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
Tigers pitcher Troy Melton is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Dansby Swanson of the Cubs won National League Player of the Day, recording the highest Box-Toppers game score by a batter this season, and rose to second place among NL batters in 2026 Box-Toppers points.
Other top players Wednesday include Twins pitcher Taj Bradley and Jonah Heim of the Athletics.
Player of the Day: Troy Melton, Tigers
Melton struck out seven over 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 6-2, 11-inning win over the Yankees. Melton did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Yankees tied the game after he exited.
Melton earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, 170th among all players and 58th among American League pitchers.
2026 Box-Toppers points—NL batters 1—Shohei Ohtani #Dodgers 12.7† 2—Dansby Swanson #Cubs 8.2* 3—Sal Stewart #Reds 7.0 4—Kyle Schwarber #Phillies 6.7 5—Michael Harris II #Braves 6.5 6—Andy Pages #Dodgers 5.7 7—James Wood #Nationals 5.5 † 4.0 pts as batter/8.7 as pitcher * Earns 1.7 B-T pts Wednesday
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) 9:17 AM · Jul 2, 2026
Wednesday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers review of the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest B-T game scores:
⬛ 3 Cubs batters post best game scores among non-Player of the Game winners in blowout
NL Player of the Day: Dansby Swanson, Cubs
Swanson hit three home runs, including a grand slam and a three-run homer, in the 23-3 win over the Padres. Swanson went 3-for-5, scoring four times and driving in eight runs.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Wednesday, July 1.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 14.7 |
| 2 | Jacob Misiorowski | pi sp | Brewers | 14.0 |
| 3 | Shohei Ohtani | pi sp dh | Dodgers | 12.7 |
| 4 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 12.4 |
| 5 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 11.7 |
| 6 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 11.4 |
| 7 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Blue Jays | 10.4 |
| 8 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 10.0 |
| 9 | Kyle Harrison | pi sp | Brewers | 10.0 |
| 10 | José Soriano | pi sp | Angels | 9.7 |
Swanson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as NL Player of the Day, giving him 8.2 for the season, 20th among all players and rising to second among NL batters, behind Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers (12.7).
Ohtani has earned 4.0 of his 12.7 points as a batter. Because more than 25% of his Player of the Game honors (4 of 11, 36.4%) came as a hitter, his full 12.7-point total qualifies him for the batter rankings. (His 4.0 batting points alone would rank 17th among NL batters).
Swanson has the most 2026 Box-Toppers points among all full-time batters, passing Sal Stewart of the Reds and Nick Kurtz of the Athletics, who both have 7.0 points.
Swanson recorded a +10.0 Box-Toppers game score Wednesday, the highest among all batters who have won Player of the Game honors in 2026. Three batters recorded +9.0 game scores en route to winning Player of the Game honors this season:
Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies (3HR 4-5 4R 6BI in the 15-3 win over the Mets) on June 20, winning NL Player of the Day honors.
Adley Rutschman of the Orioles (HR 2-2B 4-4 4R 5BI in the 13-3 win over the Blue Jays) on June 5, winning AL Batter of the Day honors.
Matt Chapman of the Giants (2HR SF 2-3 2R 8BI in the 18-3 win over the Cubs) on June 5, winning NL Batter of the Day Honors.
While Swanson’s +10.0 game score is the highest for a batter this season, the highest score for a batter since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, is +15.0 by Anthony Rendon of the Nationals on April 30, 2017, (3HR 2B 6-6 5R 10BI in the 23-5 win over the Mets). The highest game score of 2025 was +14.0 by Nick Kurtz of the Athletics (4HR 2B 6-6 6R 8BI in the 15-3 win over the Astros) on July 25.
Though it's the top batting score of 2026, Swanson's +10.0 ranks 87th overall this season—behind 86 pitchers. That includes Wednesday's Player of the Day, Troy Melton, whose +10.1 game score just barely edged Swanson out.
Another Wednesday Player of the Game winner, Giants pitcher Trevor McDonald, also recorded a +10.0 game score (6IP H 0R 0BB 5K W in the 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks), but Swanson beat him for NL Player of the Day honors because in cases of game score ties, batters rank ahead of pitchers.
Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski recorded the season’s highest game score (+23.0) on June 12 in the 6-0 win over the Phillies (CG H 0R 0BB 15K W).
This was the second straight day Swanson won Player of the Game honors. He also did it Tuesday in the 9-7 win over the Padres (2HR 3-4 2R 3BI). Swanson has won Player of the Game honors four times in the past nine days, earning 5.2 of his 8.2 total points in that span:
AL Batter of the Day: Jonah Heim, Athletics
Heim homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-1 win over the Dodgers.
