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
Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Thursday, Aug. 20 .| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Misiorowski | pi sp | Brewers | 19.7 |
| 2 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 18.0 |
| 3 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Blue Jays | 17.4 |
| 4 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 16.4 |
| 5 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 15.7 |
| 6 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 15.7 |
| 7 | Shohei Ohtani | pi sp dh | Dodgers | 15.7 |
| 8 | Gavin Williams | pi sp | Guardians | 13.7 |
| 9 | Kyle Harrison | pi sp | Brewers | 13.7 |
| 10 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 13.4 |
Also Thursday, Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Other Player of the Game winners Thursday include Zach Neto of the Angels, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, Braves pitcher Grant Holmes and Jordan Walker of the Cardinals.
Player of the Day: Jacob deGrom, Rangers
deGrom struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 2-0 win over the Nationals.
He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.4 for the season, 11th among all players and fifth among American League pitchers.
deGrom now has 164.6 career Box-Toppers points, 20th-most among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 19th-ranked player Roger Clemens (164.8) on the “all-time” career points list. (It should be noted that Clemens began his career before the 1995 start of Box-Toppers tracking. He would have an estimated 320 points if his entire career from 1984 were tracked.)
deGrom ranks fifth among active, signed players in career points, fourth among active AL pitchers.
NL Player of the Day: Grant Holmes, Braves
Holmes struck out three over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and three walks, in the 2-0 win over the White Sox.
Holmes earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as National League Player of the Day, giving him 5.7 for the season, 39th among NL pitchers.
AL Batter of the Day: Zach Neto, Angels
Neto hit a three-run home run and went 5-for-6, scoring twice and driving in seven runs, in the 18-3 win over the Astros.
NL Batter of the Day: Jordan Walker, Cardinals
Walker hit a three-run home run and went 1-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-9 win over the Reds.
Walker earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points as NL Batter of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, 18th among NL batters.
Rankings: Gavin Williams, Guardians
Williams rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday (5.2IP 4H 2R 3BB 11K W in the 5-2 win over the Giants).
He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.7 for the season, third among AL pitchers, behind Dylan Cease of the Blue Jays (17.4) and Cam Schlittler of the Yankees (15.7).
All-time leaders
Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Retired | 282.5 |
| 2 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Retired | 280.8 |
| 3 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Blue Jays | 257.7 |
| 4 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | Tigers | 250.0 |
| 5 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | Retired | 244.8 |
| 6 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Free agent | 224.5 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b | Retired | 207.8 |
| 8 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | Retired | 203.4 |
| 9 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 195.2 |
| 10 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | Retired | 194.1 |
| 11 | Alex Rodriguez | 3b | Retired | 187.0 |
| 12 | Jon Lester | pi sp | Retired | 179.3 |
| 13 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | Retired | 175.1 |
| 14 | Cole Hamels | pi sp | Retired | 174.2 |
| 15 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | Retired | 170.7 |
| 16 | Gerrit Cole | pi sp | Yankees | 170.0 |
| 17 | Johan Santana | pi sp | Retired | 166.6 |
| 18 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | Retired | 166.2 |
| 19 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | Retired | 164.8 |
| 20 | Jacob deGrom | pi sp | Rangers | 164.6 |
Notable: Gerrit Cole, Yankees
Cole now has 170.0 career Box-Toppers points—16th-most among players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday (6IP 4H R BB 8K W in the 6-1 win over the Orioles).
Cole trails 15th-ranked player Roy Halladay (170.7) on the “all-time” career points list. He ranks fourth among active, signed players in career points and third among active AL pitchers, behind Max Scherzer of the Blue Jays (257.7) and Justin Verlander of the Tigers (250.0).
Cole now has 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2026, 55th among AL pitchers.
Debut
Royals relief pitcher Connor Thomas made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday with his first career Player of the Game honor (1.2IP H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 6-2 win over the Athletics). He made his Major League debut March 29, 2025, and was playing in his sixth career game.
Scoring
deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
Holmes earns 1.7 points as NL Player of the Day.
