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
Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to eighth place in season player rankings.
Also Saturday, Nick Kurtz of the Athletics rises to first place among American League batters in 2026 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.
Other Player of the Game winners Saturday include Cubs pitcher Ben Brown, Jake McCarthy of the Rockies, Wade Meckler of the Angels and Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray.
Player of the Day: Bryan Woo, Mariners
Woo struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 5-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
Woo earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.4 for the season, rising to eighth place among all players and fourth place among AL pitchers.
NL Player of the Day: Ben Brown, Cubs
Brown struck out six over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 6-1 win over the Cardinals.
Brown earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as National League Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, 18th among NL pitchers.
NL Batter of the Day: Jake McCarthy, Rockies
McCarthy homered and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 8-3 win over the Giants.
AL Batter of the Day: Wade Meckler, Angels
Meckler hit a grand slam and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 14-3 win over the Rays.
2026 Box-Toppers points—AL batters 1—Nick Kurtz #Athletics 5.0* 2—Munetaka Murakami #WhiteSox 4.5 3—Jeremiah Jackson #Orioles 4.2 4—Randy Arozarena #Mariners 4.0 5—Yandy Díaz #Rays 4.0 6—Kazuma Okamoto #BlueJays 4.0 7—Riley Greene #Tigers 3.5 *Earns 1.0 B-T point Saturday
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) 10:05 AM · May 31, 2026
Rankings: Nick Kurtz, Athletics
Kurtz rises to first place among American League batters in 2026 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Kurtz (HR 3-4 2R 2BI in the 6-4 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season (34th overall). He passes previous AL batter leader Munetaka Murakami of the White Sox (4.5 points).
Notable: Sonny Gray, Red Sox
Gray now has 129.3 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 41st place among all players since tracking began in 1995, after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Career Box-Toppers points—Active AL pitchers 1—Max Scherzer #BlueJays 257.7 2—Justin Verlander #Tigers 250.0 3—Gerrit Cole #Yankees 167.0 4—Jacob deGrom #Rangers 156.9 5—Sonny Gray #RedSox 129.3* 6—Kevin Gausman #BlueJays 116.2 *Earns 1.0 B-T point Saturday
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) 10:17 AM · May 31, 2026
Gray (6IP 4H R 3BB 7K W in the 9-1 win over the Guardians), with his 1.0 point Saturday, passes Trevor Hoffman (128.4) on the “all-time” career points list and now trails 40th-ranked player, Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (130.1). (It should be noted that Hoffman would have an estimated 135 career points if his entire career from 1993 were tracked.)
Gray ranks eighth among active, signed players in career points, fifth among active AL pitchers.
His 5.0 points in 2026 is 29th among all players, 14th among AL pitchers.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Saturday, May 30.| 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 | Davis Martin | pi sp | White Sox | 8.7 |
| 8 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 8.4 |
| 9 | José Soriano | pi sp | Angels | 8.0 |
| 10 | Jacob Misiorowski | pi sp | Brewers | 8.0 |
Debut
Saturday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers review of the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest B-T game scores:
⬛ Sasaki has best game score among Saturday’s non-Player of the Game winners in LA loss
Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Jake Mangum of the Pirates (HR 3-4 2R 2BI in the 10-9 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut March 30, 2025, and was playing in his 158th career game.
Rangers closing pitcher Peyton Gray (1IP H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 7-6 win over the Royals) made his Major League debut April 23 and was playing in his 10th career game.
Scoring
Woo earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
Brown earns 1.7 points as NL Player of the Day.
McCarthy and Meckler each earn 1.5 points as their league’s 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.
