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
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third in season player rankings.
Also Friday, Padres pitcher Randy Vásquez rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Other Player of the Game winners Friday include Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly, Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies and Cedric Mullins of the Rays.
Player of the Day: Cam Schlittler, Yankees
Schlittler struck out nine over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run, two hits and two walks, in the 5-2 win over the Mets.
Schlittler earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, third among all players, behind Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (9.0 points) and Angels pitcher José Soriano (8.0 points). Schlittler ranks second among American League pitchers behind Soriano.
NL Player of the Day: Merrill Kelly, Diamondbacks
Kelly pitched a complete game, striking out three and allowing one run, four hits and no walks, in the 9-1 win over the Rockies.
Kelly earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as National League Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, 29th among NL pitchers.
NL Batter of the Day: Kyle Schwarber, Phillies
Schwarber hit a pair of two-run home runs and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 11-9, 10-inning win over the Pirates.
Schwarber earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, rising to second among NL batters, behind Michael Harris II of the Braves (4.5 points). Schwarber led NL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2025 with 12.0.
AL Batter of the Day: Cedric Mullins, Rays
Mullins homered and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 7-2 win over the Marlins.
Rankings: Randy Vásquez, Padres
Vásquez rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Vásquez (6IP 4H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 2-0 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.4 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Frday, May 15.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 9.0 |
| 2 | José Soriano | pi sp | Angels | 8.0 |
| 3 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 7.7 |
| 4 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 7.7 |
| 5 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 7.0 |
| 6 | Max Fried | pi sp | Yankees | 7.0 |
| 7 | Gavin Williams | pi sp | Guardians | 6.7 |
| 8 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Blue Jays | 6.4 |
| 9 | Randy Vásquez | pi sp | Padres | 6.4 |
| 10 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 6.0 |
Debut
Brewers pitcher Coleman Crow made his Box-Toppers debut Friday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Crow (5IP 3H R 0BB 3K ND in the 3-2 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut April 17 and was playing in his second career game.
Scoring
Schlittler earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
Kelly earns 1.7 points as NL Player of the Day.
Schwarber and Mullins each earn 1.5 points as their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Friday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers
Friday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers review of the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest B-T game scores:
⬛ Twins’ Ryan records highest B‑T game score among Friday’s non-Player of the Game winners
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.
Follow us: Bluesky | X | Facebook | Substack (newsletter)
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).| 5/15 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +9.2 | NYY 5, NYM 2 | Cam Schlittler (W, 6‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| +7.1 | HOU 2, TEX 0 | Spencer Arrighetti (W, 5‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | ||
| NL | +6.0 | ARI 9, COL 1 | Merrill Kelly (W, 3‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 9.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| BAT | +5.0 | PHI 11, PIT 9 (F/10) | Kyle Schwarber DH | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | SD 2, SEA 0 | Randy Vásquez (W, 5‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | TB 7, MIA 2 | Cedric Mullins CF | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | WSH 3, BAL 2 | Zack Littell (W, 2‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | CHC 10, CHW 5 | Trent Thornton (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +4.0 | `DET 3, TOR 2 | Drew Anderson | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +3.0 | CIN 7, CLE 6 | Matt McLain 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | LAD 6, LAA 0 | Edgardo Henriquez (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | `MIL 3, MIN 2 | Coleman Crow | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +2.1 | `ATL 3, BOS 2 (F/10) | Robert Suarez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +2.0 | ATH 5, SF 2 | Nick Kurtz 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | STL 5, KC 4 (F/11) | Jordan Walker RF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 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.
Back to top
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schlittler, Cam 5261 | pi sp | nyy al | 7.7 | 15.1 | 15.1 | 15.1 | +0.3 |
| Vasquez, Randy 4841 | pi sp | sd nl | 6.4 | 11.8 | 14.8 | 14.8 | +1.0 |
| Arrighetti, Spencer 5022 | pi sp | hou al | 4.4 | 5.4 | 12.1 | 12.1 | +3.4 |
| Schwarber, Kyle 3536 | dh | phi nl | 4.0 | 16.0 | 36.5 | 56.5 | -8.0 |
| Kelly, Merrill 4143 | pi sp | ari nl | 2.7 | 15.4 | 44.4 | 56.4 | -10.0 |
| Kurtz, Nick 5221 | 1b | oak al | 2.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | -2.0 |
| Walker, Jordan 4918 | rf | stl nl | 2.5 | 3.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | +1.5 |
| McLain, Matt 4847 | 2b ss | cin nl | 2.0 | 4.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | -0.5 |
| Mullins, Cedric 4100 | cf | tb al | 1.5 | 3.5 | 12.5 | 14.0 | -0.5 |
| Littell, Zack 4533 | pi sp | dc nl | 1.0 | 7.7 | 22.1 | 22.1 | -5.7 |
| Suarez, Robert 4750 | pi mr cp | atl nl | 1.0 | 7.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 | -5.0 |
| Henriquez, Edgardo 5293 | pi mr | lad nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Thornton, Trent 4120 | pi mr | chi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 11.7 | +1.0 |
| Anderson, Drew 4559 | pi mr | det al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +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.
Back to top
A Box-Toppers look at Saturday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOR | Fluharty, Mason 5197 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| DET | Mize, Casey 4377 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 15.7 | 15.7 |
| KC | Cameron, Noah 5167 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| STL | Leahy, Kyle 5001 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| ARI | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | 2.0 | 6.7 | 30.7 | 74.9 |
| COL | Sugano, Tomoyuki 5163 | 1.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| BAL | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 60.5 | 79.6 |
| WSH | Cavalli, Cade 5244 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| PHI | Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 | 7.0 | 22.4 | 37.8 | 37.8 |
| PIT | Chandler, Bubba 5269 | 1.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 3.0 | 11.0 | 48.8 | 58.2 |
| TB | Martinez, Nick 3430 | 3.0 | 9.7 | 31.8 | 38.5 |
| CIN | Paddack, Chris 4093 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 17.7 | 36.5 |
| CLE | Williams, Gavin 4865 | 6.7 | 18.4 | 26.1 | 26.1 |
| CHC | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | 1.0 | 11.1 | 44.2 | 70.6 |
| CHW | Martin, Davis 4657 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| MIL | Henderson, Logan 5150 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| MIN | Prielipp, Connor* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TEX | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | 5.7 | 16.7 | 51.5 | 156.9 |
| HOU | Teng, Kai-Wei 5247 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| BOS | Tolle, Payton 5348 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| ATL | Elder, Bryce 4709 | 4.7 | 9.7 | 24.4 | 24.4 |
| NYY | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | 0.0 | 13.7 | 58.9 | 84.0 |
| NYM | Brazoban, Huascar 4787 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| SD | Buehler, Walker 3943 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 29.4 | 66.6 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 1.0 | 14.1 | 61.6 | 61.6 |
| LAD | Wrobleski, Justin 5062 | 2.7 | 8.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| LAA | Soriano, Jose 4884 | 8.0 | 20.7 | 24.7 | 24.7 |
| SF | McDonald, Trevor 5297 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| ATH | Severino, Luis 3567 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 24.1 | 69.9 |
* 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.
Back to top