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
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Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to eighth place in season player rankings.
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 | 259.7 |
| 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 | 197.2 |
| 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 | Jacob deGrom | pi sp | Rangers | 166.6 |
| 18 | Johan Santana | pi sp | Retired | 166.6 |
| 19 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | Retired | 166.2 |
| 20 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | Retired | 164.8 |
Also Monday, Twins pitcher Taj Bradley rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Other Player of the Game winners Monday include Cubs pitcher Clay Holmes and Daylen Lile of the Nationals.
Player of the Day: Jacob deGrom, Rangers
deGrom struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no walks, in the 8-1 win over the Athletics.
deGrom faced the minimum 21 batters over seven innings, allowing only one baserunner—Lawrence Butler on a second-inning, lead-off single—who he retired on a subsequent double play. He threw 85 pitches.
He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 15.4 for the season, eighth among all players and third among American League pitchers, behind Dylan Cease of the Blue Jays (19.4) and Cam Schlittler of the Yankees (16.7).
With Monday's 2.0 points, deGrom increases his career total to 166.6 Box-Toppers points, moving up to 17th place all-time since tracking began in 1995. He passes Roger Clemens (164.8), Manny Ramirez (166.2), and Johan Santana (166.6), holding the tiebreaker over Santana by earning points more recently. (Clemens and Ramirez began playing before 1995 and have higher projected career totals—320 for Clemens starting in 1984, and 173 for Ramirez starting in 1993).
deGrom now trails 16th-ranked player, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole (170.0).
deGrom ranks fifth among active, signed players in career points, fourth among active AL pitchers.
NL Player of the Day: Clay Holmes, Cubs
Holmes struck out eight over six scoreless innings, allowing five hits and two walks, in the 17-3 win over the Brewers.
Holmes earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as National League Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, 40th among NL pitchers.
NL Batter of the Day: Daylen Lile, Nationals
Lile hit two home runs and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 6-3 win over the Marlins.
Lile earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points as NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.2 for the season, 49th among all players and ninth among NL batters.
AL Batter of the Day
There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Monday because no AL batter won Player of the Game honors in the 12 games completed.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Monday, Aug. 31.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Misiorowski | pi sp | Brewers | 21.4 |
| 2 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 20.0 |
| 3 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Blue Jays | 19.4 |
| 4 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 17.7 |
| 5 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 16.7 |
| 6 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 16.4 |
| 7 | Shohei Ohtani | pi sp dh | Dodgers | 15.7 |
| 8 | Jacob deGrom | pi sp | Rangers | 15.4 |
| 9 | Taj Bradley | pi sp | Twins | 14.4 |
| 10 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 14.0 |
Rankings: Taj Bradley, Twins
Bradley rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday (7IP 4H R 3BB 9K W in the 11-1 win over the Tigers).
He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, bringing his total to 14.4 for the season, fourth among AL pitchers.
Debut
Two 2026 rookies made their Box-Toppers debut Monday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Turner Hill of the Giants (2B 1-2 R 2BI in the 7-3 win over the Braves) made his Major League debut Aug. 15 and was playing in his 13th career game.
Phillies relief pitcher Alex McFarlane (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K ND in the 2-1 win over the Diamondbacks) made his Major League debut July 22 and was playing in his 10th career game.
Scoring
Monday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers review of the day's top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest B-T game scores:
⬛ Brewers’ Harrison records Monday’s 2nd-lowest game score in blowout loss to Cubs
deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
Holmes earns 1.7 points as NL Player of the Day.
Lile earns 1.5 points as NL Batter of the Day.
All of Monday’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.
