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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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Twins pitcher Connor Prielipp is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole rises to 15th place on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” career points list after earning Player of the Game honors.
Other Player of the Game winners Friday include Guardians pitcher Joey Cantillo, Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow, Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli, Spencer Horwitz of the Pirates and Roman Anthony of the Red Sox.
Player of the Day: Connor Prielipp, Twins
Prielipp struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 3-0 win over the Angels.
Prielipp earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, 180th among all players and 66th among American League pitchers.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Friday, Sept. 18.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Misiorowski | pi sp | Brewers | 24.1 |
| 2 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 23.0 |
| 3 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 21.7 |
| 4 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Blue Jays | 21.4 |
| 5 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 17.7 |
| 6 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 17.4 |
| 7 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | pi sp | Dodgers | 17.4 |
| 8 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 16.7 |
| 9 | Jacob deGrom | pi sp | Rangers | 16.4 |
| 10 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 16.4 |
NL Player of the Day: Tyler Glasnow, Dodgers
Glasnow struck out 10 over six innings, allowing two runs, three hits and two walks, in the 8-2 win over the Giants.
Glasnow earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as National League Player of the Day, giving him 8.4 for the season, 27th among NL pitchers.
Batters of the Day
Spencer Horwitz of the Pirates is NL Batter of the Day and Roman Anthony of the Red Sox is AL Batter of the Day, both earning their first Player of the Game honor of the 2026 season Friday.
Horwitz went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-5 win over the Royals.
Anthony homered and went 2-for-5, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 4-2 win over the Rays.
Both Horwitz and Anthony earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points, their first points of the season.
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 | Gerrit Cole | pi sp | Yankees | 171.0 |
| 16 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | Retired | 170.7 |
| 17 | Jacob deGrom | pi sp | Rangers | 167.6 |
| 18 | Johan Santana | pi sp | Retired | 166.6 |
| 19 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | Retired | 166.2 |
| 20 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | Retired | 164.8 |
Notable: Gerrit Cole, Yankees
Cole now has 171.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 15th place among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began.
Cole (6IP 4H 2R 0BB 6K W in the 9-2 win over the Diamondbacks), with his 1.0 Box-Toppers point, passes Roy Halladay (170.7) on the “all-time” career points list. He now trails 14th-ranked player Cole Hamels (174.2).
He ranks fourth among active, signed players in career points and third among active AL pitchers, behind Max Scherzer of the Blue Jays (259.7) and Justin Verlander of the Tigers (250.0).
Cole now has 6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2026, 52nd among AL pitchers.
Notable: Cade Cavalli, Nationals
Cavalli has the most 2026 Box-Toppers points among Friday’s Player of the Game winners.
Cavalli (5IP 4H 0R 0BB 6K W in the 9-1 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season, 26th among all players and 13th among NL pitchers.
Friday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers review of the day's top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest B-T game scores:
⬛ Blue Jays’ Cease fails in chance to regain lead among AL pitchers in 2026 Box‑Toppers points
Notable: Joey Cantillo, Guardians
Cantillo becomes the 33rd player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2026 after earning Player of the Game honors Friday (6IP 2H 0R BB 5K W in the 5-3 win over the Athletics).
He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season, 30th among all players and 14th among AL pitchers. This is his first season with 10 or more points. His previous high was 5.7 in 2025 with the Guardians, 60th among AL pitchers.
The fewest number of players with 10 points in a full 162-game season was 38 in 2017, a record that could be broken in 2026. However, with a week to go in the season, there are 20 players with between 9.0 and 9.7 points who would reach 10 with one more Player of the Game honor.
Only two other seasons ended with fewer 10-point players: 1995 (32 players in a strike-shortened 144-game season) and 2020 (two players in a pandemic-shortened 60-game season). (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.)
Scoring
Prielipp earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
Glasnow earns 1.7 points as NL Player of the Day.
Horwitz and Anthony each earn 1.5 points as their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Friday’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).| 9/18 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 11.0 | MIN 3, LAA 0 | Connor Prielipp (W, 6‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 8.0 | CLE 5, ATH 3 | Joey Cantillo (W, 10‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| NL | 7.0 | LAD 8, SF 2 | Tyler Glasnow (W, 5‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | |
| 7.0 | WSH 9, STL 1 | Cade Cavalli (W, 13‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | DET 11, CHW 8 | Drew Sommers (W, 2‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 6.0 | ATL 6, HOU 2 | Tyler Mahle (W, 7‑10) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 6.0 | TEX 7, TOR 1 | Trevor Williams (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | NYY 9, ARI 2 | Gerrit Cole (W, 9‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | PIT 8, KC 5 | Spencer Horwitz 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| 3.0 | `MIL 6, BAL 5 (F/10) | Abner Uribe | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.1 | `SEA 5, COL 4 | Seranthony Domínguez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | NYM 6, PHI 3 | Juan Soto LF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 2.0 | SD 8, MIA 2 | Ty France 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 2.0 | CIN 6, CHC 4 | Elly De La Cruz SS | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | 1.0 | BOS 4, TB 2 | Roman Anthony LF | 5 | 1 | 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.
