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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Marlins pitcher Max Meyer is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Twins pitcher Taj Bradley rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Saturday, May 23.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 9.4 |
| 2 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 9.0 |
| 3 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 9.0 |
| 4 | Gavin Williams | pi sp | Guardians | 8.7 |
| 5 | José Soriano | pi sp | Angels | 8.0 |
| 6 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 7.7 |
| 7 | Shohei Ohtani | pi sp dh | Dodgers | 7.7 |
| 8 | Max Fried | pi sp | Yankees | 7.0 |
| 9 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 6.7 |
| 10 | Taj Bradley | pi sp | Twins | 6.7 |
Other Player of the Game winners Saturday include Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler, Teoscar Hernández of the Dodgers, Astros pitcher Kai-Wei Teng and Blue Jays pitcher Patrick Corbin.
Player of the Day: Max Meyer, Marlins
Meyer struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and three walks, in the 4-1 win over the Mets.
Meyer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, 17th among all players and ninth among National League pitchers.
Meyer recorded a +11.0 Box-Toppers game score, the same as another Player of the Game winner Saturday, Nationals pitcher Jake Irvin (5IP 0H 0R BB 7K W in the 2-0 win over the Braves). But Meyer won overall Player of the Day over Irvin on a tiebreaker with more innings pitched—seven vs. five.
AL Player of the Day: Kai-Wei Teng, Astros
Teng struck out six over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks, in the 3-0 win over the Cubs.
Teng earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as American League Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season, 24th among AL pitchers.
NL Batter of the Day: Teoscar Hernández, Dodgers
Hernández hit a three-run home run and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 11-3 win over the Brewers.
He earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points as NL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.5 for the season, 10th among NL batters.
AL Batter of the Day
There is no AL Batter of the Day for Saturday because no AL batters won Player of the Game honors in the 14 games completed. Pitchers won Player of the Game honors in 12 of the 14 games.
Rankings: Taj Bradley, Twins
Bradley rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Bradley (5IP 3H R 2BB 7K W in the 4-2 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.7 for the season. He ranks fifth among AL pitchers.
Career Box-Toppers points—active players 1—Max Scherzer #BlueJays 257.7 2—Justin Verlander #Tigers 250.0 3—Chris Sale #Braves 190.5 4—Gerrit Cole #Yankees 165.0 5—Jacob deGrom #Rangers 156.9 6—Yu Darvish #Padres 144.4 7—Zack Wheeler #Phillies 130.1* *Earns 1.0 B-T point Saturday
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) 10:09 AM · May 24, 2026
Notable: Zack Wheeler, Phillies
Wheeler now has 130.1 career Box-Toppers points—40th-most among all players since tracking began in 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Wheeler (6IP 2H 0R BB 6K W in the 3-0 win over the Guardians) trails 39th-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4).
Wheeler is seventh among active, signed players in career points and third among active NL pitchers, behind Chris Sale of the Braves (190.5) and Yu Darvish of the Padres (144.4).
Wheeler now has 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2026, 24th among all players and 13th among NL pitchers.
Saturday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers review of the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest B-T game scores:
⬛ Box-Toppers points leader Skenes records Saturday’s 3rd-lowest game score in loss
Also notable: Patrick Corbin, Blue Jays
Corbin now has 105.4 career Box-Toppers points—rising to 83rd place among all players since tracking began in 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Corbin (6IP 5H R 0BB 7K W in the 5-2 win over the Pirates), with his 1.0 point Saturday, passes two players on the “all-time” career points list—Jamie Moyer (104.0) and Scott Kazmir (105.1). He now trails 82nd-ranked player Aramis Ramirez (105.8).
Corbin ranks 13th among active, signed players in career points, seventh among active AL pitchers.
This was Corbin’s first Player of the Game honor of 2026.
Debut
Giants relief pitcher Matt Gage made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Gage (1.1IP H 0R 0BB 4K W in the 10-3 win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut June 6, 2022, and was playing in his 74th career game.
Scoring
Meyer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
Teng earns 1.7 points as AL Player of the Day.
