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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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Reds pitcher Nick Lodolo is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Other Player of the Game winners Thursday include Mariners pitcher Emerson Hancock, Astros pitcher Framber Valdez, Blue Jays pitcher Eric Lauer, Brett Baty of the Mets and Ryan Mountcastle of the Orioles.
Player of the Day
Lodolo struck out 12 over 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Pirates.
Lodolo earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season, 43rd among all players and 18th among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day
Mariners pitcher Emerson Hancock struck out seven over four scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 6-2 win over the Rockies. Hancock did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he did not pitch the required five innings to earn the win.
Hancock earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, 109th among AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day
Brett Baty of the Mets hit a three-run home run and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-5 win over the Cubs.
American League Batter of the Day
Ryan Mountcastle of the Orioles homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 6-5 win over the Rays.
2025 Box-Toppers points—NL pitchers 1—Paul Skenes #Pirates 21.1 2—Zack Wheeler #Phillies 20.1 3—Nick Pivetta #Padres 17.7 4—Yoshinobu Yamamoto #Dodgers 17.7* 5—Jesús Luzardo #Phillies 17.4 6—Ranger Suárez #Philies 15.8 *Earns 1.0 B-T pt as Player of the Game TH www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/9/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Sep 26, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Rankings
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto rises from eighth to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Yamamato (6IP 4H 0R 2BB 7K W in the 8-0 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.7 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers. Though he has the same 17.7-point total as Padres pitcher Nick Pivetta, Yamamoto ranks behind Pivetta because he has fewer 2024 points—6.4 vs. 9.7.
Notable
Two other players with 10 or more Box-Toppers points also earned Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Astros pitcher Framber Valdez (7IP 7H R 2BB 10K W in the 11-5 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season, 25th overall and 13th among AL pitchers.
Blue Jays pitcher Eric Lauer (3.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K ND in the 4-2 win over the Red Sox) becomes the 42nd player in 2025 to reach 10 Box-Toppers points. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season, 42nd among all players and 23rd among AL pitchers. It is his first season with 10 or more points. His previous high was 9.7 in 2022 with the Brewers, 30th among NL pitchers. He had no points in 2024, pitching in the minor leagues and Korea.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2025 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Thursday, Sept. 25.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 22.1 |
| 2 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 21.1 |
| 3 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 20.1 |
| 4 | Garrett Crochet | pi sp | Red Sox | 19.8 |
| 5 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 18.0 |
| 6 | Nick Pivetta | pi sp | Padres | 17.7 |
| 7 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | pi sp | Dodgers | 17.7 |
| 8 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 17.4 |
| 9 | Luis Castillo | pi sp | Mariners | 16.1 |
| 10 | Ranger Suárez | pi sp | Phillies | 15.8 |
Final weekly team & player rankings reports
Box-Toppers’ weekly team and player rankings reports are normally posted on Fridays. However, this week’s final 2025 reports will be released after the end of the regular season, which is scheduled to conclude on Sunday.
Scoring
Lodolo earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Hancock earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Baty and Mountcastle each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Thursday’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).| 9/25 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +15.1 | CIN 2, PIT 1 | Nick Lodolo (W, 9‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | |
| AL | +9.0 | `SEA 6, COL 2 | Emerson Hancock | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| +8.0 | MIN 4, TEX 0 | Bailey Ober (W, 6‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +7.0 | LAD 8, ARI 0 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto (W, 12‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| +6.0 | HOU 11, ATH 5 | Framber Valdez (W, 13‑11) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| +5.2 | KC 9, LAA 4 | Michael Lorenzen (W, 7‑11) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | ||
| +5.1 | `TOR 6, BOS 1 | Eric Lauer | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +4.0 | DET 4, CLE 2 | Will Vest (S, 22) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | NYM 8, CHC 5 | Brett Baty 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +3.0 | BAL 6, TB 5 | Ryan Mountcastle DH | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.0 | NYY 5, CHW 3 | David Bednar (S, 26) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.0 | PHI 1, MIA 0 | Walker Buehler (W, 10‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 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.
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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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | pi sp | lad nl | 17.7 | 24.1 | 24.1 | 24.1 | +11.3 |
| Valdez, Framber 4048 | pi sp | hou al | 11.7 | 27.1 | 62.8 | 68.5 | -3.7 |
| Lauer, Eric 4017 | pi sp mr | tor al | 10.0 | 10.0 | 27.4 | 40.8 | +10.0 |
| Lodolo, Nick 4586 | pi sp | cin nl | 9.7 | 18.7 | 25.7 | 25.7 | +0.7 |
| Bednar, David 4499 | pi cp | nyy al | 7.0 | 9.0 | 24.0 | 24.0 | +5.0 |
| Buehler, Walker 3943 | pi sp | phi nl | 6.0 | 7.7 | 34.1 | 65.6 | +4.3 |
| Vest, Will 4608 | pi cp mr | det al | 6.0 | 7.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | +5.0 |
| Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 | 10.0 | 24.7 | 33.2 | 0.0 |
| Ober, Bailey 4441 | pi sp | min al | 3.0 | 16.4 | 34.8 | 34.8 | -10.4 |
| Hancock, Emerson 4985 | pi sp | sea al | 2.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | +1.7 |
| Baty, Brett 4937 | 2b 3b | nym nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | +2.5 |
| Mountcastle, Ryan 4325 | dh 1b | bal al | 1.5 | 9.5 | 23.2 | 23.2 | -6.5 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Friday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | Mikolas, Miles 3034 | 7.0 | 11.0 | 29.8 | 47.2 |
| CHC | Rea, Colin 3582 | 2.0 | 12.4 | 17.4 | 21.1 |
| CHW | Gómez, Yoendrys 5249 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| WSH | Cavalli, Cade 5244 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 11.7 | 21.4 | 47.5 | 47.5 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 3.7 | 17.1 | 63.5 | 118.8 |
| BAL | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 27.7 | 27.7 |
| NYY | Warren, Will 5143 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 |
| TB | Houser, Adrian 4162 | 7.7 | 8.7 | 22.1 | 24.1 |
| TOR | Bieber, Shane 4005 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 40.8 | 65.3 |
| DET | Mize, Casey 4377 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 14.7 | 14.7 |
| BOS | Harrison, Kyle 4914 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| NYM | Sproat, Brandon* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 48.8 | 55.2 |
| TEX | Leiter, Jack 5132 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| CLE | Cecconi, Slade 4913 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 6.7 | 18.4 | 37.4 | 38.4 |
| ATL | Wentz, Joey 4639 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| CIN | Littell, Zack 4533 | 6.7 | 15.1 | 21.1 | 21.1 |
| MIL | Priester, Quinn 5059 | 11.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| HOU | Alexander, Jason 5241 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.4 |
| LAA | Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | 7.7 | 13.4 | 33.1 | 87.0 |
| ARI | Gallen, Zac 4171 | 12.7 | 25.1 | 70.5 | 76.2 |
| SD | Darvish, Yu 3003 | 4.7 | 13.4 | 60.0 | 144.4 |
| LAD | Sheehan, Emmet 4886 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| SEA | Kirby, George 4595 | 11.0 | 26.4 | 51.5 | 51.5 |
| KC | Cameron, Noah 5167 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| ATH | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| COL | Marquez, German 3788 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 26.8 | 53.9 |
| SF | McDonald, Trevor* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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