4BI). Grisham earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point Tuesday and 1.5 as AL Batter of the Day Wednesday, giving him 7.2 for the season, 13th among AL batters.
Notable
Giants pitcher Justin Verlander now has 249.0 career Box-Toppers points—fourth-most since tracking began in 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Verlander (7IP 3H 0R 2BB 3K ND in the 5-1, 11-inning win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.0 for the season.
His 249.0 career points is third among active players, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (279.8 points) and Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (256.7 points). He ranks second among active NL pitchers in career points behind Kershaw.
All-time leaders
Here are Box-Toppers top 10 players since record keeping began in 1995:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Retired | 282.5 |
| 2 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 279.8 |
| 3 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Rangers | 256.7 |
| 4 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | Astros | 249.0 |
| 5 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | Retired | 244.8 |
| 6 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Free agent | 224.5 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b | Retired | 207.8 |
| 8 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | Retired | 203.4 |
| 9 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | Retired | 194.1 |
| 10 | Alex Rodriguez | 3b | Retired | 187.0 |
Scoring
Snell earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Williams earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Steer and Grisham 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.
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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).| 9/17 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +15.0 | LAD 5, PHI 0 | Blake Snell (W, 5‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | |
| +10.0 | MIL 9, LAA 2 | Brandon Woodruff (W, 7‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | ||
| AL | +9.0 | CLE 4, DET 0 | Gavin Williams (W, 11‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| BAT | +5.0 | CIN 6, STL 2 | Spencer Steer 1B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | CHC 8, PIT 4 | Aaron Civale (W, 4‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +5.0 | `SF 5, ARI 1 (F/11) | Justin Verlander | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | TB 2, TOR 1 | Ian Seymour (W, 4‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | BAL 3, CHW 1 | Tyler Wells (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +4.0 | MIA 8, COL 4 | Lake Bachar (W, 7‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.1 | SD 7, NYM 4 | Adrian Morejon (W, 12‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.1 | `BOS 5, ATH 4 (F/10) | Garrett Whitlock | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | NYY 10, MIN 5 | Trent Grisham CF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | KC 7, SEA 5 | Salvador Perez C | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | ATL 9, WSH 4 | Ha‑Seong Kim SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.1 | HOU 5, TEX 2 | Bryan King (S, 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williams, Gavin 4865 | pi sp | cle al | 10.7 | 14.4 | 18.4 | 18.4 | +7.0 |
| Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 9.7 | 9.7 | 61.6 | 71.3 | +9.7 |
| Perez, Salvador 2972 | ca | kc al | 9.5 | 13.0 | 26.0 | 58.2 | +6.0 |
| Grisham, Trent 4246 | cf | nyy al | 7.2 | 9.7 | 19.2 | 21.7 | +4.7 |
| Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 | 22.7 | 65.6 | 111.8 | -8.7 |
| Morejon, Adrian 4298 | pi mr | sd nl | 6.0 | 6.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | +6.0 |
| Civale, Aaron 4173 | pi sp mr | chi nl | 5.0 | 12.1 | 37.5 | 40.5 | -2.1 |
| Steer, Spencer 4726 | 1b | cin nl | 4.0 | 7.5 | 11.5 | 11.5 | +0.5 |
| Bachar, Lake 5155 | pi mr | fla nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +4.0 |
| Seymour, Ian 5265 | pi sp | tb al | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | +3.7 |
| Whitlock, Garrett 4431 | pi mr | bos al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 | +2.0 |
| Wells, Tyler 4428 | pi sp | bal al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 13.7 | 13.7 | +3.0 |
| Kim, Ha-Seong 4373 | ss | atl nl | 2.0 | 4.7 | 13.2 | 13.2 | -0.7 |
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | sf nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 43.4 | 249.0 | 0.0 |
| King, Bryan 5189 | pi cp | hou al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLE | Bibee, Tanner 4792 | 6.0 | 20.0 | 28.7 | 28.7 |
| DET | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 22.1 | 43.2 | 73.3 | 73.3 |
| SD | Vasquez, Randy 4841 | 3.7 | 5.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| NYM | Tong, Jonah* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TOR | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 7.0 | 14.7 | 65.9 | 78.6 |
| TB | Baz, Shane 4560 | 8.7 | 12.7 | 14.4 | 14.4 |
| ATH | Ginn, J.T. 5142 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| BOS | Bello, Brayan 4727 | 7.4 | 15.1 | 18.1 | 18.1 |
| SEA | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | 13.1 | 23.8 | 63.9 | 94.7 |
| KC | Kolek, Stephen 5046 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 48.8 | 55.2 |
| COL | Gordon, Tanner 5230 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| CHC | Rea, Colin 3582 | 2.0 | 12.4 | 17.4 | 21.1 |
| CIN | Greene, Hunter 4651 | 11.4 | 21.1 | 32.8 | 32.8 |
| NYY | Fried, Max 4011 | 11.7 | 25.1 | 67.6 | 78.6 |
| BAL | Povich, Cade 5029 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| LAA | Kikuchi, Yusei 4136 | 6.7 | 17.4 | 40.8 | 44.8 |
| MIL | Priester, Quinn 5059 | 10.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| SF | Webb, Logan 4258 | 8.0 | 19.0 | 57.6 | 59.3 |
| LAD | Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | 15.7 | 22.1 | 22.1 | 22.1 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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