| American League | National League | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elected starting batters | Elected starting batters | |||||||||
| Pos | Player | Team | BTP | Rank | Pos | Player | Team | BTP | Rank | |
| CA | Shea Langliers | Athletics | 2.0 | 273 | CA | Drake Baldwin | Braves | 1.0 | 427 | |
| 1B | # Vladmir Guerrero Jr. | Blue Jays | 0.0 | 671 | 1B | Freddie Freeman | Dodgers | 2.0 | 291 | |
| 2B | Ernie Clement | Blue Jays | 1.5 | 391 | 2B | Ozzie Albies | Braves | 4.5 | 106 | |
| 3B | Junior Caminero | Ray | 3.0 | 185 | 3B | Max Muncy | Dodgers | 3.7 | 152 | |
| SS | Bobby Witt Jr. | Royals | 1.5 | 371 | SS | CJ Abrams | Nationals | 4.0 | 136 | |
| OF | Mike Trout | Angels | 1.0 | 460 | OF | Brandon Marsh | Phillies | 1.0 | 540 | |
| OF | # Byron Buxton | Twins | 3.0 | 194 | OF | Juan Soto | Mets | 5.2 | 69 | |
| OF | # Aaron Judge | Yankees | 2.5 | 242 | OF | Andy Pages | Dodgers | 5.7 | 62 | |
| DH | Yordan Alvarez | Astros | 6.5 | 42 | DH | # Shohei Ohtani | Dodgers | 13.7 | 5 | |
| Reserves | Reserves | |||||||||
| Pos | Player | Team | BTP | Rank | Pos | Player | Team | BTP | Rank | |
| C | Dillon Dingler | Tigers | 5.0 | 82 | C | William Contreras | Brewers | 4.7 | 99 | |
| C | Adley Rutschman | Orioles | 4.7 | 102 | C | Hunter Goodman | Rockies | 4.2 | 111 | |
| IF | Nick Kurtz | Athletics | 7.0 | 31 | IF | Sal Stewart | Reds | 7.0 | 32 | |
| IF | *Ben Rice | Yankees | 3.5 | 166 | iF | Matt Olson | Braves | 4.0 | 123 | |
| IF | Miguel Vargas | White Sox | 3.5 | 174 | IF | † Bryce Harper | Phillies | 3.7 | 155 | |
| IF | Travis Bazzana | Guardians | 1.0 | 568 | iF | Otto Lopez | Marlins | 2.5 | 247 | |
| IF | Kevin McGonigle | Tigers | 1.0 | 590 | IF | Luis Arraez | Giants | 1.0 | 534 | |
| OF | *Riley Greene | Tigers | 5.0 | 72 | OF | James Wood | Nationals | 6.5 | 40 | |
| OF | *Cody Bellinger | Yankees | 4.0 | 125 | OF | Corbin Carroll | Diamondbacks | 5.5 | 66 | |
| OF | Randy Arozarena | Mariners | 4.0 | 126 | OF | Jordan Walker | Cardinals | 4.5 | 107 | |
| DH | Yandy Díaz | Rays | 5.0 | 91 | OF | Pete Crow‑Armstrong | Cubs | 4.0 | 117 | |
| DH | *Kyle Schwarber | Phillies | 6.7 | 35 | ||||||
| DH | Iván Herrera | Cardinals | 3.0 | 192 | ||||||
| Pitchers | Pitchers | |||||||||
| Pos | Player | Team | BTP | Rank | Pos | Player | Team | BTP | Rank | |
| SP | Dylan Cease | Blue Jays | 14.4 | 3 | SP | Jacob Misiorowski | Brewers | 15.0 | 1 | |
| SP | Cam Schlittler | Yankees | 13.7 | 4 | SP | Cristopher Sánchez | Phillies | 14.7 | 2 | |
| SP | Joe Ryan | Twins | 7.7 | 25 | SP | Braxton Ashcraft | Pirates | 13.4 | 6 | |
| SP | Drew Rasmussen | Rays | 7.0 | 29 | SP | Jesús Luzardo | Phillies | 13.0 | 8 | |
| SP | Parker Messick | Guardians | 6.7 | 39 | SP | Paul Skenes | Pirates | 10.0 | 13 | |
| SP | Ranger Suárez | Red Sox | 6.0 | 49 | SP | Max Meyer | Marlins | 9.7 | 18 | |
| SP | Michael Wacha | Royals | 5.7 | 58 | SP | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Dodgers | 9.4 | 20 | |
| SP | Nick Martinez | Rays | 4.0 | 122 | SP | Foster Griffin | Nationals | 9.4 | 21 | |
| SP | † Justin Verlander | Tigers | 0.0 | 704 | SP | Chase Burns | Reds | 8.0 | 24 | |
| RP | Cade Smith | Guardians | 5.0 | 75 | SP | Chris Sale | Braves | 6.7 | 36 | |
| RP | Jacob Latz | Rangers | 5.0 | 81 | SP | Justin Wrobleski | Dodgers | 6.4 | 44 | |
| RP | Louis Varland | Blue Jays | 4.0 | 137 | SP | Logan Webb | Giants | 5.0 | 71 | |
| RP | Aroldis Chapman | Red Sox | 1.0 | 430 | SP | Eduardo Rodriguez | Diamondback | 4.0 | 128 | |
| RP | Bryan Baker | Rays | 1.0 | 511 | RP | Mason Miller | Padres | 9.0 | 22 | |
| RP | Jhoan Duran | Phillies | 5.0 | 78 | ||||||
| RP | Riley O’Brien | Cardinals | 3.0 | 207 | ||||||
| RP | Raisel Iglesias | Braves | 1.0 | 498 | ||||||
| Worthy but unchosen | Worthy but unchosen | |||||||||
| Pos | Player | Team | BTP | Rank | Pos | Player | Team | BTP | Rank | |
| SP | Bryan Woo | Mariners | 11.4 | 9 | SP | Zack Wheeler | Phillies | 13.0 | 7 | |
| SP | Logan Gilbert | Mariners | 11.0 | 10 | SS | Dansby Swanson | Cubs | 8.2 | 23 | |
