The Milwaukee Brewers hold Box-Toppers points advantages over the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2026 World Series.
The Brewers rank higher than the Rays in overall Box-Toppers points and hold decided points advantages in starting pitchers and overall pitching depth. However, the Rays hold a slight points edge among the starting nine batters and bench players.
Here is an overview of each team’s Box-Toppers points:
Overall team points: Brewers players accumulated 137.3 Box-Toppers points in 2026, second overall and second among National League teams (behind the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 142.7 points). The Rays have 115.0 Box-Toppers points, fifth overall and second among American League teams (behind the New York Yankees’ 120.1 points). While both teams finished second in their respective leagues in Box-Toppers points, both led their leagues in total wins: Milwaukee with 103 and Tampa Bay with 98.
Core team roster: The Brewers’ likely starting World Series roster has 125.3 points compared to 103.5 for the Rays. (Click here to see a Box-Toppers World Series player-by-player comparison.)
Key nine batters: The Rays hold a slight edge with 29.7 Box-Toppers points compared to 27.9 for the Brewers.
Key bench players: The top four likely Rays bench players have a combined 15.0 Box-Toppers points compared to 5.5 for the Brewers.
Starting pitchers: The Brewers hold a major advantage in this category with more than twice as many Box-Toppers points as the Rays. Milwaukee's four probable starting pitchers combined for 51.2 Box-Toppers points in 2026 compared to 24.4 for Tampa Bay.
Pitching depth: Key pitchers on the Brewers’ bullpen roster have a combined 40.7 Box-Toppers points compared to 22.4 for the Rays.
Brewers Starting Pitchers Look Dominant
Box-Toppers Player of the Year Jacob Misiorowski leads a Brewers starting pitching staff that looks dominant on paper compared to the Rays. The Brewers' four starters combined for 51.2 Box-Toppers points in 2026, while the Rays' starters combined for 24.4.
The Brewers’ four likely starters are:
Jacob Misiorowski—26.1 Box-Toppers points (1st overall, 1st among NL pitchers). Misiorowski pitched fewer than five innings in both of his postseason starts and did not win Player of the Game in either, though Milwaukee won both contests. In five September starts, he pitched more than six innings only once, though he still earned Player of the Game honors four times (4.7 points).
Logan Henderson—10.4 points (37th overall, 18th among NL pitchers).
Dustin May—8.7 points (63rd overall, 28th among NL pitchers).
Robert Gasser—6.0 points (142nd overall, 48th among NL pitchers). Gasser won Player of the Game on Oct. 14 in NL Championship Series Game 3.
The Rays’ four likely starters are:
Drew Rasmussen—15.0 points (18th overall, 8th among AL pitchers). Rasmussen is one of four players to win Player of the Game honors twice this postseason, doing so Oct. 18 in ALCS Game 5 and Oct. 3 in AL Division Series Game 1.
Nick Martinez—8.0 points (74th overall, 30th among AL pitchers).
Griffin Jax—7.7 points (81st overall, 35th among AL pitchers).
Freddy Peralta—5.7 points (148th overall, 57th among AL pitchers). Peralta won Player of the Game on Oct. 13 in ALCS Game 2 and went on to win ALCS MVP honors. He began the season with the Mets, but did not win Player of the Game honors in 2026 until Aug. 26, after his Aug. 2 trade to the Rays. In September, he won Player of the Game honors four times at a pace that would have given him 24 points over a full season. Not only is Peralta hot at the right time of the season, but he has a track record of success, interestingly enough, with the World Series opponent Brewers. He earned 12 or more points in four of five seasons from 2021 to 2025, all with Milwaukee, including 14.7 in 2026, 12th overall and 8th among NL pitchers.
Brewers Hold Pitching Depth Advantage
While the Brewers hold a 40.7 to 22.4 Box-Toppers points advantage among their six main relievers, the two Brewers with the highest point totals in that group have not pitched in the 2026 postseason:
Kyle Harrison—14.7 Box-Toppers points (20th overall, 12th among NL pitchers). Normally a starter, Harrison struggled late in the season (13.50 ERA over 8.2 September innings) and was moved to the bullpen. He has yet to appear in a postseason game.
