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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▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Mets pitcher Christian Scott is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Thursday’s lone game as Major League Baseball resumes after the All-Star break.
Scott struck out seven over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 4-1 win over the Phillies.
Scott earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, 55th among all players and 23rd among National League pitchers.
Scott, who started the game for the Mets, matched up against Phillies starter Aaron Nola (whose 4.7 Box-Toppers points ranked 35th among NL pitchers going into the game). Nola recorded a -4.0 Box-Toppers game score in the loss (6IP 6H 3R 4BB 6K L).
Francisco Alvarez of the Mets had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+3.0) among those who did not win Player of the Game honors. Alvarez hit two home runs and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs.
Baseball’s full schedule resumes Friday with 15 games. Here is a look at pitching matchups.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Thursday, July 16.| 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 |
Player & Team Rankings
Box-Toppers usually posts player and team rankings on Fridays. However, there is no regular weekly rankings report today, Friday, July 17.
Our most recent report was published on a special schedule this past Monday, July 13 (covering games through Sunday, July 12, leading into the All-Star break). Because only one game has been played since that Monday report, we are holding off on updates today.
Here is the schedule looking forward:
Friday, July 24: The regular Friday schedule resumes, covering all action from the first week of post-All-Star break play.
In the meantime, you can find the most recent standings in Monday’s Box-Toppers team and player rankings reports:
Team rankings: Dodgers lead 9th straight team rankings report; Yankees persist atop AL
Player rankings: Brewers’ Misiorowski passes Sánchez to lead Box-Toppers season player rankings at the All-Star break
Also, there will be no Box-Toppers Sidelights Sidebar posted Friday, July 16, since only one game was played Thursday. (Here is the most recent Sidelights Sidebar published Monday.)
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).| 7/16 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +9.2 | NYM 4, PHI 1 | Christian Scott (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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.
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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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott, Christian 5344 | pi sp | nym nl | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | +6.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Friday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB | Jax, Griffin 4478 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| BOS | Bennett, Jake 5396 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| LAD | Sasaki, Roki 5358 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| NYY | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 66.5 | 167.0 |
| PIT | Jones, Jared 4956 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| CLE | Williams, Gavin 4865 | 10.7 | 22.4 | 30.1 | 30.1 |
| TB | Englert, Mason 4782 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| BOS | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CHW | Kay, Anthony 4285 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 |
| TOR | Miles, Spencer 5357 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| TEX | Quantrill, Cal 4195 | 1.0 | 7.7 | 26.4 | 30.4 |
| ATL | Sale, Chris 2806 | 6.7 | 18.1 | 47.9 | 190.5 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 6.7 | 14.7 | 52.5 | 61.9 |
| MIL | Henderson, Logan 5150 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| MIN | Ober, Bailey 4441 | 1.7 | 4.7 | 36.5 | 36.5 |
| CHC | Rea, Colin 3582 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 19.4 | 23.1 |
| BAL | Kremer, Dean 4330 | 1.0 | 8.7 | 36.8 | 38.5 |
| HOU | Lambert, Peter 4155 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 10.7 | 12.7 |
| SD | King, Michael 4549 | 5.0 | 9.4 | 36.8 | 36.8 |
| KC | Lugo, Seth 3729 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 28.5 | 44.5 |
| CIN | Singer, Brady 4337 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 39.7 | 43.7 |
| COL | Hughes, Gabriel* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| DET | Melton, Troy 5231 | 4.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| LAA | Detmers, Reid 4513 | 5.0 | 9.0 | 27.4 | 27.4 |
| STL | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 3.7 | 16.4 | 45.4 | 57.4 |
| WSH | Cavalli, Cade 5244 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| ATH | Jump, Gage 5372 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| SF | Roupp, Landen 5079 | 4.0 | 8.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| SEA | Miller, Bryce 4797 | 6.7 | 9.7 | 38.5 | 38.5 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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