| AL PITCHERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | NL PITCHERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |||
| 1 | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | pi sp | det al | 20.4 | 1 | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 20.1 | |
| 2 | Crochet, Garrett 4434 | pi sp | bos al | 16.1 | 2 | Skenes, Paul 5005 | pi sp | pit nl | 20.1 | |
| 3 | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | pi sp | tex al | 14.4 | 3 | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | pi sp | sd nl | 17.7 | |
| 4 | Woo, Bryan 4842 | pi sp | sea al | 14 | 4 | Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | pi sp | lad nl | 15.7 | |
| 5 | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | nyy al | 12.7 | 5 | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | phi nl | 14.7 | |
| 6 | Soriano, Jose 4884 | pi sp | ana al | 12.7 | 6 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | stl nl | 14.0 | |
| 7 | Brown, Hunter 4729 | pi sp | hou al | 12.4 | 7 | Suarez, Ranger 4228 | pi sp | phi nl | 13.8 | |
| 8 | Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | nyy al | 11.7 | 8 | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | pi sp | mil nl | 13.7 | |
| 9 | Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | tor al | 11.7 | 9 | Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 | pi sp | phi nl | 12.7 | |
| 10 | Ryan, Joe 4539 | pi sp | min al | 11.7 | 10 | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 | |
| AL BATTERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | NL BATTERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |||
| 1 | Springer, George 3337 | dh rf | tor al | 9.7 | 1 | Yelich, Christian 3334 | dh | mil nl | 11.2 | |
| 2 | Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | cle al | 9.5 | 2 | Schwarber, Kyle 3536 | dh | phi nl | 11.0 | |
| 3 | Greene, Riley 4675 | lf cf | det al | 9.0 | 3 | Suzuki, Seiya 4924 | dh | chi nl | 9.5 | |
| 4 | Caminero, Junior 5089 | 3b | tb al | 9.0 | 4 | Crow‑Armstrong, Pete 5073 | cf | chi nl | 9.5 | |
| 5 | Abreu, Wilyer 4911 | rf | bos al | 8.5 | 5 | Devers, Rafael 4038 | dh | sf nl | 7.7 | |
| 6 | Ward, Taylor 4345 | lf | ana al | 8.5 | 6 | Wood, James 5078 | lf dh | dc nl | 7.7 | |
| 7 | Altuve, Jose 3007 | lf 2b dh | hou al | 8.0 | 7 | Adames, Willy 4041 | ss | sf nl | 7.5 | |
| 8 | Story, Trevor 3607 | ss | bos al | 8.0 | 8 | Muncy, Max 3969 | 3b | lad nl | 7.5 | |
| 9 | Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b | sea al | 7.5 | 9 | Alonso, Pete 4118 | 1b | nym nl | 7.2 | |
| 10 | Perez, Salvador 2972 | ca 1b | kc al | 7.5 | 10 | Soto, Juan 3994 | rf | nym nl | 7.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal rises to lead Box-Toppers season player rankings this week, passing Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler, who led since mid-May but is now out for the season.
Wheeler, however, still clings to a razor-thin lead among National League pitchers in 2025 Box-Toppers points. Meanwhile, George Springer of the Blue Jays rises this week to first place among American League batters and Christian Yelich of the Brewers maintains his lead among NL batters.
Skubal leads
Skubal has 20.4 Box-Toppers points, earning 1.0 point in the past week, rising from second place last week to first place this week, passing Wheeler, the leader for the past 15 weeks, who falls to second place with 20.1 points.
This is the ninth straight week Skubal has led AL pitchers. He is currently 4.3 points ahead of second-place AL pitcher, 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. (Crochet has perhaps three or four starts remaining this season.)
National League pitchers
Though Wheeler lost the overall lead this week, his 20.1 points still narrowly ranks first among NL pitchers. But Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, second among NL pitchers, now has the same 20.1-point total for the season. Though Wheeler and Skenes have the same season total, Wheeler ranks higher because he has more 2024 points—21.4 vs. 13.0.
This is the 16th straight week Wheeler has led NL pitchers. He led all players from May 11 to Aug. 31, when Skubal passed him.
Wheeler ranks second overall.
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 a diagnosis of venous thoracic outlet syndrome. That is a condition in which the subclavian vein, located below the collar bone, is compressed, leading to symptoms like arm swelling, discoloration, and heaviness. Wheeler was set to undergo thoracic outlet decompression surgery, with recovery time expected to be six to eight months.
American League batters
George Springer of the Astros rises from third place last week to first place this week with 9.7 Box-Toppers points, earning 1.0 point in the past week. He passes previous leader José Ramírez of the Guardians, who falls to second place with 9.5 points.
Springer ranks 34th among all players.
National League batters
Christian Yelich of the Brewers leads for the fifth week with 11.2 Box-Toppers points, picking up no points in the past week. He leads over second-place Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies (11.0 points).
Yelich ranks 22nd among all players.
Box-Toppers almanac
Batters won Player of the Game honors in 41 of the 93 games played in the past week (44.1 percent) with pitchers winning the other 52 (55.9 percent).
Batters’ share of Player of the Game honors for the season increased from 39.3 percent last week to 39.5 percent this week (830 times in 2,103 total games). Pitchers have won Player of the Game honors in the other 1,273 games (60.8 percent).
Batters’ share of Box-Toppers points earned this season increased from 39.3 percent last week to 39.5 percent this week (987.8 points out of 2,499.1 total awarded). Pitchers have won 60.5 percent of all points.
Last year, batters had the lowest share of points compared to pitchers (37.2 percent) in any season since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
While batters have struggled to reach parity with pitchers in recent seasons, it wasn’t always this way: From 1995 to 2009, batters generally won half or more of all Box-Toppers points each season. But their share of points dropped precipitously after 2009.
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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