Chad Patrick—7.0 Box-Toppers points (1st among NL middle relievers). Patrick was used frequently during the regular season but has not pitched in the postseason.
Source: MLB.com
If Harrison and Patrick’s points are subtracted from Milwaukee's total, the Brewers' active bullpen depth drops to 19.0 points—less than the Rays' 22.4 points.
Relievers on both clubs have played vital postseason roles. Two middle relievers are among the four players with two postseason Player of the Game honors:
Ian Seymour (Rays)—8.7 points (65th overall, 28th among AL pitchers). Seymour won top player honors in ALDS Game 2 on Oct. 5 and in ALDS Game 3 on Oct. 7. Normally a starter, Seymour won top player honors in both games as a middle reliever.
Aaron Ashby (Brewers)—5.0 points (184th overall, 56th among NL pitchers). Ashby won top player honors Oct. 12 in NLCS Game 2 and Oct. 7 in NLDS Game 4.
Rays Hold Edge Among Batters and Bench
The Rays’ regular starting nine batters accumulated 29.7 Box-Toppers points in 2026, holding a slight edge over the Brewers’ starting nine (27.9 points).
A Box-Toppers look at some of the key starting hitters:
Yandy Díaz (Rays)—7.5 points (85th overall, 5th among AL batters).
Junior Caminero (Rays)—5.0 points (167th overall, 23rd among AL batters).
Liam Hicks (Rays)—4.5 points (31st among AL batters).
William Contreras (Brewers)—5.7 points (151st overall, 29th among NL batters).
Jackson Chourio (Brewers)—2.5 points (93rd among NL batters).
Christian Yelich (Brewers)—2.0 points (108th among NL batters).
The Rays' top four bench players hold a substantial 15.0 to 5.5 points advantage over Milwaukee's bench. Notably, Tampa Bay’s fourth-ranked bench player, Cedric Mullins (3.0 points), has more 2026 Box-Toppers points than Milwaukee's top bench player, Gary Sánchez (2.0 points).
Players with No Points in 2026
The chart elsewhere on this page shows three likely World Series participants who earned no points in 2026:
Rays relief pitcher Cole Sulser, who ranks 1,185th overall based on past season points. (He has 3.7 career points earned from 2020 to 2024.)
Rays relief pitcher Cam Booser, who has yet to earn Player of the Game honors over 124 career games and remains unranked.
Brewers shortstop Cooper Pratt, who has yet to earn Player of the Game honors over 74 career games and remains unranked.
World Series Outlook
While the Milwaukee Brewers hold the overall Box-Toppers points advantage, the margins may be closer than they appear on paper. Tampa Bay's deeper bench and slight statistical edge among starting batters give them late-game versatility.
Furthermore, while Milwaukee's starting staff looks dominant led by Player of the Year Jacob Misiorowski, there are signs of fatigue. Misiorowski has yet to pitch five full innings in a postseason start, and secondary options like Kyle Harrison have faded down the stretch.
Conversely, former Brewer Freddy Peralta arrives on a hot streak after earning ALCS MVP honors. If Peralta and the Rays' steady bullpen can contain Milwaukee's offense, Tampa Bay could capitalize on a worn-down Brewers pitching staff to claim a surprise World Series title.
The best-of-seven World Series begins Friday in Milwaukee.
