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Mets pitcher Nolan McLean is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Thursday’s spring training games.
Other standout winners include Luken Baker (Diamondbacks), Brent Rooker (Athletics), and Paul Goldschmidt (Yankees), who earned top honors for the second time in three days.
Player of the Day: Nolan McLean, Mets
McLean struck out six over four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Astros.
Set to pitch for Team USA in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, McLean earned 7.7 Box-Toppers points in 2025—ranking 34th among NL pitchers and second among NL rookies behind the Cubs' Cade Horton (9.7).
AL Player of the Day: Brent Rooker, Athletics
Rooker homered and went 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 7-3 win over the Rangers.
Rooker earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 15th among American League designated hitters.
NL Batter of the Day: Luken Baker, Diamondbacks
Baker hit a three-run homer and went 1-for-1, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 13-10 win over the Royals.
Despite appearing in 73 Major League games over the last three seasons, Baker is still seeking his first regular-season Player of the Game honor (0.0 career points).
AL Batter of the Day
There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Brent Rooker.
Notable
Paul Goldschmidt of the Yankees is the first player to earn Player of the Game honors twice this spring.
After a strong Thursday performance (HR 2-3 2R BI in the 7-3 win over the Athletics), he added to his "AL Player of the Day" honors from Tuesday.
Interestingly, Goldschmidt earned Player of the Game honors three times during the 2025 spring training season and then failed to earn any Player of the Game honors in his 146 regular season games that year.
However, the 38-year-old veteran holds 88.0 career points—ranking second among active batters (behind Freddie Freeman, 95.9) and first in the AL (ahead of Mike Trout, 87.2).
Also notable
Trevor Story of the Red Sox has the most 2025 Box-Toppers points among Thursday’s spring training Player of the Game winners.
Story (2-2B 2-3 R 2BI in the 7-5 win over the Rays) earned 8.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 10th among AL batters.
World Baseball Classic
Five of Thursday’s winners will soon depart to play for their nation in the World Baseball Classic:
Nolan McLean (NYM): United States
Cal Raleigh (SEA): United States
Paul Goldschmidt (NYY): United States
Will Smith (LAD): United States
Tyler O'Neill (BAL): Canada
Thursday’s games
In Thursday’s 16 completed spring training matchups:
8 Games: Won by players with previous regular-season Box-Toppers points (see table).
8 Games: Won by players with 0.0 career regular-season Box-Toppers points.
Thursday’s Scoring Summary
No official Box-Toppers points are awarded for preseason exhibition games. Had this been the regular season, points would have been awarded as follows:
Nolan McLean (NYM): 2.0 points (Player of the Day)
Brent Rooker (ATH): 1.7 points (AL Player of the Day)
Luken Baker (ARI): 1.5 points (NL Batter of the Day)
All other winners, listed in the chart: 1.0 point
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. More on how Box-Toppers works.
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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).| 2/26 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +8.0 | NYM 5, HOU 0 | Nolan McLean (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| BAT | +5.0 | ARI 13, KC 10 | Luken Baker 1B | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | MIL 5, TEX 1 | Tate Kuehner (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +4.0 | PHI 7, WSH 3 | Kehden Hettiger DH | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | `STL 9, HOU 4 | Gerson Moreno | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| AL | +3.0 | ATH 7, TEX 3 | Brent Rooker DH | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | CIN 11, SD 10 | Tyler Callihan LF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | MIA 8, TOR 7 | Chase Jaworsky PR‑SS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | PIT 6, MIN 4 | Shawn Ross C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | COL 11, SF 3 | TJ Rumfield 1B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | LAA 5, CHC 4 | Mitch Farris (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | BAL 6, DET 5 | Tyler O’Neill RF | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | BOS 7, TB 5 | Trevor Story SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | SEA 8, CLE 7 | Cal Raleigh C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | NYY 7, ATL 3 | Paul Goldschmidt 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | LAD 7, CHW 6 | Will Smith C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
MLB—Overall Box‑Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box‑Toppers points.
