Diamondbacks pitcher Ryne Nelson is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Saturday’s spring training games.
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Diamondbacks pitcher Ryne Nelson is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Saturday’s spring training games.
Other top players Saturday include P.J. Higgins of the Reds, Braves pitcher Chris Sale, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes and Jhonkensy Noel of the Orioles.
Player of the Day: Ryne Nelson, Diamondbacks
Nelson struck out seven over five scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks, in the 5-2 win over the Rangers.
Nelson earned 8.4 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 27th among National League pitchers.
This is his second Player of the Game honor of the 2026 spring training season. He also did it Feb. 27.
AL Player of the Day: Jhonkensy Noel, Orioles
Noel hit a grand slam and went 1-for-2, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 10-8 win over the Phillies.
Noel earned 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024 with the Guardians, tied for most among American League rookie batters. But he slumped in 2025 with the Guardians, batting .162 with six home runs and 13 RBIs over 69 appearances, earning no Box-Toppers points. The Orioles claimed Noel off waivers from the Guardians in January.
NL Batter of the Day: P.J. Higgins, Reds
Higgins hit a ninth-inning, walk-off grand slam in the 11-7 win over the White Sox. Higgins went 1-for-1, scoring once and driving in four runs.
Higgins, 32, has 1.0 career Box-Toppers point, earned in 2022 with the Cubs. He has played three seasons in the minor leagues since then.
AL Batter of the Day
There is no separate AL Batter of the Day Saturday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Jhonkensy Noel.
Notable: Paul Skenes, Pirates
Skenes has the most 2025 Box-Toppers points among Saturday’s spring training Player of the Game winners.
Skenes (4IP H 0R 3BB 5K W in the 8-3 win over the Blue Jays) earned 21.1 Box-Toppers points in 2025, second overall and first among NL pitchers.
This is his first Player of the Game honor of the 2026 spring training season, but he did earn Player of the Game honors with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic on March 9 in the win over Mexico.
Also notable: Chris Sale, Braves
Sale has the most career Box-Toppers points among Saturday’s spring training Player of the Game winners.
Sale (6IP 2H R BB 4K W in the 6-1 win over the Red Sox) has 183.8 career Box-Toppers points, 11th among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He ranks third among active players in career points, behind Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (256.7) and Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (250.0). He ranks first among active NL pitchers, ahead of Yu Darvish of the Padres (144.4).
Sale earned 11.4 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 13th among NL pitchers.
Saturday’s games
In 15 spring training games between two Major League teams:
Ten games featured Player of the Game winners with previous career Box-Toppers points; seven of those earned points in 2025 (see table).
Four games featured Player of the Game winners with 0.0 career regular-season Box-Toppers points.
One game ended in a tie (Athletics vs. Dodgers); no Player of the Game was awarded.
Saturday’s Scoring Summary
No Box-Toppers points are awarded for preseason exhibition games. Had this been the regular season, points would have been awarded as follows:
Ryne Nelson, Diamondbacks: 2.0 points (Player of the Day)
Jhonkensy Noel, Orioles: 1.7 points (AL Player of the Day)
P.J. Higgins, Reds: 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).| 3/21 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +8.0 | ARI 5, TEX 2 | Ryne Nelson (W, 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| +7.0 | MIL 6, SD 1 | Robert Gasser (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | CIN 11, CHW 7 | P.J. Higgins 3B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | ATL 6, BOS 1 | Chris Sale W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +5.0 | PIT 8, TOR 3 | Paul Skenes (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| +4.0 | SF 10, CLE 7 | Jared Oliva CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| AL | +4.0 | BAL 10, PHI 8 | Jhonkensy Noel PR‑RF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | `WSH 3, NYM 1 | Cade Cavalli | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +2.0 | HOU 7, NYM 5 | Christian Walker 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | STL 7, MIA 4 | Thomas Saggese LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | CHC 7, SEA 1 | Matt Halbach 3B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | KC 6, COL 5 | Rudy Martin LF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | DET 3, NYY 1 | Tyler Holton (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.1 | `TB 3, MIN 2 | Jackson Baumeister | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 0.0 | ATH 5, LAD 5 | N/A | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skenes, Paul 5005 | pi sp | pit nl | 0.0 | 21.1 | 34.1 | 34.1 |
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | atl nl | 0.0 | 11.4 | 41.2 | 183.8 |
| Nelson, Ryne 4728 | pi sp | ari nl | 0.0 | 8.4 | 25.2 | 25.2 |
| Walker, Christian 3958 | 1b | hou al | 0.0 | 4.5 | 19.5 | 26.0 |
| Cavalli, Cade 5244 | pi sp | dc nl | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Saggese, Thomas 5259 | 2b ss | stl nl | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Holton, Tyler 4775 | pi mr sp | det al | 0.0 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Noel, Jhonkensy 5061 | rf | bal al | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Gasser, Robert 4998 | pi sp | mil nl | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| Higgins, P.J. 4720 | 1b | cin nl | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | McGreevy, Michael 5113 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| HOU | Javier, Cristian 4290 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 31.4 | 33.4 |
| BOS | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 0.0 | 14.0 | 55.3 | 124.3 |
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 37.4 | 38.4 |
| ATL | Lopez, Reynaldo 3712 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 21.2 | 42.0 |
| MIN | Bradley, Taj 4780 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 23.1 | 23.1 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 57.8 | 120.8 |
| NYY | Warren, Will 5143 | 0.0 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 |
| TB | Martinez, Nick 3430 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 28.8 | 35.5 |
| TOR | Cease, Dylan 4231 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 74.6 | 76.6 |
| NYM | Peterson, David 4347 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 21.4 | 23.4 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 45.8 | 55.2 |
| WSH | Parker, Mitchell 4982 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| BAL | Bradish, Kyle 4597 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 26.0 | 26.0 |
| CIN | Lodolo, Nick 4586 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 25.7 | 25.7 |
| CLE | Williams, Gavin 4865 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 19.4 | 19.4 |
| MIL | Patrick, Chad 5131 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| CHC | Horton, Cade 5216 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| ATH | Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 31.1 | 31.1 |
| COL | Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 22.7 | 33.2 |
| SEA | Woo, Bryan 4842 | 0.0 | 18.0 | 38.4 | 38.4 |
| CHW | Burke, Sean 5124 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| LAD | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 41.8 | 65.5 |
| LAA | Klassen, George* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ARI | Ross, Joe 3499 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 25.7 |
| SD | Buehler, Walker 3943 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 28.4 | 65.6 |
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?
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, game-by-game view.
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