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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Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third place in season player rankings.
Other Player of the Game winners Wednesday include Hunter Goodman of the Rockies and Brandon Valenzuela of the Blue Jays.
Player of the Day: Gavin Williams, Guardians
Williams struck out nine over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 3-1 win over the Rays.
Williams earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season, rising from eighth to third place in season player rankings, behind Yankees pitcher Max Fried and Angels pitcher José Soriano, who both have 7.0 points. Williams also ranks third among American League pitchers.
NL Player of the Day: Hunter Goodman, Rockies
Goodman hit two home runs and went 3-for-4, scoring four times and driving in three runs, in the 13-2 win over the Reds.
Goodman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as National League Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, 50th in season player rankings and eighth among NL batters.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Wednesday, April 29.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Fried | pi sp | Yankees | 7.0 |
| 2 | José Soriano | pi sp | Angels | 7.0 |
| 3 | Gavin Williams | pi sp | Guardians | 6.7 |
| 4 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 5.7 |
| 5 | Tyler Glasnow | pi sp | Dodgers | 5.7 |
| 6 | Randy Vásquez | pi sp | Padres | 5.4 |
| 7 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 5.0 |
| 8 | Ranger Suárez | pi sp | Red Sox | 5.0 |
| 9 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 4.7 |
| 10 | Taj Bradley | pi sp | Twins | 4.7 |
Wednesday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers review of the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest B-T game scores:
⬛ Tigers’ Skubal has best B-T game score among Wednesday’s non-Player of the Game winners
AL Batter of the Day: Brandon Valenzuela, Blue Jays
Valenzuela homered and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 8-1 win over the Red Sox.
This was Valenzuela’s Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. He made his Major League debut April 5 and was playing in his 14th career game.
NL Batter of the Day
There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Hunter Goodman.
Scoring
Williams earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Goodman earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Valenzuela earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day.
All of Wednesday’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.
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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).| 4/29 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +10.2 | CLE 3, TB 1 | Gavin Williams (W, 5‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| +9.0 | TEX 3, NYY 0 | Nathan Eovaldi (W, 3‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +7.0 | ATH 5, KC 2 | Luis Severino (W, 2‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| NL | +6.0 | COL 13, CIN 2 | Hunter Goodman DH | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | WSH 14, NYM 2 | Curtis Mead 1B | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | STL 5, PIT 4 | Andre Pallante (W, 3‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| +4.0 | ATL 4, DET 3 | Reynaldo López (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +4.0 | `CHW 3, LAA 2 (F/10) | Erick Fedde | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | ||
| +3.1 | ARI 6, MIL 2 | Kevin Ginkel (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | TOR 8, BOS 1 | Brandon Valenzuela C | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | CHC 5, SD 4 | Jameson Taillon (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +3.0 | SEA 5, MIN 3 | Andrés Muñoz (S, 6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +1.0 | MIA 3, LAD 2 | Liam Hicks C | 2 | 1 | 1 | 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williams, Gavin 4865 | pi sp | cle al | 6.7 | 18.4 | 26.1 | 26.1 | -5.0 |
| Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | pi sp | tex al | 3.0 | 17.4 | 60.2 | 99.7 | -11.4 |
| Pallante, Andre 4656 | pi sp | stl nl | 3.0 | 8.7 | 19.4 | 19.4 | -2.7 |
| Goodman, Hunter 5033 | ca | col nl | 2.7 | 8.6 | 11.6 | 11.6 | -3.2 |
| Hicks, Liam 5292 | ca dh | fla nl | 2.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +1.0 |
| Munoz, Andres 4222 | pi cp mr | sea al | 2.0 | 5.0 | 16.0 | 17.0 | -1.0 |
| Lopez, Reynaldo 3712 | pi sp cp | atl nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 23.2 | 44.0 | +2.0 |
| Mead, Curtis 5333 | dh 1b ph | dc nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Valenzuela, Brandon 5343 | ca | tor al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +1.5 |
| Taillon, Jameson 3658 | pi sp | chi nl | 1.0 | 11.1 | 44.2 | 70.6 | -9.1 |
| Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | oak al | 1.0 | 5.0 | 24.1 | 69.9 | -3.0 |
| Fedde, Erick 4065 | pi sp | chi al | 1.0 | 3.7 | 26.2 | 30.9 | -1.7 |
| Ginkel, Kevin 4830 | pi mr cp | ari nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Thursday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DET | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 2.0 | 13.7 | 60.1 | 70.5 |
| ATL | Elder, Bryce 4709 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 21.7 | 21.7 |
| HOU | Lambert, Peter 4155 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 8.0 |
| BAL | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 59.5 | 78.6 |
| STL | Dobbins, Hunter 5203 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| PIT | Skenes, Paul 5005 | 5.0 | 26.1 | 39.1 | 39.1 |
| COL | Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 22.7 | 33.2 |
| CIN | Abbott, Andrew 4839 | 0.0 | 10.7 | 26.7 | 26.7 |
| SF | Houser, Adrian 4162 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 21.1 | 24.1 |
| PHI | Painter, Andrew 5302 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| WSH | Mikolas, Miles 3034 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 29.8 | 47.2 |
| NYM | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | 0.0 | 14.7 | 65.9 | 84.6 |
| ARI | Soroka, Michael 3956 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 19.4 |
| MIL | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | 1.0 | 10.7 | 55.6 | 72.3 |
| KC | Cameron, Noah 5167 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| ATH | Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | 4.0 | 12.7 | 35.1 | 35.1 |
| HOU | McCullers, Lance 3488 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 17.8 | 53.4 |
| BAL | Young, Brandon 5253 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| SF | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| PHI | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TOR | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | 2.0 | 16.1 | 71.2 | 114.2 |
| MIN | Ober, Bailey 4441 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 34.8 | 34.8 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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