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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Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, earning his first Box-Toppers points in 20 months after recovery from Tommy John surgery.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Wednesday, May 27.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 10.7 |
| 2 | Gavin Williams | pi sp | Guardians | 9.7 |
| 3 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 9.4 |
| 4 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 9.0 |
| 5 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 8.7 |
| 6 | Shohei Ohtani | pi sp dh | Dodgers | 8.7 |
| 7 | José Soriano | pi sp | Angels | 8.0 |
| 8 | Jacob Misiorowski | pi sp | Brewers | 8.0 |
| 9 | Jesús Luzaro | pi sp | Phillies | 7.0 |
| 10 | Max Fried | pi sp | Yankees | 7.0 |
Also Wednesday, three players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list:
Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez jumps to first place overall after winning National League Player of the Day honors.
Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams rises to second place, bolstering his lead among American League pitchers.
Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani climbs to sixth place with his seventh Player of the Game honor of 2026, his fifth as a pitcher.
Other Player of the Game winners Wednesday include Blaze Alexander of the Orioles and Juan Soto of the Mets.
Player of the Day: Gerrit Cole, Yankees
Cole struck out 10 over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks, in the 7-0 win over the Royals, in his second start since his return from the injured list.
Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is 197th in season player rankings, 57th among AL pitchers.
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 | 190.5 |
| 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 | Gerrit Cole | pi sp | Yankees | 167.0 |
| 17 | Johan Santana | pi sp | Retired | 166.6 |
| 18 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | Retired | 166.2 |
| 19 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | Retired | 164.8 |
| 20 | John Smoltz | pi sp | Retired | 160.9 |
This is Cole’s first regular-season Player of the Game honor since Sept. 26, 2024. Cole had missed the first half of 2024 after an MRI revealed a tear in his elbow ulnar collateral ligament. He pitched the second half of the season, earning 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 28th among AL pitchers. In March 2025, he underwent Tommy John surgery to reconstruct his UCL, missed the entire season and earned no points. Cole earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons (2013-2024) before that streak ended in 2025.
Cole now has 167.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 16th place among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. With his 2.0 points Wednesday, he passes two players on the “all-time” career points list—Manny Ramirez (166.2) and Johan Santana (166.6). (It should be noted if Ramirez’s career were tracked from 1993, he would have about 173 points.) Cole now trails 15th-ranked player Roy Halladay (170.7).
Cole ranks fourth among active, signed players in career points, third among active AL pitchers, behind Max Scherzer of the Blue Jays (257.7) and Justin Verlander of the Tigers (250.0).
NL Player of the Day: Cristopher Sánchez, Phillies
Sánchez struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing six hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Padres.
Sánchez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as NL Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season, rising from third to first place in season player rankings, passing previous leader, Pirates pitcher Braxton Ashcraft, who falls to third overall with 9.4 points. Sánchez also passes Ashcraft to take the lead among NL pitchers.
Sánchez becomes the first player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2026. (Teammate Zack Wheeler reached 10 points first in 2025 on May 23, one of 44 players to reach that milestone during the season.) This is Sánchez’s third straight season with 10 or more points, all with the Phillies. His best season was 2025 with 15.4 points, 11th overall and seventh among NL pitchers.
AL Batter of the Day: Blaze Alexander, Orioles
Alexander homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in six runs, in the 11-2 win over the Rays.
NL Batter of the Day: Juan Soto, Mets
Soto homered and went 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in one run, in the 4-2 win over the Reds.
Rankings: Gavin Williams, Guardians
Williams rises from fourth to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Williams (7IP 3H R 2BB 4K W in the 3-2 win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.7 for the season. He trails only Sánchez (10.7 points) and bolsters his lead among AL pitchers, ahead of Cam Schlittler of the Yankees (9.7 points).
Rankings: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers
Ohtani rises from eighth to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Ohtani (6IP 0H R 4BB 7K W in the 4-1 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.7 for the season.
This was Ohtani’s seventh Player of the Game honor of 2026 and his fifth as a starting pitcher; the other two have come as a designated hitter. Because he has more than 25 percent of his Player of the Game honors as a batter (28.6 percent) and a pitcher (71.4 percent), he qualifies to rank at both positions with his full 8.7 Box-Toppers point total.
As a result, he ranks fourth among NL pitchers and first among NL batters, ahead of Ketel Marte of the Diamondbacks (5.5 points). However, separately, his 6.7 points as a pitcher would rank ninth among NL pitchers and his 2.0 points as a designated hitter would rank 32nd among NL batters.
