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Jarren Duran of the Red Sox is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Saturday’s spring training games.
Other standout winners include Cubs pitcher Javier Assad, Nationals pitcher Jake Irvin and Eric Haase of the Giants.
Player of the Day: Jarren Duran, Red Sox
Duran hit two home runs and went 2-for-2, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 13-8 win over the Twins.
Duran earned 6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 25th among American League batters.
NL Player of the Day: Javier Assad, Cubs
Assad struck out four over three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no walks, in the 6-2 win over the Dodgers. While Ben Brown earned the win as the pitcher of record, Assad’s dominant relief appearance (sixth through eighth innings) earned him NL Player of the Day honors.
Assad earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 112th among National League pitchers. He missed most of the 2025 season with a strained left oblique, making just eight appearances. He earned 6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 53rd among NL pitchers, making 29 starts.
NL Batter of the Day: Eric Haase, Giants
Haase hit a grand slam and went 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 8-2 win over the Athletics.
Haase earned no Box-Toppers points in 2025, playing in 30 games for the Brewers. He earned 1.5 points in 2024, also playing in 30 games.
AL Batter of the Day
There is no separate Batter of the Day for Saturday, as the overall Player of the Day is batter Jarren Duran.
Notable
Nationals pitcher Jake Irvin has the most 2025 Box-Toppers points among Saturday’s spring training Player of the Game winners.
Irvin (3IP H 0R BB 4K W in the 3-2 win over the Mets) earned 7.7 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 33rd among NL pitchers.
World Baseball Classic
Five of Saturday’s winners are on rosters to play in the upcoming World Baseball Classic (notably, none for Team USA):
Mexico: Jarren Duran (BOS), Javier Assad (CHC)
Netherlands: Chadwick Tromp (ATL)
Dominican Republic: Austin Wells (NYY)
Italy: Sam Antonacci (CHW)
Saturday’s games
In Saturday’s 16 completed spring training matchups:
11 Games: Won by players with previous regular-season Box-Toppers points (see table).
5 Games: Won by players with 0.0 career regular-season Box-Toppers points.
Saturday’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:
Jarren Duran (BOS): 2.0 points (Player of the Day)
Javier Assad (CHC): 1.7 points (NL Player of the Day)
Eric Haase (SF): 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).| 2/28 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +7.0 | BOS 13, MIN 8 | Jarren Duran DH | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| NL | +6.0 | `CHC 6, LAD 2 | Javier Assad (H, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| +5.0 | DET 12, TB 3 | Corey Julks LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | WSH 3, NYM 2 | Jake Irvin (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +4.0 | KC 16, COL 3 | Lane Thomas CF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | SF 8, ATH 2 | Eric Haase C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | STL 10, MIA 2 | JJ Wetherholt 2B | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | ARI 8, LAA 5 | Yassel Soler 3B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | ATL 7, BAL 5 | Chadwick Tromp C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CIN 9, MIL 7 | Dane Myers CF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | SD 7, SEA 1 | Jackson Merrill CF | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | NYY 5, TOR 1 | Austin Wells C | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CHW 7, CLE 5 | Sam Antonacci DH | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | TOR 7, PHI 5 | Josh Rivera 3B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | `PIT 5, HOU 2 (F/6) | Braxton Ashcraft | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | TEX 7, LAD 6 | Luis Curvelo (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irvin, Jake 4805 | pi sp | dc nl | 0.0 | 7.7 | 20.7 | 20.7 | ‑4.5 |
| Duran, Jarren 4783 | lf | bos al | 0.0 | 6.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | ‑6.0 |
| Ashcraft, Braxton 5208 | pi sp | pit nl | 0.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | ‑2.3 |
| Wells, Austin 5098 | ca | nyy al | 0.0 | 3.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | ‑11.1 |
| Merrill, Jackson 4977 | cf | sd nl | 0.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | ‑7.0 |
| Assad, Javier 4899 | pi sp | chi nl | 0.0 | 2.0 | 12.7 | 12.7 | ‑2.0 |
| Thomas, Lane 4623 | cf | kc al | 0.0 | 1.0 | 11.2 | 11.2 | ‑0.7 |
| Myers, Dane 4993 | cf | cin nl | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | +0.7 |
| Haase, Eric 4461 | ca dh | sf nl | 0.0 | 0.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | ‑1.5 |
| Julks, Corey 4778 | lf | det al | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | ‑12.0 |
| Tromp, Chadwick 4707 | ca | atl nl | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | ‑5.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Sunday’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 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 59.5 | 78.6 |
| BOS | Suarez, Ranger 4228 | 0.0 | 15.8 | 43.9 | 44.9 |
| PIT | Barco, Hunter* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| STL | Leahy, Kyle 5001 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| TOR | Rogers, Grant* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| DET | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 0.0 | 22.1 | 73.3 | 73.3 |
| TB | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 31.2 | 31.2 |
| ATL | Lopez, Reynaldo 3712 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 21.2 | 42.0 |
| ATL | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIN | Abel, Mick 5184 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| MIA | Paddack, Chris 4093 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 17.7 | 36.5 |
| WSH | Lord, Brad 5234 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| NYY | Warren, Will 5143 | 0.0 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 |
| PHI | Painter, Andrew* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| HOU | Alexander, Jason 5241 | 0.0 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.4 |
| NYM | Holmes, Clay 4022 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 17.0 | 18.0 |
| COL | Dollander, Chase 5169 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| CLE | Williams, Gavin 4865 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 19.4 | 19.4 |
| LAA | Detmers, Reid 4513 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 22.4 | 22.4 |
| LAD | Knack, Landon 5009 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| CIN | Abbott, Andrew 4839 | 0.0 | 10.7 | 26.7 | 26.7 |
| ATH | Ginn, J.T. 5142 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| SD | Marquez, German 3788 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 23.8 | 53.9 |
| SF | Webb, Logan 4258 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 57.6 | 60.3 |
| CHW | Kay, Anthony 4285 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 |
| CHC | Imanaga, Shota 4960 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 27.7 | 27.7 |
| MIL | Patrick, Chad 5131 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| KC | Bubic, Kris 4413 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 |
| CLE | Espino, Daniel* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ARI | Soroka, Michael 3956 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 16.4 |
| TEX | Latz, Jacob 5204 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 0.0 | 13.1 | 60.6 | 60.6 |
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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