
Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Players of the Game
▪️ B-T points of day’s top players
▪️ Top 10 players in 2026
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
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▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Royals pitcher Michael Wacha is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Pirates pitcher Braxton Ashcraft rises to fourth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Other Player of the Game winners Saturday include Tyler Soderstrom of the Athletics, Ramón Laureano of the Padres and Teoscar Hernández of the Dodgers.
Player of the Day: Michael Wacha, Royals
Wacha struck out seven over six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 2-0 win over the White Sox.
Wacha earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is 23rd in season player rankings, 11th among American League pitchers.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Saturday, April 11.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taj Bradley | pi sp | Twins | 4.7 |
| 2 | Max Fried | pi sp | Yankees | 4.0 |
| 3 | José Soriano | pi sp | Angels | 4.0 |
| 4 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 3.7 |
| 5 | Randy Vásquez | pi sp | Padres | 3.4 |
| 6 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 3.0 |
| 7 | MacKenzie Gore | pi sp | Rangers | 3.0 |
| 8 | Jeffrey Springs | pi sp | Rays | 3.0 |
| 9 | Kris Bubic | pi sp | Royals | 3.0 |
| 10 | Sandy Alcantara | pi sp | Marlins | 3.0 |
NL Player of the Day: Braxton Ashcraft, Pirates
Ashcraft struck out nine over five innings, allowing one run, four hits and on walk, in the 4-3, 11-inning win over the Cubs. Ashcraft did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Cubs tied the game after he exited.
Ashcraft earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season, fourth among all players and rising to first among NL pitchers, passing previous leader Randy Vásquez of the Padres (3.4).
This is Ashcraft’s second Player of the Game honor of 2026. He also earned 2.0 points as overall Player of the Day on April 5.
AL Batter of the Day: Tyler Soderstrom, Athletics
Soderstrom hit two home runs, including a three-run homer, in the 11-6 win over the Mets. He went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs.
NL Batter of the Day: Ramón Laureano, Padres
Laureano hit a three-run home run, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 9-5 win over the Rockies.
Streak: Teoscar Hernández, Dodgers
Hernández has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2026 Saturday.
Hernández (HR 2B 2-4 2R 3BI in the 6-3 win over the Rangers) earned his first points in 2016 with the Astros has now has 32.4 career points, 33rd among active NL batters and eighth among active NL outfielders. His best season was 2022 with the Blue Jays when he had 5.5 Box-Toppers points, 21st among AL batters. He earned 2.7 points in 2025 with the Dodgers.
Debut
Nationals pitcher Foster Griffin made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Griffin (5.1IP H 0R 3BB K W in the 3-1 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut July 27, 2020, and was playing in his 10th career game.
Scoring
Wacha earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Ashcraft earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Soderstrom and Laureano each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Saturday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers 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.
Help us stay accurate! Spot a mistake? Contact Box-Toppers here so we can fix it.
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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).| 4/11 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +10.0 | KC 2, CHW 0 | Michael Wacha (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| +7.0 | BOS 7, STL 1 | Ranger Suarez (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| NL | +7.0 | `PIT 4, CHC 3 (F/11) | Braxton Ashcraft | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| +5.2 | CLE 6, ATL 0 | Parker Messick (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | ATH 11, NYM 6 | Tyler Soderstrom LF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | DET 6, MIA 1 | Riley Greene DH | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | SD 9, COL 5 | Ramón Laureano LF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | MIN 7, TOR 4 | Joe Ryan (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +4.0 | SEA 8, HOU 7 | J.P. Crawford SS | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.1 | CIN 7, LAA 3 | Pierce Johnson (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | LAD 6, TEX 3 | Teoscar Hernández LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.1 | WSH 3, MIL 1 | Foster Griffin (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | ||
| +2.0 | BAL 6, SF 2 | Jeremiah Jackson 2B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | TB 5, NYY 4 (F/10) | Chandler Simpson PR‑LF | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | PHI 4, ARI 3 | Jhoan Duran (S, 5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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.
