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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
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Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other Player of the Game winners Thursday include Lucas Spence of the Astros, Guardians pitcher Joey Cantillo and Pavin Smith of the Diamondbacks.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Thursday, Sept. 24.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Misiorowski | pi sp | Brewers | 25.1 |
| 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 | 18.7 |
| 6 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 17.7 |
| 7 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 17.4 |
| 8 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | pi sp | Dodgers | 17.4 |
| 9 | Gavin Williams | pi sp | Guardians | 17.4 |
| 10 | Jacob deGrom | pi sp | Rangers | 16.4 |
Player of the Day: Paul Skenes, Pirates
Skenes struck out eight over 6.1 innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 2-1 win over the Cardinals, making his final start of the season. Skenes picked up a no-decision because the game was tied when he exited.
Skenes earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day, giving him 15.7 for the season, 13th among all players and eighth among National League pitchers.
If Skenes’ eighth-place position holds, it will be his third straight top-10 finish among NL pitchers:
2024: Ranked 10th among NL pitchers (13.0 points) in his rookie season (and won NL Rookie of the Year, though he ranked second among Box-Toppers’ NL rookies).
2025: Led NL pitchers with 21.1 points.
2026: Currently eighth among NL pitchers with 15.7 points.
AL Player of the Day: Lucas Spence, Astros
Spence hit three home runs, including a three-run shot, in the 7-5 win over the Athletics. Spence went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs.
This was Spence’s Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. The 2026 rookie made his Major League debut July 17 and was playing in his 16th career game.
He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as American League Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is 117th among AL batters.
NL Batter of the Day: Pavin Smith, Diamondbacks
Smith doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 12-8 win over the Rockies.
AL Batter of the Day
There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Lucas Spence.
Notable: Joey Cantillo, Guardians
Cantillo now has 11.7 Box-Toppers points in 2026—ranking 26th overall and 13th among AL pitchers—after earning 1.0 point as Player of the Game Thursday (5IP H 0R 2BB 4K W in the 1-0 win over the Red Sox).
Debut
In addition to Spence, two other 2026 rookies made their Box-Toppers debut Thursday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
George Lombard Jr. of the Yankees (HR 2B 2-4 2R 3BI in the 6-4 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut Aug. 4 and was playing in his 41st career game.
Angels closing pitcher Ryan Watson (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K Sv in the 6-4 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut March 28 and was playing in his 53rd career game.
Note
Box-Toppers weekly team and player rankings reports are normally posted on Fridays. But rather than publishing back-to-back updates over the final few days, we are holding this week’s rankings until the regular season officially wraps up on Sunday.
Scoring
Skenes earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
Spence earns 1.7 points as AL Player of the Day.
Smith earns 1.5 points as NL 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.
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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).| 9/24 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 7.1 | `PIT 2, STL 1 | Paul Skenes | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | |
| AL | 7.0 | HOU 7, ATH 5 | Lucas Spence CF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| 6.2 | `SD 4, LAD 2 | Nick Pivetta | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | CHW 9, KC 1 | David Sandlin (W, 3‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | CLE 1, BOS 0 | Joey Cantillo (W, 11‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | NYY 6, TB 4 | George Lombard Jr. SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 3.0 | TEX 3, NYM 1 | Josh Jung 3B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | ARI 12, COL 8 | Pavin Smith 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| 3.0 | MIL 5, PHI 1 | Jackson Chourio PH‑DH | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 3.0 | LAA 6, SEA 4 | Ryan Watson (S, 4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | CIN 7, ATL 6 | Héctor Rodríguez RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 1.0 | CHC 2, MIA 1 | Seiya Suzuki RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skenes, Paul 5005 | pi sp | pit nl | 15.7 | 36.8 | 49.8 | 49.8 | -5.4 |
| Cantillo, Joey 5106 | pi sp | cle al | 11.7 | 17.4 | 20.4 | 20.4 | +6.0 |
| Suzuki, Seiya 4924 | rf | chi nl | 5.5 | 15.0 | 22.0 | 22.0 | -4.0 |
| Pivetta, Nick 3825 | pi sp | sd nl | 4.7 | 22.4 | 53.8 | 76.5 | -13.0 |
| Chourio, Jackson 4970 | lf | mil nl | 2.5 | 7.5 | 13.2 | 13.2 | -2.5 |
| Smith, Pavin 4427 | 1b dh lf ph | ari nl | 2.5 | 4.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 | +1.0 |
| Rodríguez, Héctor 5455 | rf | cin nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | +2.5 |
| Sandlin, David 5368 | pi sp | chi al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Spence, Lucas 5484 | cf | hou al | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | +1.7 |
| Jung, Josh 4751 | 3b | tex al | 1.0 | 5.5 | 13.0 | 13.0 | -3.5 |
| Lombard, George Jr. 5485 | ss | nyy al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Watson, Ryan 5486 | pi cp | ana al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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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), 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHC | Holmes, Clay 4022 | 4.7 | 9.7 | 21.7 | 22.7 |
| BOS | Gamboa, Alec* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BAL | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 7.0 | 18.7 | 33.7 | 34.7 |
| NYY | Beck, Brendan* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CHC | Peterson, David 4347 | 6.7 | 12.4 | 28.1 | 30.1 |
| BOS | Bello, Brayan 4727 | 6.1 | 13.5 | 24.2 | 24.2 |
| PIT | Chandler, Bubba 5269 | 4.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| DET | Jobe, Jackson 5141 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| TB | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | 4.7 | 19.4 | 70.6 | 89.3 |
| PHI | Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 | 18.7 | 34.1 | 49.5 | 49.5 |
| NYM | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| WSH | Alvarez, Andrew 5274 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| BAL | Young, Brandon 5253 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| NYY | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CIN | Lodolo, Nick 4586 | 1.0 | 10.7 | 26.7 | 26.7 |
| TOR | Soriano, Jose 4884 | 11.7 | 24.4 | 28.4 | 28.4 |
| ATL | Kerr, Ray 5002 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| MIA | Perez, Eury 4814 | 8.4 | 15.4 | 21.4 | 21.4 |
| CLE | Williams, Gavin 4865 | 17.4 | 29.1 | 36.8 | 36.8 |
| KC | Cameron, Noah 5167 | 5.7 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 |
| COL | Sugano, Tomoyuki 5163 | 2.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| CHW | Burke, Sean 5124 | 12.1 | 15.8 | 16.8 | 16.8 |
| STL | McGreevy, Michael 5113 | 6.7 | 10.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| MIL | Gasser, Robert 4998 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| TEX | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | 16.4 | 27.4 | 62.2 | 167.6 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 7.7 | 19.4 | 55.2 | 55.2 |
| ARI | Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 | 3.7 | 11.4 | 27.5 | 27.5 |
| SD | Mize, Casey 4377 | 5.0 | 12.0 | 19.7 | 19.7 |
| HOU | Brown, Hunter 4729 | 5.0 | 18.4 | 41.5 | 41.5 |
| ATH | Lopez, Jacob 5202 | 4.0 | 15.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| LAA | Detmers, Reid 4513 | 9.0 | 13.0 | 31.4 | 31.4 |
| SEA | Miller, Bryce 4797 | 6.7 | 9.7 | 38.5 | 38.5 |
| LAD | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 13.7 | 35.8 | 87.0 | 87.0 |
| SF | Marté, Yunior* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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