Michael Conforto of the Cubs is NL Player of the Day in Monday’s spring training games.
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Guardians pitcher Joey Cantillo is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Monday’s spring training games.
Other top players Monday include Orioles pitcher Shane Baz, Drew Swift of the Athletics, Michael Conforto of the Cubs and Padres pitcher Germán Márquez.
Player of the Day: Joey Cantillo, Guardians
Cantillo struck out six over four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no walks, picking up the save, in the 7-0 win over the Diamondbacks.
Cantillo earned 5.7 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 60th among American League pitchers.
NL Player of the Day: Michael Conforto, Cubs
Conforto tripled, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 15-6 win over the Yankees.
Conforto earned 3.5 Box-Toppers points in 2025 with the Dodgers, 59th among National League batters.
The Cubs signed Conforto, 33, to a minor‑league contract with a big‑league spring invite on February 23. This week, the club informed him he’d make the Major League Opening Day roster.
AL Batter of the Day: Drew Swift, Athletics
Swift hit a grand slam, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in five runs, in the 10-9 win over the White Sox.
Swift, 27, has played four minor league seasons but has yet to make his regular-season Major League debut.
NL Batter of the Day
There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Michael Conforto.
Notable: Shane Baz, Orioles
Baz has the most 2025 Box-Toppers points among Monday’s spring training Player of the Game winners.
Baz (5IP 3H 0R 0BB 5K ND in the 2-0 win over the Nationals) earned 10.7 Box-Toppers points in 2025 with the Rays, 22nd among AL pitchers.
The Orioles acquired Baz from the Rays in exchange for four prospects and a draft pick on December 19, 2025. This trade aimed to strengthen the Orioles' starting rotation, which struggled in 2025.
Also notable: Germán Márquez, Padres
Márquez earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for a third time during the 2026 spring training season on Monday.
Márquez (4.2IP 4H R 2BB 8K ND in the 10-3 win over the Mariners) also was Player of the Game March 6 and March 17.
After earning 17.4 Box-Toppers points in 2021 with the Rockies, fifth among NL pitchers, he had a considerable decline after that. In 2023, he required Tommy John surgery, missing much of 2023 and 2024, earning no Box-Toppers points in either season. In 2025, he earned just 1.7 points as he battled shoulder and biceps issues. The Padres signed him as a free agent in February.
Monday’s games
In 12 spring training games between two Major League teams:
Eight games featured Player of the Game winners with previous career Box-Toppers points; all of whom earned points in 2025 (see table).
Three games featured Player of the Game winners with 0.0 career regular-season Box-Toppers points.
One game ended in a tie (Angels vs. Dodgers); no Player of the Game winner awarded.
Monday’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:
Joey Cantillo, Guardians: 2.0 points (Player of the Day)
Michael Conforto, Cubs: 1.7 points (NL Player of the Day)
Drew Swift, Athletics: 1.5 points (AL 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).| 3/23 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +9.0 | CLE 7, ARI 0 | Joey Cantillo (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| +7.0 | `BAL 2, WSH 0 | Shane Baz | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | ATH 10, CHW 9 | Drew Swift PH‑DH | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| NL | +5.0 | CHC 15, NYY 6 | Michael Conforto DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.2 | `SD 10, SEA 3 | Germán Márquez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| +4.0 | TB 7, PHI 0 | Steven Matz (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +4.0 | TEX 3, KC 2 | MacKenzie Gore (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.1 | MIL 9, CIN 1 | Blake Holub (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | ATL 5, PIT 2 | Matt Olson 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | MIN 9, BOS 6 | David Bañuelos C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | COL 6, DET 5 | Troy Johnston PH‑LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | LAA 7, LAD 7 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baz, Shane 4560 | pi sp | bal al | 0.0 | 10.7 | 16.4 | 16.4 |
| Gore, MacKenzie 4582 | pi sp | tex al | 0.0 | 8.7 | 28.4 | 28.4 |
| Olson, Matt 3836 | 1b | atl nl | 0.0 | 6.0 | 25.7 | 37.4 |
| Cantillo, Joey 5106 | pi sp | cle al | 0.0 | 5.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| Conforto, Michael 3622 | lf ph | chi nl | 0.0 | 3.5 | 12.0 | 39.2 |
| Matz, Steven 3516 | pi cp sp | tb al | 0.0 | 2.0 | 19.1 | 51.4 |
| Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | sd nl | 0.0 | 1.7 | 23.8 | 53.9 |
| Johnston, Troy 5285 | 1b | col nl | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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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A Box-Toppers look at Tuesday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB | Pepiot, Ryan 4714 | 0.0 | 10.7 | 27.4 | 27.4 |
| ATL | Holmes, Grant 5127 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| BOS | Suarez, Ranger 4228 | 0.0 | 15.8 | 43.9 | 44.9 |
| MIN | Abel, Mick 5184 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| KC | Lugo, Seth 3729 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 27.5 | 43.5 |
| TEX | Leiter, Jack 5132 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| NYY | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 64.5 | 165.0 |
| CHC | Cabrera, Edward 4641 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 23.8 | 23.8 |
| DET | Verlander, Justin 2112 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 43.4 | 250.0 |
| COL | Sugano, Tomoyuki 5163 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| CLE | Messick Parker 5266 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| ARI | Soroka, Michael 3956 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 16.4 |
| CIN | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIL | Sproat, Brandon* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| LAA | Kochanowicz, Jack 5094 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| LAD | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | 0.0 | 5.5 | 76.7 | 91.2 |
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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