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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
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Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to second place in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Saturday, April 18.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | José Soriano | pi sp | Angels | 7.0 |
| 2 | Gavin Williams | pi sp | Guardians | 4.7 |
| 3 | Taj Bradley | pi sp | Twins | 4.7 |
| 4 | Max Fried | pi sp | Yankees | 4.0 |
| 5 | Jeffrey Springs | pi sp | Rays | 4.0 |
| 6 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | pi sp | Dodgers | 3.7 |
| 7 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 3.7 |
| 8 | Tyler Glasnow | pi sp | Dodgers | 3.7 |
| 9 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 3.7 |
| 10 | Parker Messick | pi sp | Guardians | 3.7 |
Also Saturday, Braves pitcher Chris Sale rises to 10th place on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” career points list, passing Alex Rodriguez. Sale, who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday, also rises to seventh place in season player rankings.
Other Player of the Game winners Saturday include Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, Padres pitcher Germán Márquez, Corbin Carroll of the Diamondbacks and Dominic Canzone of the Mariners.
Player of the Day: Gavin Williams, Guardians
Williams struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 4-2 win over the Orioles.
Williams earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, rising to second place overall and second among American League pitchers, behind José Soriano of the Angels (6.0 points). Twins pitcher Taj Bradley also has 4.7 points in 2026, but Williams ranks ahead of him based on more 2025 points—11.7 vs. 6.0.
NL Player of the Day: Germán Márquez, Padres
Márquez struck out five over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 4-1 win over the Angels. Márquez did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Márquez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, 27th in season player rankings and 13th among National League pitchers.
NL Batter of the Day: Corbin Carroll, Diamondbacks
Carroll hit a grand slam and went 1-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 6-2 win over the Blue Jays.
Carroll earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 2.5 for the season, fourth among NL batters.
AL Batter of the Day: Dominic Canzone, Mariners
Canzone doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 7-3 win over the Rangers.
All-time leaders
Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Retired | 282.5 |
| 2 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Retired | 280.8 |
| 3 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Blue Jays | 257.7 |
| 4 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | Tigers | 250.0 |
| 5 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | Retired | 244.8 |
| 6 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Free agent | 224.5 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b | Retired | 207.8 |
| 8 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | Retired | 203.4 |
| 9 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | Retired | 194.1 |
| 10 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 187.5 |
| 11 | Alex Rodriguez | 3b | Retired | 187.0 |
| 12 | Jon Lester | pi sp | Retired | 179.3 |
| 13 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | Retired | 175.1 |
| 14 | Cole Hamels | pi sp | Retired | 174.2 |
| 15 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | Retired | 170.7 |
| 16 | Johan Santana | pi sp | Retired | 166.6 |
| 17 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | Retired | 166.2 |
| 18 | Gerrit Cole | pi sp | Yankees | 165.0 |
| 19 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | Retired | 164.8 |
| 20 | John Smoltz | pi sp | Retired | 160.9 |
Rankings: Chris Sale, Braves
Sale rises to 10th place in career Box-Toppers points (earned since tracking began in 1995) after winning Player of the Game honors Saturday. He also rises to seventh place in season player rankings.
Sale (7IP 5H R BB 7K W in the 3-1 win over the Phillies) now has 187.5 career points. With his 1.0 point Saturday, he passes Alex Rodriguez (187.0) on the “all-time” career points list and now trails ninth-ranked player, Curt Schilling (194.1).
Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and Rodriguez began his career in 1994. However, an analysis of the 17 games he played in 1994 shows he did not earn any Player of the Game honors that season and in fact, did not make his Box-Toppers debut with his first career Player of the Game honor until 1996, so the 187.0 points encompass his entire career.
However, Schilling—currently in ninth place—began his career in 1988, before Box-Toppers tracking began, and would have an estimated 232 career points if his entire career were tracked.
Sale ranks eighth among pitchers in career points since 1995. He ranks third among active players in career points, behind Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (257.7) and Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (250.0). Sale ranks first among active NL pitchers, ahead of Yu Darvish of the Padres (144.4).
Sale also rises to seventh in season player rankings with 3.7 points in 2026 and second among NL pitchers, behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers (3.7). Sale is one of four NL pitchers with 3.7 points. He ranks second among them on a tiebreaker based on most 2025 points—Yamamoto earned 17.7 points in 2025 and Sale earned 11.4.
Notable: Tarik Skubal, Tigers
The 2025 leader in Box-Toppers points, Tarik Skubal of the Tigers, also earned Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Skubal (6IP 4H R 2BB 10K W in the 4-1 win over the Red Sox) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.0 for the season, 12th in season player rankings and seventh among AL pitchers.
Skubal’s 22.1 Box-Toppers points in 2025 led all players.
Debut
Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Reds pitcher Kyle Nicolas (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 5-4 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut Sept. 19, 2023, and was playing in his 90th career game.
