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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Matt Olson of the Braves is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Meanwhile, Twins pitcher Taj Bradley, Thursday’s American League Player of the Day, rises to fifth place in season player rankings.
Player of the Day: Matt Olson, Braves
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Thursday, April 2.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Fried | pi sp | Yankees | 4.0 |
| 2 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 3.0 |
| 3 | Sandy Alcantara | pi sp | Marlins | 3.0 |
| 4 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 2.7 |
| 5 | Taj Bradley | pi cp | Twins | 2.7 |
| 6 | Joey Wiemer | rf | Nationals | 2.7 |
| 7 | Kevin Gausman | pi sp | Blue Jays | 2.0 |
| 8 | Jose Soriano | pi sp | Angels | 2.0 |
| 9 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Blue Jays | 2.0 |
| 10 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 2.0 |
Olson homered and hit two doubles in the 17-2 win over the Diamondbacks. Olson went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs.
Olson earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is 11th in season player rankings.
Olson has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons with his first Player of the Game honor of 2026. He earned his first points in 2017 with the Athletics and now has 39.4 career points, 23rd among active National League batters and fifth among active NL first basemen. His best season was 2021 with the Athletics when he had 8.0 points, seventh among AL batters. He earned 6.0 points in 2025 with the Braves, 20th among NL batters.
Olson is the first batter to win overall Player of the Day honors in 2026; pitchers have won the previous eight days. However, Olson’s +4.0 Box-Toppers game score is the lowest to win Player of the Day honors this season on a day in which only three games were completed.
AL Player of the Day: Taj Bradley, Twins
Bradley struck out three over six scoreless innings, allowing five hits and one walk, in the 5-1 win over the Royals.
Bradley earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, rising to fifth place in season player rankings.
AL and NL Batters of the Day
Because Olson (NL) was the overall Player of the Day and no AL batters earned Player of the Game honors in Thursday’s three-game slate, there were no separate Batters of the Day.
Thursday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers review of the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest B-T game scores:
⬛ Cole Ragans records Thursday’s highest Box-Toppers game score in Royals’ loss to Twins
Debut
Giants closing pitcher Blade Tidwell made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Tidwell (3IP 2H 0R 0BB 2K Sv in the 7-2 win over the Mets) made his Major League debut May 4, 2025, and was playing in his fifth career game.
Scoring
Olson earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Bradley earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
All of Thursday’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).| 4/2 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +4.0 | ATL 17, ARI 2 | Matt Olson 1B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| AL | +3.0 | MIN 5, KC 1 | Taj Bradley (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| +3.0 | SF 7, NYM 2 | Blade Tidwell (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradley, Taj 4780 | pi sp | min al | 2.7 | 8.7 | 25.8 | 25.8 | -3.3 |
| Olson, Matt 3836 | 1b | atl nl | 2.0 | 8.0 | 27.7 | 39.4 | -4.0 |
| Tidwell, Blade 5305 | pi cp | sf 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 Friday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAD | Sheehan, Emmet 4886 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| WSH | Mikolas, Miles 3034 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 29.8 | 47.2 |
| STL | McGreevy, Michael 5113 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| DET | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 58.1 | 68.5 |
| MIA | Perez, Eury 4814 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| NYY | Warren, Will 5143 | 0.0 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 |
| SD | King, Michael 4549 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 31.8 | 31.8 |
| BOS | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 0.0 | 14.0 | 55.3 | 124.3 |
| TOR | Cease, Dylan 4231 | 2.0 | 10.7 | 76.6 | 78.6 |
| CHW | Burke, Sean 5124 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| CIN | Singer, Brady 4337 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 39.7 | 43.7 |
| TEX | Gore, MacKenzie 4582 | 1.0 | 9.7 | 29.4 | 29.4 |
| CHC | Horton, Cade 5216 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| CLE | Cantillo, Joey 5106 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| TB | Boyle, Joe 4948 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| MIN | Ober, Bailey 4441 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 34.8 | 34.8 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 57.8 | 120.8 |
| COL | Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 22.7 | 33.2 |
| BAL | Bradish, Kyle 4597 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 26.0 | 26.0 |
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 37.4 | 38.4 |
| MIL | Patrick, Chad 5131 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| KC | Wacha, Michael 3276 | 0.0 | 10.1 | 47.0 | 81.7 |
| SEA | Woo, Bryan 4842 | 0.0 | 18.0 | 38.4 | 38.4 |
| LAA | Detmers, Reid 4513 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 22.4 | 22.4 |
| ATL | Holmes, Grant 5127 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| ARI | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 28.7 | 72.9 |
| HOU | Javier, Cristian 4290 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 31.4 | 33.4 |
| ATH | Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 31.1 | 31.1 |
| NYM | McLean, Nolan 5255 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| SF | Mahle, Tyler 3929 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 26.1 | 38.1 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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