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. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2026 (’26). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’25-26), the period 2021-2026 (’21-26) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2026 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2025 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’26 | ’25‑26 | ’21‑26 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashcraft, Braxton 5208 | pi sp | pit nl | 3.7 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 | -1.0 |
| Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | kc al | 2.0 | 12.1 | 49.0 | 83.7 | -8.1 |
| Messick Parker 5266 | pi sp | cle al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +1.0 |
| Soderstrom, Tyler 5039 | lf 1b | oak al | 1.5 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | -5.0 |
| Laureano, Ramon 4054 | lf | sd nl | 1.5 | 4.0 | 12.5 | 19.2 | -1.0 |
| Suarez, Ranger 4228 | pi sp | bos al | 1.0 | 16.8 | 44.9 | 45.9 | -14.8 |
| Ryan, Joe 4539 | pi sp | min al | 1.0 | 12.7 | 48.5 | 48.5 | -10.7 |
| Greene, Riley 4675 | dh lf cf | det al | 1.0 | 10.0 | 17.7 | 17.7 | -8.0 |
| Duran, Jhoan 4622 | pi cp | phi nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 | -3.0 |
| Crawford, J.P. 3937 | ss | sea al | 1.0 | 4.5 | 17.0 | 24.5 | -2.5 |
| Hernandez, Teoscar 3713 | lf | lad nl | 1.0 | 3.7 | 20.2 | 32.4 | -1.7 |
| Simpson, Chandler 5162 | lf pr | tb al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | -1.0 |
| Johnson, Pierce 5049 | pi mr | cin nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 |
| Jackson, Jeremiah 5277 | 2b rf | bal al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Griffin, Foster 5317 | pi sp | dc nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 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 | ’25‑26 | ’21‑26 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARI | Gallen, Zac 4171 | 1.0 | 13.7 | 65.5 | 77.2 |
| PHI | Painter, Andrew 5302 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| SF | Houser, Adrian 4162 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 21.1 | 24.1 |
| BAL | Povich, Cade 5029 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| MIN | Bradley, Taj 4780 | 4.7 | 10.7 | 27.8 | 27.8 |
| TOR | Scherzer, Max 2588 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 56.5 | 257.7 |
| LAA | Soriano, Jose 4884 | 4.0 | 16.7 | 20.7 | 20.7 |
| CIN | Abbott, Andrew 4839 | 0.0 | 10.7 | 26.7 | 26.7 |
| ATH | Civale, Aaron 4173 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 34.8 | 40.5 |
| NYM | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | 0.0 | 14.7 | 65.9 | 84.6 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 3.0 | 11.0 | 48.8 | 58.2 |
| DET | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 1.0 | 23.1 | 74.3 | 74.3 |
| NYY | Schlittler, Cam 5261 | 2.0 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 |
| TB | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 31.2 | 31.2 |
| CHW | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| KC | Cameron, Noah 5167 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| WSH | Littell, Zack 4533 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 21.1 | 21.1 |
| MIL | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 54.6 | 71.3 |
| BOS | Bello, Brayan 4727 | 0.0 | 7.4 | 18.1 | 18.1 |
| STL | Pallante, Andre 4656 | 1.0 | 6.7 | 17.4 | 17.4 |
| PIT | Chandler, Bubba 5269 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| CHC | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | 0.0 | 10.1 | 43.2 | 69.6 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 25.7 | 46.1 |
| SD | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 1.0 | 18.7 | 50.1 | 72.8 |
| HOU | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 0.0 | 13.1 | 60.6 | 60.6 |
| TEX | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | 1.0 | 12.0 | 46.8 | 152.2 |
| LAD | Sasaki, Roki* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CLE | Bibee, Tanner 4792 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 29.7 | 29.7 |
| ATL | Sale, Chris 2806 | 2.7 | 14.1 | 43.9 | 186.5 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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