| SP | Gavin Williams | Guardians | 10.7 | 11 | OF | Jake McCarthy | Rockies | 7.2 | 27 | |
| OF | Kody Clemens | Twins | 5.2 | 68 | 1B | Sal Stewart | Reds | 7.0 | 32 | |
| 2B | Jeremiah Jackson | Orioles | 5.2 | 70 | OF | Michael Harris II | Braves | 6.5 | 41 | |
| OF | Wade Meckler | Angels | 5.0 | 92 | 2B | Ketel Marte | Diamondbacks | 5.5 | 65 | |
| 3B | Kazuma Okamoto | Blue Jays | 5.0 | 93 | 3B | Casey Schmitt | Giants | 5.0 | 83 | |
| OF | Ryan Vilade | Rays | 4.5 | 109 | ||||||
| SS | J.P. Crawford | Mariners | 4.2 | 112 | ||||||
* Player will start in place of an elected starter.
† Named as a Commissioner's Legend Pick.
Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler and Mariners pitchers Bryan Woo and Logan Gilbert are Box-Toppers’ most worthy but unchosen players for the 2026 All-Star Game.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Sunday, July 12.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Misiorowski | pi sp | Brewers | 15.0 |
| 2 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 14.7 |
| 3 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Blue Jays | 14.4 |
| 4 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 13.7 |
| 5 | Shohei Ohtani | pi sp dh | Dodgers | 13.7 |
| 6 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 13.4 |
| 7 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 13.0 |
| 8 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 13.0 |
| 9 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 11.4 |
| 10 | Logan Gilbert | pi sp | Mariners | 11.0 |
Joining them as key All-Star snubs are Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams, Dansby Swanson of the Cubs, Jake McCarthy of the Rockies, Sal Stewart of the Reds and Michael Harris II of the Braves.
Though all rank in Box-Toppers’ top 50 overall, none were selected as starters or reserves for Tuesday's Midsummer Classic at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park.
Box-Toppers category leaders chosen as All-Stars
While those worthy players were not selected, all four Box-Toppers category leaders were chosen as All-Stars:
Overall and National League pitching leader Jacob Misiorowski with 15.0 Box-Toppers points.
American League pitching leader Dylan Cease, whose 14.4 points rank third overall.
National League batting leader Shohei Ohtani, whose 13.7 points rank fifth overall.
American League batting leader Nick Kurtz, whose 7.0 points rank 31st overall.
However, three of those four players will not participate in the All-Star Game:
Misiorowski was scratched from his last start before the All-Star Game due to arm fatigue and will likely not start again until at least July 20.
Ohtani will miss the game to receive treatment for his left knee irritation and is expected to return to the Dodgers after the All-Star break both as a batter and a pitcher.
Kurtz is on the injured list with a right thumb capsule strain and is eligible to return July 20.
2026 All-Star starting pitchers: Dylan Cease of the Blue Jays for the American League and Cristopher Sánchez of the Phillies for the National League.
Starting pitching matchup: Cease vs. Sánchez
A Box-Toppers look at Tuesday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL | Cease, Dylan 4231 | 14.4 | 23.1 | 89.0 | 91.0 |
| NL | Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 | 14.7 | 30.1 | 45.5 | 45.5 |
* 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
However, AL pitching leader Cease is scheduled to serve as American League team starter, matching up against Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez, who ranks second overall and among NL pitchers with 14.7 Box-Toppers points.
Both starters are not only among their league’s leaders in Box-Toppers points this season but also boast stellar historical track records.
Cease ranked among the top 10 overall players in 2022 with the White Sox (his 20.4 points were fifth overall, third among AL pitchers) and in 2024 with the Padres (his 21.1 points were third overall, second among NL pitchers).