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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).| 8/31 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 14.0 | TEX 8, ATH 1 | Jacob deGrom (W, 10‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 8.0 | LAA 10, NYY 1 | Walbert Ureña (W, 9‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 7.0 | MIN 11, DET 1 | Taj Bradley (W, 10‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | ||
| NL | 7.0 | CHC 17, MIL 3 | Clay Holmes (W, 6‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | WSH 6, MIA 3 | Daylen Lile LF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| 5.0 | SD 5, CIN 0 | Michael King (W, 9‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 4.1 | NYM 3, TB 2 | Robert Stock (W, 1‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 2, COL 1 | Grant Wolfram (W, 6‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | BOS 9, SEA 8 (F/10) | Aroldis Chapman (W, 3‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | SF 7, ATL 3 | Turner Hill PH‑LF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 2.0 | HOU 6, CHW 3 | Bryan Abreu (S, 8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | `PHI 2, ARI 1 | Alex McFarlane (H, 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | tex al | 15.4 | 26.4 | 61.2 | 166.6 | +4.4 |
| Bradley, Taj 4780 | pi sp | min al | 14.4 | 20.4 | 37.5 | 37.5 | +8.4 |
| Lile, Daylen 5353 | lf | dc nl | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 | +8.2 |
| King, Michael 4549 | pi sp | sd nl | 7.0 | 11.4 | 38.8 | 38.8 | +2.6 |
| Ureña, Walbert 5350 | pi sp | ana al | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | +7.0 |
| Holmes, Clay 4022 | pi sp | chi nl | 4.7 | 9.7 | 21.7 | 22.7 | -0.3 |
| Chapman, Aroldis 2826 | pi cp | bos al | 4.0 | 10.0 | 23.0 | 79.1 | -2.0 |
| Stock, Robert 5437 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Wolfram, Grant 5222 | pi mr | bal al | 2.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | -0.7 |
| Abreu, Bryan 4663 | pi cp mr | hou al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 0.0 |
| Hill, Turner 5457 | lf ph | sf nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| McFarlane, Alex 5458 | pi mr | phi 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 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), this year and last year ('25-26), over six years ('21-26), and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’26 | ’25‑26 | ’21‑26 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYM | Manaea, Sean 3637 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 44.8 | 73.3 |
| TB | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | 1.7 | 16.4 | 67.6 | 86.3 |
| SD | Vasquez, Randy 4841 | 8.4 | 13.8 | 16.8 | 16.8 |
| CIN | Lodolo, Nick 4586 | 1.0 | 10.7 | 26.7 | 26.7 |
| SF | Webb, Logan 4258 | 8.0 | 17.0 | 65.6 | 68.3 |
| PIT | Skenes, Paul 5005 | 12.7 | 33.8 | 46.8 | 46.8 |
| TOR | Arrighetti, Spencer 5022 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 14.1 | 14.1 |
| CLE | Williams, Gavin 4865 | 13.7 | 25.4 | 33.1 | 33.1 |
| ATL | Smith-Shawver, AJ 4951 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| WSH | Irvin, Jake 4805 | 3.0 | 10.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 |
| SEA | Woo, Bryan 4842 | 13.4 | 31.4 | 51.8 | 51.8 |
| BOS | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 12.0 | 26.0 | 67.3 | 136.3 |
| DET | Melton, Troy 5231 | 7.0 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| MIN | Prielipp, Connor 5397 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| MIA | Phillips, Tyler 5064 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| KC | Dobnak, Randy 4263 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 6.0 |
| MIL | Gasser, Robert 4998 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| CHC | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | 3.0 | 13.7 | 18.7 | 45.5 |
| ATH | Ginn, J.T. 5142 | 4.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| TEX | Gore, MacKenzie 4582 | 10.0 | 18.7 | 38.4 | 38.4 |
| CHW | Burke, Sean 5124 | 11.1 | 14.8 | 15.8 | 15.8 |
| HOU | Wesneski, Hayden 4731 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 9.4 | 9.4 |
| BAL | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 6.0 | 17.7 | 32.7 | 33.7 |
| COL | Hughes, Gabriel* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| NYY | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 69.5 | 170.0 |
| LAA | Rodriguez, Grayson 4790 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| PHI | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | 20.0 | 37.4 | 68.6 | 73.3 |
| ARI | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | 8.0 | 12.7 | 36.7 | 80.9 |
| STL | McGreevy, Michael 5113 | 5.0 | 9.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| LAD | Lauer, Eric 4017 | 4.0 | 14.0 | 31.4 | 44.8 |
* 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.