Ohtani now has 99.9 career Box-Toppers points, 54.3 earned as a pitcher and 45.7 as a batter.
Ohtani also played as a designated hitter Wednesday (HR 1-4 R BI), separately recording a -1.0 Box-Toppers game score as a batter.
Debut
Tigers pitcher David Sandlin made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Sandlin (6IP H R 0BB 4K W in the 15-2 win over the Twins) was also making his Major League debut.
Scoring
Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
Sánchez earns 1.7 points as NL Player of the Day.
Alexander and Soto each earn 1.5 points as their league’s 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).| 5/27 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +12.2 | NYY 7, KC 0 | Gerrit Cole (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| NL | +10.0 | PHI 3, SD 0 | Cristopher Sánchez (W, 6‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| +7.0 | BOS 8, ATL 0 | Connelly Early (W, 5‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| +7.0 | LAD 4, COL 1 | Shohei Ohtani (W, 5‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | ||
| +7.0 | CHW 15, MIN 2 | David Sandlin (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +7.0 | `DET 4, LAA 0 | Casey Mize | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | +6.0 | BAL 11, TB 2 | Blaze Alexander 3B‑LF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | SEA 9, ATH 1 | Logan Gilbert (W, 3‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| +4.2 | HOU 4, TEX 3 | Enyel De Los Santos (S, 4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | CLE 3, WSH 2 | Gavin Williams (W, 8‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| +4.0 | CHC 10, PIT 4 | Jacob Webb (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +2.0 | MIL 2, STL 1 | Aaron Ashby (W, 9‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | ARI 3, SF 2 | Paul Sewald (S, 14) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.1 | TOR 2, MIA 1 | Jeff Hoffman (W, 3‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | +1.0 | NYM 4, CIN 2 | Juan Soto LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 | pi sp | phi nl | 10.7 | 26.1 | 41.5 | 41.5 | -4.7 |
| Williams, Gavin 4865 | pi sp | cle al | 9.7 | 21.4 | 29.1 | 29.1 | -2.0 |
| Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | lad nl | 8.7 | 14.2 | 85.4 | 99.9 | +3.2 |
| Gilbert, Logan 4439 | pi sp | sea al | 3.0 | 16.1 | 63.6 | 63.6 | -10.1 |
| Alexander, Blaze 4971 | ss 3b lf | bal al | 3.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | +1.0 |
| Ashby, Aaron 4511 | pi mr | mil nl | 3.0 | 5.0 | 12.4 | 12.4 | +1.0 |
| Early, Connelly 5282 | pi sp | bos al | 3.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | +1.3 |
| Sewald, Paul 3940 | pi cp | ari nl | 3.0 | 4.0 | 19.0 | 20.0 | +2.0 |
| Mize, Casey 4377 | pi sp | det al | 2.0 | 9.0 | 16.7 | 16.7 | -5.0 |
| Webb, Jacob 4530 | pi cp mr | chi nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | +1.0 |
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 66.5 | 167.0 | +2.0 |
| De Los Santos, Enyel 4737 | pi mr cp | hou al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +2.0 |
| Soto, Juan 3994 | lf | nym nl | 1.5 | 8.5 | 37.0 | 52.5 | -5.5 |
| Hoffman, Jeff 3806 | pi mr cp | tor al | 1.0 | 9.0 | 19.0 | 23.7 | -7.0 |
| Sandlin, David 5368 | pi sp | chi al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAA | Rodriguez, Grayson 4790 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| DET | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | 1.0 | 9.4 | 32.4 | 66.7 |
| MIN | Rojas, Kendry* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CHW | Martin, Davis 4657 | 6.7 | 9.7 | 14.7 | 14.7 |
| ATL | Sale, Chris 2806 | 6.7 | 18.1 | 47.9 | 190.5 |
| BOS | Tolle, Payton 5348 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| TOR | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 30.8 | 105.4 |
| BAL | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 60.5 | 79.6 |
| CHC | Rea, Colin 3582 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 19.4 | 23.1 |
| PIT | Skenes, Paul 5005 | 9.0 | 30.1 | 43.1 | 43.1 |
| HOU | Arrighetti, Spencer 5022 | 5.4 | 6.4 | 13.1 | 13.1 |
| TEX | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | 5.7 | 20.1 | 62.9 | 102.4 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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