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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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cavalli, Cade 5244 | pi sp | dc nl | 11.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 | +9.7 |
| Cantillo, Joey 5106 | pi sp | cle al | 10.7 | 16.4 | 19.4 | 19.4 | +5.0 |
| France, Ty 4243 | 1b | sd nl | 9.5 | 11.0 | 28.5 | 30.5 | +8.0 |
| Mahle, Tyler 3929 | pi sp | atl nl | 9.1 | 14.8 | 35.2 | 47.2 | +3.4 |
| De La Cruz, Elly 4844 | ss | cin nl | 9.0 | 12.5 | 23.0 | 23.0 | +5.5 |
| Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.4 | 13.4 | 50.2 | 73.9 | +3.4 |
| Soto, Juan 3994 | lf | nym nl | 7.7 | 14.7 | 43.2 | 58.7 | +0.7 |
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.0 | 6.0 | 70.5 | 171.0 | +6.0 |
| Prielipp, Connor 5397 | pi sp mr | min al | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +5.0 |
| Uribe, Abner 5195 | pi mr | mil nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Dominguez, Seranthony 3968 | pi cp mr | sea al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 10.0 | +1.0 |
| Sommers, Drew 5449 | pi mr | det al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Horwitz, Spencer 4922 | 1b | pit nl | 1.5 | 7.0 | 10.5 | 10.5 | -4.0 |
| Anthony, Roman 5220 | lf dh | bos al | 1.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | -0.5 |
| Williams, Trevor 3792 | pi cp sp | tex al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 22.4 | 37.4 | 0.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Saturday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DET | Jobe, Jackson 5141 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| CHW | Burke, Sean 5124 | 12.1 | 15.8 | 16.8 | 16.8 |
| MIL | Gasser, Robert 4998 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| BAL | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 7.0 | 18.7 | 33.7 | 34.7 |
| BOS | Tolle, Payton 5348 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| TB | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | 3.7 | 18.4 | 69.6 | 88.3 |
| PHI | Painter, Andrew 5302 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| NYM | Scott, Christian 5344 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| ATH | Lopez, Jacob 5202 | 4.0 | 15.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| CLE | Bibee, Tanner 4792 | 5.7 | 12.7 | 35.4 | 35.4 |
| CHC | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | 3.0 | 13.7 | 18.7 | 45.5 |
| CIN | Lodolo, Nick 4586 | 1.0 | 10.7 | 26.7 | 26.7 |
| KC | Cameron, Noah 5167 | 5.7 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 |
| PIT | Chandler, Bubba 5269 | 4.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| TOR | Soriano, Jose 4884 | 11.7 | 24.4 | 28.4 | 28.4 |
| TEX | Quantrill, Cal 4195 | 6.4 | 13.1 | 31.8 | 35.8 |
| ATL | Holmes, Grant 5127 | 5.7 | 8.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| HOU | Wesneski, Hayden 4731 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 10.4 | 10.4 |
| WSH | Alvarez, Andrew 5274 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| STL | McGreevy, Michael 5113 | 6.7 | 10.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| SEA | Miller, Bryce 4797 | 6.7 | 9.7 | 38.5 | 38.5 |
| COL | Quintana, Jose 3040 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 25.4 | 96.1 |
| NYY | Schlittler, Cam 5261 | 21.7 | 29.1 | 29.1 | 29.1 |
| ARI | Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 | 3.7 | 11.4 | 27.5 | 27.5 |
| MIA | Perez, Eury 4814 | 8.4 | 15.4 | 21.4 | 21.4 |
| SD | Mize, Casey 4377 | 5.0 | 12.0 | 19.7 | 19.7 |
| SF | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| LAD | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 13.7 | 35.8 | 87.0 | 87.0 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 7.7 | 19.4 | 55.2 | 55.2 |
| LAA | Detmers, Reid 4513 | 9.0 | 13.0 | 31.4 | 31.4 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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