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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Rangers pitcher Kumar Rocker is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other Player of the Game winners Tuesday include Cubs pitcher David Peterson, Reds pitcher Chase Burns, Nick Fortes of the Rays and Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres.
Player of the Day: Kumar Rocker, Rangers
Rocker struck out six over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, in the 10-0 win over the White Sox.
Rocker earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.7 for the season, 70th among all players and 30th among American League pitchers.
NL Player of the Day: David Peterson, Cubs
Peterson struck out four over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 11-2 win over the Tigers.
Peterson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as National League Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season, 49th among NL pitchers. It is his first Player of the Game honor since being traded from the Mets to the Cubs on June 25.
AL Batter of the Day: Nick Fortes, Rays
Fortes hit a three-run home run and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-2 win over the Blue Jays.
NL Batter of the Day: Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres
Tatis homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-3 win over the Braves.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Tuesday, July 21.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Misiorowski | pi sp | Brewers | 16.0 |
| 2 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 14.7 |
| 3 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Blue Jays | 14.4 |
| 4 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 14.0 |
| 5 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 13.7 |
| 6 | Shohei Ohtani | pi sp dh | Dodgers | 13.7 |
| 7 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 13.4 |
| 8 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 13.0 |
| 9 | Logan Gilbert | pi sp | Mariners | 12.0 |
| 10 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 11.4 |
Notable: Chase Burns, Reds
Burns has the most 2026 Box-Toppers points among Tuesday’s Player of the Game winners.
Burns (5IP 3H 0R 2BB 6K W in the 4-2 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.0 for the season, 24th among all players and 13th among NL pitchers.
Debut
Mets pitcher Zac Thornton made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Thornton (6IP 3H 0R BB 2K W in the 4-0 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut May 20 and was playing in his fourth career game.
Scoring
Rocker earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
Peterson earns 1.7 points as NL Player of the Day.
Fortes and Tatis each earn 1.5 points as their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Tuesday’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).| 7/21 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +9.0 | TEX 10, CHW 0 | Kumar Rocker (W, 3‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| NL | +6.2 | CHC 11, DET 2 | David Peterson (W, 5‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| +6.0 | CIN 4, SEA 2 | Chase Burns (W, 12‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| +5.1 | LAD 2, PHI 1 | Justin Wrobleski (W, 11‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +5.0 | HOU 5, MIA 3 | Tatsuya Imai (W, 6‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||
| +4.2 | `CLE 5, MIN 2 | Patrick Messick | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | TB 12, TOR 2 | Nick Fortes C | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | NYM 4, MIL 0 | Zac Thornton (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| +3.1 | KC 3, SF 2 | Luinder Avila (W, 5‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | SD 8, ATL 3 | Fernando Tatis Jr. RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | ARI 6, ATH 5 (F/10) | Max Kepler LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | COL 8, WSH 7 | Jordan Romano (S, 7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | LAA 5, STL 1 | Walbert Ureña (W, 6‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burns, Chase 5301 | pi sp | cin nl | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | +9.0 |
| Messick Parker 5266 | pi sp | cle al | 7.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 | +6.7 |
| Wrobleski, Justin 5062 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.4 | 13.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 | +1.4 |
| Imai, Tatsua 5307 | pi sp | hou al | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | +6.7 |
| Rocker, Kumar 5108 | pi mr sp | tex al | 5.7 | 10.4 | 11.4 | 11.4 | +1.0 |
| Ureña, Walbert 5350 | pi sp | ana al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +4.0 |
| Peterson, David 4347 | pi mr cp sp | chi nl | 3.7 | 9.4 | 25.1 | 27.1 | -2.0 |
| Avila, Luinder 5386 | pi sp | kc al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Romano, Jordan 4299 | pi cp mr | col nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 11.0 | 12.0 | +1.0 |
| Tatis, Fernando Jr. 4101 | rf | sd nl | 1.5 | 2.5 | 20.7 | 26.7 | +0.5 |
| Fortes, Nick 4568 | ca | tb al | 1.5 | 2.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +0.5 |
| Kepler, Max 3664 | lf dh | ari nl | 1.0 | 2.5 | 10.5 | 33.7 | -0.5 |
| Thornton, Zac 5414 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Wednesday’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 | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 3.0 | 9.7 | 40.4 | 41.4 |
| NYY | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 66.5 | 167.0 |
| BAL | Kremer, Dean 4330 | 1.0 | 8.7 | 36.8 | 38.5 |
| BOS | Bennett, Jake 5396 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| NYM | Scott, Christian 5344 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| MIL | Henderson, Logan 5150 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| SF | Roupp, Landen 5079 | 5.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| KC | Lugo, Seth 3729 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 28.5 | 44.5 |
| WSH | Cavalli, Cade 5244 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| COL | Hughes, Gabriel* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ATH | Jump, Gage 5372 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 3.7 | 16.4 | 45.4 | 57.4 |
| CIN | Singer, Brady 4337 | 1.0 | 11.0 | 40.7 | 44.7 |
| SEA | Hancock, Emerson 4985 | 5.0 | 7.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| STL | Dobbins, Hunter 5203 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| LAA | Detmers, Reid 4513 | 5.0 | 9.0 | 27.4 | 27.4 |
| LAD | Lauer, Eric 4017 | 2.0 | 12.0 | 29.4 | 42.8 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 4.7 | 10.4 | 62.5 | 125.5 |
| MIN | Ober, Bailey 4441 | 2.7 | 5.7 | 37.5 | 37.5 |
| CLE | Cecconi, Slade 4913 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| PIT | Chandler, Bubba 5269 | 2.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| NYY | Fried, Max 4011 | 7.0 | 21.4 | 71.6 | 88.3 |
| TB | Jax, Griffin 4478 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| TOR | Fisher, Braydon 5316 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| BAL | Bradish, Kyle 4597 | 6.1 | 7.1 | 32.1 | 32.1 |
| BOS | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SD | King, Michael 4549 | 5.0 | 9.4 | 36.8 | 36.8 |
| ATL | Perez, Martin 3213 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 26.2 | 45.9 |
| DET | Montero, Keider 5057 | 3.7 | 7.7 | 12.4 | 12.4 |
| CHC | Rea, Colin 3582 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 19.4 | 23.1 |
| CHW | Kay, Anthony 4285 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 |
| TEX | Alexander, Tyler 4196 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 14.4 | 19.4 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 6.7 | 14.7 | 52.5 | 61.9 |
| HOU | Lambert, Peter 4155 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 10.7 | 12.7 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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