Neto and Walker each earn 1.5 points as their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Thursday’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).| 8/20 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 14.0 | TEX 2, WSH 0 | Jacob deGrom (W, 9‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| BAT | 8.0 | LAA 18, HOU 3 | Zach Neto SS | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| 8.0 | TOR 5, TB 1 | Shane Bieber (W, 5‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 7.0 | NYY 6, BAL 1 | Gerrit Cole (W, 7‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 5.2 | CLE 5, SF 2 | Gavin Williams (W, 12‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 11 | ||
| NL | 5.0 | ATL 2, CHW 0 | Grant Holmes (W, 8‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| 4.1 | MIL 7, SEA 4 | Chad Patrick (W, 7‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | STL 10, CIN 9 | Jordan Walker RF | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| 2.2 | KC 6, ATH 2 | Connor Thomas (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williams, Gavin 4865 | pi sp | cle al | 13.7 | 25.4 | 33.1 | 33.1 | +2.0 |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | tex al | 13.4 | 24.4 | 59.2 | 164.6 | +2.4 |
| Patrick, Chad 5131 | pi mr | mil nl | 7.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | +4.0 |
| Walker, Jordan 4918 | rf | stl nl | 6.0 | 7.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | +5.0 |
| Holmes, Grant 5127 | pi sp | atl nl | 5.7 | 8.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | +2.7 |
| Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | tor al | 5.0 | 8.0 | 34.4 | 70.3 | +2.0 |
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 5.0 | 5.0 | 69.5 | 170.0 | +5.0 |
| Neto, Zach 4821 | ss | ana al | 1.5 | 4.5 | 15.0 | 15.0 | -1.5 |
| Thomas, Connor 5444 | pi mr | kc 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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL | Sale, Chris 2806 | 11.4 | 22.8 | 52.6 | 195.2 |
| MIL | Misiorowski, Jacob 5200 | 19.7 | 25.7 | 25.7 | 25.7 |
| STL | Dobbins, Hunter 5203 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| PHI | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | 18.0 | 35.4 | 66.6 | 71.3 |
| TOR | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| NYY | Schlittler, Cam 5261 | 15.7 | 23.1 | 23.1 | 23.1 |
| SF | Webb, Logan 4258 | 8.0 | 17.0 | 65.6 | 68.3 |
| BOS | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 12 | 26 | 67.3 | 136.3 |
| WSH | Lord, Brad 5234 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| MIA | Gusto, Ryan 5156 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| TB | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | 0.0 | 14.7 | 65.9 | 84.6 |
| BAL | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 6.0 | 17.7 | 32.7 | 33.7 |
| NYM | Manaea, Sean 3637 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 44.8 | 73.3 |
| CHW | Burke, Sean 5124 | 11.1 | 14.8 | 15.8 | 15.8 |
| ATH | Ginn, J.T. 5142 | 4.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| HOU | Wesneski, Hayden 4731 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| DET | Melton, Troy 5231 | 7.0 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| KC | Cameron, Noah 5167 | 5.7 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 |
| LAA | Detmers, Reid 4513 | 7.0 | 11.0 | 29.4 | 29.4 |
| TEX | Gore, MacKenzie 4582 | 8.0 | 16.7 | 36.4 | 36.4 |
| CLE | Cantillo, Joey 5106 | 9.7 | 15.4 | 18.4 | 18.4 |
| COL | Gordon, Tanner 5230 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| CIN | Lodolo, Nick 4586 | 1.0 | 10.7 | 26.7 | 26.7 |
| ARI | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | 6.0 | 10.7 | 34.7 | 78.9 |
| MIN | Prielipp, Connor 5397 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| SD | Vasquez, Randy 4841 | 7.4 | 12.8 | 15.8 | 15.8 |
| CHC | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | 3.0 | 13.7 | 18.7 | 45.5 |
| SEA | Hancock, Emerson 4985 | 5.0 | 7.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| PIT | Chandler, Bubba 5269 | 3.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| LAD | Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | 12.4 | 30.1 | 36.5 | 36.5 |
* 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.