Giants pitcher Caleb Kilian (2IP 0H 0R BB 2K W in the 7-6, 12-inning win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut June 4, 2022, and was playing in his 18th career game.
Scoring
Williams earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Márquez earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Carroll and Canzone 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).| 4/18 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +12.0 | CLE 4, BAL 2 | Gavin Williams (W, 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| +9.0 | NYY 13, KC 4 | Will Warren (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | ||
| +8.0 | DET 4, BOS 1 | Tarik Skubal (W, 3‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| NL | +6.2 | `SD 4, LAA 1 | Germán Márquez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |
| +6.0 | ATL 3, PHI 1 | Chris Sale (W, 4‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +5.0 | MIL 5, MIA 2 | Brandon Woodruff (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | ARI 6, TOR 2 | Corbin Carroll RF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | CHC 4, NYM 2 | Carson Kelly PH‑DH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | CIN 5, MIN 4 | Kyle Nicolas (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.1 | COL 4, LAD 3 | Brennan Bernardino (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | SF 7, WSH 6 (F/12) | Caleb Kilian (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| +2.1 | ATH 7, CHW 6 (F/11) | Jack Perkins (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | SEA 7, TEX 3 | Dominic Canzone DH | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.0 | TB 8, PIT 7 (F/13) | Jonny DeLuca PH‑RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | STL 7, HOU 5 | Andre Pallante (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williams, Gavin 4865 | pi sp | cle al | 4.7 | 16.4 | 24.1 | 24.1 | -7.0 |
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | atl nl | 3.7 | 15.1 | 44.9 | 187.5 | -7.7 |
| Skubal, Tarik 4414 | pi sp | det al | 3.0 | 25.1 | 76.3 | 76.3 | -19.1 |
| Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | sd nl | 2.7 | 4.4 | 26.5 | 56.6 | +1.0 |
| Carroll, Corbin 4818 | rf | ari nl | 2.5 | 7.7 | 14.2 | 14.2 | -2.7 |
| Kelly, Carson 4098 | ca dh ph | chi nl | 2.0 | 8.0 | 13.5 | 15.5 | -4.0 |
| Pallante, Andre 4656 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 | 7.7 | 18.4 | 18.4 | -3.7 |
| DeLuca, Jonny 4995 | rf cf ph | tb al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | +2.0 |
| Canzone, Dominic 4945 | dh lf | sea al | 1.5 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 | -0.2 |
| Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 1.0 | 10.7 | 55.6 | 72.3 | -8.7 |
| Warren, Will 5143 | pi sp | nyy al | 1.0 | 10.4 | 10.4 | 10.4 | -8.4 |
| Perkins, Jack 5225 | pi cp mr | oak al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Bernardino, Brennan 4996 | pi mr | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +1.0 |
| Kilian, Caleb 5329 | pi cp | sf nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Nicolas, Kyle 5328 | pi mr | cin 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KC | Ragans, Cole 4889 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 23.4 | 23.4 |
| NYY | Weathers, Ryan 4388 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| SF | Ray, Robbie 3502 | 1.7 | 11.1 | 46.9 | 91.0 |
| WSH | Mikolas, Miles 3034 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 29.8 | 47.2 |
| TB | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 30.8 | 30.8 |
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 37.4 | 38.4 |
| BAL | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 1.0 | 12.7 | 27.7 | 28.7 |
| CLE | Cantillo, Joey 5106 | 2.0 | 7.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| MIL | Misiorowski, Jacob 5200 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| MIA | Perez, Eury 4814 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| CIN | Singer, Brady 4337 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 39.7 | 43.7 |
| MIN | Ober, Bailey 4441 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 34.8 | 34.8 |
| STL | Liberatore, Matthew 4662 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 |
| HOU | Burrows, Mike 5196 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| NYM | Myers, Tobias 5026 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| CHC | Assad, Javier 4899 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 13.7 | 13.7 |
| LAD | Sasaki, Roki* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| COL | Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 22.7 | 33.2 |
| CHW | Schultz, Noah* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ATH | Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | 4.0 | 12.7 | 35.1 | 35.1 |
| SD | King, Michael 4549 | 1.0 | 5.4 | 32.8 | 32.8 |
| LAA | Detmers, Reid 4513 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 23.4 | 23.4 |
| TEX | Gore, MacKenzie 4582 | 3.0 | 11.7 | 31.4 | 31.4 |
| SEA | Woo, Bryan 4842 | 2.0 | 20.0 | 40.4 | 40.4 |
| TOR | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | 2.0 | 16.1 | 71.2 | 114.2 |
| ARI | Nelson, Ryne 4728 | 1.0 | 9.4 | 26.2 | 26.2 |
| DET | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 1.0 | 12.7 | 59.1 | 69.5 |
| BOS | Crochet, Garrett 4434 | 2.7 | 22.5 | 34.2 | 34.2 |
| ATL | Holmes, Grant 5127 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| PHI | Painter, Andrew 5302 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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