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.
N/A—Not applicable. No Player of the Game was chosen because the game ended in a tie.
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. No points are awarded during spring training games, so all players have 0.0 Box-Toppers points for 2026. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2025 (’25). Also shown is their point total for the period 2021-2025 (’21-25) and each players’ career point total. (Player of the Game winners not listed here have yet to earn Box-Toppers points during the regular season.)Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’26 | ’25 | ’21‑25 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Story, Trevor 3607 | ss | bos al | 0.0 | 8.0 | 22.7 | 45.7 |
| McLean, Nolan 5255 | pi sp | nym nl | 0.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| Raleigh, Cal 4481 | ca | sea al | 0.0 | 6.0 | 23.7 | 23.7 |
| O’Neill, Tyler 4074 | rf lf | bal al | 0.0 | 3.0 | 21.2 | 27.7 |
| Rooker, Brent 4795 | dh | oak al | 0.0 | 2.0 | 10.5 | 10.5 |
| Smith, Will 4175 | ca | lad nl | 0.0 | 1.0 | 11.0 | 17.0 |
| Farris, Mitch 5281 | pi sp | ana al | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | nyy al | 0.0 | 0.0 | 25.7 | 88.0 |
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 2026 (’26)†, last year (’25), over five years (’21-25), and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’26† | ’25 | ’21‑25 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAL | Baz, Shane 4560 | 0.0 | 10.7 | 16.4 | 16.4 |
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 37.4 | 38.4 |
| NYM | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | 0.0 | 14.7 | 65.9 | 84.6 |
| STL | Mathews, Quinn* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TOR | Lauer, Eric 4017 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 27.4 | 40.8 |
| TB | Pepiot, Ryan 4714 | 0.0 | 10.7 | 27.4 | 27.4 |
| PHI | Cabrera, Jean* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| DET | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | 0.0 | 8.4 | 31.4 | 65.7 |
| BOS | Bello, Brayan 4727 | 0.0 | 7.4 | 18.1 | 18.1 |
| ATL | Sale, Chris 2806 | 0.0 | 11.4 | 41.2 | 183.8 |
| MIA | Snelling, Robby* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 57.8 | 120.8 |
| NYY | Gil, Luis 4498 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 19.4 | 19.4 |
| MIN | Sands, Cole 5017 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| LAA | Suter, Brent 3843 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 12.7 |
| CIN | Lowder, Rhett 5107 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| CLE | Allen, Logan T. 4789 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 16.7 | 16.7 |
| CHC | Cabrera, Edward 4641 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 23.8 | 23.8 |
| ATH | Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 31.1 | 31.1 |
| KC | Falter, Bailey 4473 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 19.1 | 19.1 |
| LAD | Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | 0.0 | 17.7 | 24.1 | 24.1 |
| SF | Ray, Robbie 3502 | 0.0 | 9.4 | 45.2 | 89.3 |
| TEX | Gore, MacKenzie 4582 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 28.4 | 28.4 |
| CHW | Fedde, Erick 4065 | 0.0 | 2.7 | 25.2 | 29.9 |
| SD | Vasquez, Randy 4841 | 0.0 | 5.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| COL | Gordon, Tanner 5230 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| CHW | Burke, Sean 5124 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| MIL | Sproat, Brandon* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| HOU | McCullers, Lance 3488 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 16.1 | 51.7 |
| WSH | Mikolas, Miles 3034 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 29.8 | 47.2 |
| ARI | Nelson, Ryne 4728 | 0.0 | 8.4 | 25.2 | 25.2 |
| SEA | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | 0.0 | 16.1 | 61.9 | 97.7 |
Games shown are spring training games between MLB teams. Doesn't include games vs. non-MLB teams.
† Players don’t earn Box-Toppers points in spring training games, only regular season games, so no pitcher has earned any points in 2026.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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