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).| 5/30 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +14.0 | SEA 5, ARI 1 | Bryan Woo (W, 5‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| NL | +7.0 | CHC 6, STL 1 | Ben Brown (W, 2‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| BAT | +6.0 | COL 8, SF 3 | Jake McCarthy CF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | `HOU 9, MIL 2 | AJ Blubaugh (H, 4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | LAA 14, TB 3 | Wade Meckler LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | WSH 9, SD 4 | Curtis Mead PH‑3B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | BOS 9, CLE 1 | Sonny Gray (W, 6‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| +4.0 | NYM 6, MIA 1 | Christian Scott (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| +3.0 | PIT 10, MIN 9 | Jake Mangum LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | ATH 6, NYY 4 | Nick Kurtz 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CHW 7, DET 1 | Edgar Quero C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | ATL 5, CIN 2 | Ronald Acuña Jr. RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | PHI 4, LAD 3 | Edmundo Sosa PH‑LF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | TEX 7, KC 6 | Peyton Gray (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +1.2 | `BAL 6, TOR 5 | Brandon Young | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woo, Bryan 4842 | pi sp | sea al | 8.4 | 26.4 | 46.8 | 46.8 | -9.6 |
| Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | bos al | 5.0 | 19.0 | 60.3 | 129.3 | -9.0 |
| Kurtz, Nick 5221 | 1b | oak al | 5.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | +0.5 |
| Brown, Ben 4967 | pi sp mr | chi nl | 4.7 | 9.7 | 14.7 | 14.7 | -0.3 |
| Blubaugh, AJ 5243 | pi mr | hou al | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +1.0 |
| Mead, Curtis 5333 | dh 1b 3b ph | dc nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Meckler, Wade 5365 | lf | ana al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Acuna, Ronald Jr. 3947 | rf | atl nl | 2.7 | 7.2 | 22.4 | 36.8 | -1.8 |
| Quero, Edgar 5172 | ca | chi al | 2.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | +0.5 |
| McCarthy, Jake 4621 | cf rf | col nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | +2.5 |
| Sosa, Edmundo 4495 | 2b 3b lf ph | phi nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 0.0 |
| Young, Brandon 5253 | pi sp | bal al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Scott, Christian 5344 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Mangum, Jake 5369 | lf | ana al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +1.5 |
| Gray, Peyton 5370 | pi cp | tex al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOR | Miles, Spencer 5357 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| BAL | Bradish, Kyle 4597 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 27.7 | 27.7 |
| MIN | Matthews, Zebby 5186 | 1.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| PIT | Ashcraft, Braxton 5208 | 9.4 | 14.1 | 14.1 | 14.1 |
| SD | Canning, Griffin 4134 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 19.7 | 28.4 |
| WSH | Littell, Zack 4533 | 2.0 | 8.7 | 23.1 | 23.1 |
| LAA | Kochanowicz, Jack 5094 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| TB | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 34.8 | 34.8 |
| ATL | Strider, Spencer 4626 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 42.5 | 42.5 |
| CIN | Lodolo, Nick 4586 | 1.0 | 10.7 | 26.7 | 26.7 |
| BOS | Suarez, Ranger 4228 | 5.0 | 20.8 | 48.9 | 49.9 |
| CLE | Bibee, Tanner 4792 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 30.7 | 30.7 |
| MIA | Junk, Janson 4697 | 2.0 | 6.7 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| NYM | McLean, Nolan 5255 | 2.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| DET | Montero, Keider 5057 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| CHW | Burke, Sean 5124 | 2.7 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| MIL | Misiorowski, Jacob 5200 | 8.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 |
| HOU | Imai, Tatsua 5307 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| KC | Wacha, Michael 3276 | 4.7 | 14.8 | 51.7 | 86.4 |
| TEX | Leiter, Jack 5132 | 2.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| SF | Ray, Robbie 3502 | 2.7 | 12.1 | 47.9 | 92.0 |
| COL | Gordon, Tanner 5230 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| NYY | Warren, Will 5143 | 3.7 | 13.1 | 13.1 | 13.1 |
| ATH | Lopez, Jacob 5202 | 1.0 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 2.7 | 15.4 | 44.4 | 56.4 |
| SEA | Miller, Bryce 4797 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 31.8 | 31.8 |
| PHI | Painter, Andrew 5302 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| LAD | Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | 3.7 | 21.4 | 27.8 | 27.8 |
| CHC | Wicks, Jordan 4912 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| STL | Liberatore, Matthew 4662 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 |
* 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