World Series player comparisons
Probable players for the Rays and Brewers listed by position with their Box-Toppers point total (BTP) for the 2026 regular season and their overall rank among all players:| Tampa Bay Rays | Milwaukee Brewers | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Players | BTP | Rank | Pos | Players | BTP | Rank | |
| 1B | Jonathan Aranda | 2.7 | 371 | 1B | Jake Bauers | 5.0 | 176 | |
| 2B | Richie Palacios | 2.0 | 482 | 2B | Brice Turang | 4.7 | 201 | |
| SS | Taylor Walls | 1.0 | 646 | SS | Cooper Pratt | 0.0 | —* | |
| 3B | Junior Caminero | 5.0 | 167 | 3B | Joey Ortiz | 2.0 | 450 | |
| CA | Liam Hicks | 4.5 | 215 | CA | William Contreras | 5.7 | 151 | |
| CF | Jonny DeLuca | 2.0 | 476 | CF | Garrett Mitchell | 4.0 | 255 | |
| LF | Chandler Simpson | 2.0 | 460 | LF | Jackson Chourio | 2.5 | 383 | |
| RF | Victor Mesa Jr. | 3.0 | 360 | RF | Sal Frelick | 2.0 | 456 | |
| DH | Yandy Díaz | 7.5 | 85 | DH | Christian Yelich | 2.0 | 411 | |
| PH | Ryan Vilade | 4.5 | 220 | PH | Gary Sánchez | 2.0 | 445 | |
| PH | Nick Fortes | 4.0 | 251 | PH | Andrew Vaughn | 1.5 | 543 | |
| PH | Ben Williamson | 3.5 | 299 | PH | David Hamilton | 1.0 | 663 | |
| PH | Cedric Mulins | 3.0 | 326 | PH | Luis Lara | 1.0 | 769 | |
| SP | Drew Rasmussen | 15.0 | 18 | SP | Jacob Misiorowski | 26.1 | 1 | |
| SP | Nick Martinez | 8.0 | 74 | SP | Logan Henderson | 10.4 | 37 | |
| SP | Griffin Jax | 7.7 | 81 | SP | Dustin May | 8.7 | 63 | |
| SP | Freddy Peralta | 5.7 | 148 | SP | Robert Gasser | 6.0 | 142 | |
| CP | Bryan Baker | 3.0 | 335 | CP | Trevor Megill | 4.0 | 234 | |
| PI | Ian Seymour | 8.7 | 65 | PI | Kyle Harrison | 14.7 | 20 | |
| PI | Steven Matz | 5.0 | 183 | PI | Chad Patrick | 7.0 | 99 | |
| PI | Kevin Kelly | 3.0 | 346 | PI | Aaron Ashby | 5.0 | 184 | |
| PI | Tyler Wells | 2.7 | 371 | PI | Antontio Senzatela | 5.0 | 185 | |
| PI | Cole Sulser | 0.0 | 1185 | PI | Shane Drohan | 3.0 | 356 | |
| PI | Cam Booser | 0.0 | —* | PI | Abner Uribe | 2.0 | 462 | |
| Totals | 103.5 | Totals | 125.3 | |||||
| Starting 9 (with DH) | 29.7 | Starting 9 (with DH) | 27.9 | |||||
| Bench | 15.0 | Bench | 5.5 | |||||
| Starters | 24.4 | Starters | 51.2 | |||||
| Pitching depth | 22.4 | Pitching depth | 40.7 | |||||
• “Starting batters” shows each team’s Box-Toppers points among the most likely starting nine batters.
• “Bench” is the combined Box-Toppers point totals of top four bench players, listed here as PH (pinch hitters), though some may serve as starters in certain games.
• “Starting pitchers” is the combined Box-Toppers point totals of the four likely starting pitchers.
• “Pitching depth” is the combined Box-Toppers point totals of pitchers not listed as starters (SP) or closers (CP).
* Neither Cooper Pratt nor Cam Booser have earned their first career Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor, so have no career Box-Toppers points and no ranking.
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.
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World Series Game 1, Rays at Brewers
Friday’s pitching matchup (for more, see matchups chart below):
Rays—Undecided as of Wednesday afternoon. However, it is expected to be staff ace Drew Rasmussen, 15.0 Box-Toppers points in 2026, 18th overall, 8th among AL pitchers. Rasmussen has won two postseason Player of the Game honors (ALDS Game 1, ALCS Game 5).
Brewers—Jacob Misiorowski, 26.1 Box-Toppers points in 2026, 1st overall.
Misiorowski looks for his first Player of the Game honor of the 2026 postseason after making two previous starts.
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 2026 ('26), this year and last year ('25-26), over six years ('21-26), and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’26 | ’25‑26 | ’21‑26 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIL | Misiorowski, Jacob 5200 | 26.1 | 32.1 | 32.1 | 32.1 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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About Box-Toppers
Box-Toppers tracks who contributes most to their team’s victory. Using standard box score statistics, we identify the Player of the Game for every MLB contest. In the regular season, winners earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point, with bonus points awarded to the top overall and league-specific players of the day. (No Box-Toppers points are awarded in postseason games.) More on how Box-Toppers works.
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