Hernández earns 1.5 points as NL 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).| 5/23 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +11.0 | MIA 4, NYM 1 | Max Meyer (W, 5‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | |
| +11.0 | WSH 2, ATL 0 | Jake Irvin (W, 2‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +9.0 | PHI 3, CLE 0 | Zack Wheeler (W, 4‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | +7.0 | LAD 11, MIL 3 | Teoscar Hernández LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| AL | +7.0 | HOU 3, CHC 0 | Kai‑Wei Teng (W, 3‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | |
| +6.0 | KC 5, SEA 0 | Stephen Kolek (W, 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| +6.0 | TOR 5, PIT 2 | Patrick Corbin (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| +5.0 | MIN 4, BOS 2 | Taj Bradley (W, 5‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| +4.1 | SF 10, CHW 3 | Matt Gage (W, 4‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +4.0 | STL 8, CIN 1 | Andre Pallante (W, 5‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | ARI 5, COL 4 | Ketel Marte 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CIN 7, STL 6 (F/11) | Pierce Johnson (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +3.0 | SD 2, ATH 0 | Mason Miller (S, 16) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | LAA 5, TEX 2 | Kirby Yates (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradley, Taj 4780 | pi sp | min al | 6.7 | 12.7 | 29.8 | 29.8 | +0.7 |
| Meyer, Max 4965 | pi sp | fla nl | 6.0 | 10.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | +2.0 |
| Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.0 | 25.1 | 96.7 | 130.1 | -15.1 |
| Miller, Mason 4975 | pi cp | sd nl | 5.0 | 12.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | -2.0 |
| Pallante, Andre 4656 | pi sp | stl nl | 4.0 | 9.7 | 20.4 | 20.4 | -1.7 |
| Teng, Kai-Wei 5247 | pi sp mr | hou al | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | +2.7 |
| Hernandez, Teoscar 3713 | lf | lad nl | 3.5 | 6.2 | 22.7 | 34.9 | +0.8 |
| Irvin, Jake 4805 | pi sp | dc nl | 3.0 | 10.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 | -4.7 |
| Marte, Ketel 3630 | 2b | ari nl | 2.5 | 8.0 | 23.0 | 37.0 | -3.0 |
| Kolek, Stephen 5046 | pi sp | kc al | 2.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | -3.0 |
| Johnson, Pierce 5049 | pi mr cp | cin nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | +1.0 |
| Corbin, Patrick 3027 | pi sp | tor al | 1.0 | 8.0 | 30.8 | 105.4 | -6.0 |
| Yates, Kirby 3628 | pi cp mr | ana al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 11.0 | 27.0 | -2.0 |
| Gage, Matt 5366 | pi mr | 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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 2.0 | 8.7 | 39.4 | 40.4 |
| TOR | Cease, Dylan 4231 | 6.4 | 15.1 | 81.0 | 83.0 |
| DET | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 3.0 | 14.7 | 61.1 | 71.5 |
| BAL | Young, Brandon 5253 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| CLE | Messick Parker 5266 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| PHI | Painter, Andrew 5302 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| MIN | Ober, Bailey 4441 | 1.7 | 4.7 | 36.5 | 36.5 |
| BOS | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 4.0 | 18.0 | 59.3 | 128.3 |
| TB | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | 2.0 | 11.7 | 33.2 | 33.2 |
| NYY | Warren, Will 5143 | 3.7 | 13.1 | 13.1 | 13.1 |
| NYM | Scott, Christian 5344 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| MIA | Phillips, Tyler 5064 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| STL | Mautz, Brycen* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CIN | Singer, Brady 4337 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 39.7 | 43.7 |
| LAD | Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | 3.7 | 21.4 | 27.8 | 27.8 |
| MIL | Sproat, Brandon 5324 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| SEA | Woo, Bryan 4842 | 6.4 | 24.4 | 44.8 | 44.8 |
| KC | Lugo, Seth 3729 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 28.5 | 44.5 |
| HOU | Lambert, Peter 4155 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 9.0 |
| CHC | Imanaga, Shota 4960 | 5.0 | 12.0 | 32.7 | 32.7 |
| CHW | Schultz, Noah 5330 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| SF | Ray, Robbie 3502 | 2.7 | 12.1 | 47.9 | 92.0 |
| WSH | Griffin, Foster 5317 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| ATL | Perez, Martin 3213 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 24.2 | 43.9 |
| ATH | Medina, Luis 4876 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| SD | King, Michael 4549 | 4.0 | 8.4 | 35.8 | 35.8 |
| COL | Quintana, Jose 3040 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 25.4 | 96.1 |
| ARI | Nelson, Ryne 4728 | 1.0 | 9.4 | 26.2 | 26.2 |
| DET | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BAL | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 1.0 | 12.7 | 27.7 | 28.7 |
| TEX | Gore, MacKenzie 4582 | 4.0 | 12.7 | 32.4 | 32.4 |
| LAA | Detmers, Reid 4513 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 23.4 | 23.4 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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