Sánchez earned 15.4 Box-Toppers points in 2025 with the Phillies, seventh among NL pitchers.
Notable All-Star snubs
Here’s more about the Box-Toppers leaders who did not make an All-Star team:
Zack Wheeler has 13.0 Box-Toppers points, seventh overall and fifth among NL pitchers. Two other Phillies starting pitchers, both among Box-Toppers’ top 10 overall players, made the All-Star team—Sánchez (14.7 points, second overall) and Jesús Luzardo (13.0 points, eighth overall).
Two Mariners pitchers in Box-Toppers’ overall top 10 were not selected as All-Stars—Bryan Woo has 11.4 points, ninth overall and third among AL pitchers and Logan Gilbert has 11.0 points, 10th overall and fourth among AL pitchers.
Gavin Williams has 10.7 Box-Toppers points, 11th among all players and fifth among AL pitchers.
Dansby Swanson is Box-Toppers’ most worthy but unchosen batter in the game. His 8.2 Box-Toppers points rank 23rd overall, second among NL batters and first among NL shortstops. In fact, Swanson has the most points earned solely as a batter in 2026. Only Shohei Ohtani ranks ahead of him among NL batters with 13.7 points, but he has earned only 5.0 of his points as a batter and 8.7 as a pitcher.
Jake McCarthy has 7.2 Box-Toppers points, 27th among all players, third among NL batters and first among NL outfielders.
Sal Stewart has 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 32nd among all players, fourth among NL batters and first among NL first basemen.
Michael Harris II has 6.5 Box-Toppers points, 41st among all players, seventh among NL batters and second among NL outfielders.
Players with 0.0 Box-Toppers points
Two selected All-Stars have yet to earn a Box-Toppers point in 2026: Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander.
Guerrero, who was elected starting first baseman for the American League, has played in 91 games this season, including 44 Blue Jays wins, but did not win Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in any of them.
In general, Guerrero’s status as a perennial All-Star has not been borne out by his career Box-Toppers performance. In 2025, he earned 4.0 points, 47th among AL batters and ninth among AL first basemen. In his best season, in 2019 as a rookie, he earned 6.2 points, 27th among AL batters and sixth among AL third basemen. His 18.4 Box-Toppers points over 2021-26 rank 38th among AL batters and eighth among AL first basemen. In short, he has never ranked at or near the top of batters in his league or at his position in Box-Toppers points.
Verlander, who also has no points in 2026, was selected as the Commissioner’s “Legend Pick” as an All-Star, along with first baseman Bryce Harper of the Phillies. Verlander, 43, who has announced he is retiring at the end of the season, has pitched in only one Major League game this season on March 30 and has no Box-Toppers points in 2026. Verlander is currently on the injured list due to a left hamstring injury and left hip inflammation and his return to the mound this season is uncertain.
However, Verlander ranks fourth among all players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 with 250.0, second among active players behind Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (257.7). He’s had 13 seasons with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and five with 20 or more, including two seasons in which he led all players:
2012 with the Tigers, 24.8 points.
2022 with the Astros, 26.0 points.
All-Star elected starters with fewer than 2.0 points
One-third of the 18 elected All-Stars have fewer than 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2026, meaning they have earned only one Player of the Game honor in 2026. They might be deemed the “chosen but unworthy” All-Stars, with Guerrero leading the list with 0.0 points. The other five:
Ernie Clement of the Blue Jays, voted to start at second base for the AL, has 1.5 Box-Toppers points.
Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals, voted to start at shortstop for the AL, has 1.5 Box-Toppers points. (In 2024, his 8.9 points were fifth among AL batters.)
Mike Trout of the Angels, voted to start as an outfielder for the AL, has 1.0 Box-Toppers point. While Trout has 88.2 career Box-Toppers points, second among active AL batters, he last ranked among the top 10 AL batters in a full-length season in 2019, when his 8.7 points ranked ninth. His 13.0 points over 2021-26 rank 65th among AL batters.
Drake Baldwin of the Braves, voted to start at catcher for the NL, has 1.0 Box-Toppers point. However, Baldwin earned 6.5 points in his 2025 rookie season, 17th among NL batters, first among NL catchers and most among NL rookie batters.
Brandon Marsh of the Phillies, voted to start as an outfielder for the NL, has 1.0 Box-Toppers point. Marsh has 6.5 total career points, including none in his 2021 rookie season and none in 2025.
Only 2 elected All-Stars among top 50 players
Among the 18 position players elected to the All-Star team, only two rank among the overall top 50 players in Box-Toppers points for 2026:
Yordan Alvarez of the Astros, voted as designated hitter for the AL. His 6.5 points are 42nd among all players and second among AL batters.
Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers, voted as designated hitter for the NL. His 13.7 points are fifth among all players and first among NL batters. However, it should be noted that only 5.0 of his points were earned as a batter; he earned his other 8.7 points as a starting pitcher.
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)