NL Batter of the Day
There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Dansby Swanson.
Notable: Taj Bradley, Twins
Bradley has the most 2026 Box-Toppers points among Wednesday’s Player of the Game winners.
Bradley (5IP 4H R 3BB 11K W in the 8-3 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.7 for the season, 19th among all players and 10th among AL pitchers.
Scoring
Melton earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
Swanson earns 1.7 points as NL Player of the Day.
Heim earns 1.5 points as AL 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.
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).| 7/1 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +10.1 | `DET 6, NYY 2 (F/11) | Troy Melton | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| NL | +10.0 | CHC 23, SD 3 | Dansby Swanson SS | 5 | 4 | 3 | 8 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +10.0 | SF 6, ARI 4 | Trevor McDonald (W, 3‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| +7.2 | WSH 10, BOS 2 | Andrew Alvarez (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +7.0 | TB 4, KC 0 | Shane McClanahan (W, 7‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +7.0 | MIN 8, HOU 3 | Taj Bradley (W, 7‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 11 | ||
| +6.0 | ATL 5, STL 1 | Reynaldo López (W, 4‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +6.0 | TOR 9, NYM 3 | Spencer Miles (W, 4‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +4.0 | COL 6, MIA 3 | Mickey Moniak DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | ATH 7, LAD 1 | Jonah Heim C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | CLE 9, TEX 4 | Austin Hedges C | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | BAL 6, CHW 1 | Dean Kremer (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +2.1 | MIL 4, CIN 2 | Aaron Ashby (W, 12‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | PHI 10, PIT 6 | Trea Turner SS | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradley, Taj 4780 | pi sp | min al | 8.7 | 14.7 | 31.8 | 31.8 | +2.7 |
| Swanson, Dansby 3751 | ss | chi nl | 8.2 | 12.2 | 32.4 | 46.9 | +4.2 |
| McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 6.0 | 6.0 | 36.8 | 36.8 | +6.0 |
| Ashby, Aaron 4511 | pi mr | mil nl | 4.0 | 6.0 | 13.4 | 13.4 | +2.0 |
| Melton, Troy 5231 | pi sp | det al | 3.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | -0.7 |
| Heim, Jonah 4492 | ca | oak al | 3.0 | 5.5 | 19.2 | 19.2 | +0.5 |
| Lopez, Reynaldo 3712 | pi sp cp | atl nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 24.2 | 45.0 | +3.0 |
| Miles, Spencer 5357 | pi mr | tor al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| McDonald, Trevor 5297 | pi sp | sf nl | 2.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | +1.7 |
| Moniak, Mickey 4849 | cf lf dh | col nl | 2.5 | 7.5 | 13.5 | 13.5 | -2.5 |
| Alvarez, Andrew 5274 | pi cp mr sp | dc nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Kremer, Dean 4330 | pi sp | bal al | 1.0 | 8.7 | 36.8 | 38.5 | -6.7 |
| Turner, Trea 3730 | ss | phi nl | 1.0 | 6.5 | 18.2 | 32.4 | -4.5 |
| Hedges, Austin 3790 | ca | cle al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 10.0 | +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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIT | Jones, Jared 4956 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| PHI | Rangel, Alan* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CIN | Burns, Chase 5301 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| MIL | Misiorowski, Jacob 5200 | 14.0 | 20.0 | 20.0 | 20.0 |
| MIA | Gusto, Ryan 5156 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| COL | Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 23.7 | 34.2 |
| CHW | Martin, Davis 4657 | 9.7 | 12.7 | 17.7 | 17.7 |
| CLE | Cecconi, Slade 4913 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| STL | May, Dustin 4214 | 5.7 | 11.4 | 19.1 | 23.1 |
| ATL | Waldrep, Hurston 5248 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| TB | Seymour, Ian 5265 | 2.7 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.4 |
| KC | Kolek, Stephen 5046 | 4.7 | 9.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| DET | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 4.0 | 15.7 | 62.1 | 72.5 |
| TEX | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | 6.7 | 21.1 | 63.9 | 103.4 |
| LAA | Ureña, Walbert 5350 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| SEA | Miller, Bryce 4797 | 4.7 | 7.7 | 36.5 | 36.5 |
| SD | Vasquez, Randy 4841 | 6.4 | 11.8 | 14.8 | 14.8 |
| LAD | Sasaki, Roki 5358 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
* 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