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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Mets pitcher Jonah Tong is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other Player of the Game winners Saturday include Jeremy Peña of the Astros, Brewers pitcher Kyle Harrison, Hunter Goodman of the Rockies and Jacob Waguespack of the Tigers.
Player of the Day: Jonah Tong, Mets
Tong struck out nine over five innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 7-1 win over the Nationals. Tong did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Mets trailed when he exited.
Tong earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is 474th among all players and 119th among National League pitchers.
This is his second career Player of the Game honor after making his Box-Toppers debut Sept. 18, 2025, with the Mets.
AL Player of the Day: Jeremy Peña, Astros
Peña hit two home runs and went 4-for-6, scoring four times and driving in four runs, in the 13-2 win over the Athletics.
Peña earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as American League Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season, 44th among AL batters.
NL Batter of the Day: Hunter Goodman, Rockies
Goodman hit two home runs and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-6 win over the White Sox.
Goodman earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points as NL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.2 for the season, 87th among all players and 15th among NL batters.
AL Batter of the Day
There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Jeremy Peña.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Saturday, Sept. 26.| 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 |
Notable: Kyle Harrison, Brewers
Harrison has the most 2026 Box-Toppers points among Saturday’s Player of the Game winners.
Harrison (2IP 0H 0R 0BB 4K W in the 3-2 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.7 for the season, 20th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers.
Also notable: Jacob Waguespack, Tigers
Waguespack earns his first Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor in seven years (1.1IP 2H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 4-3 win over the Pirates).
Waguespack last earned Player of the Game honors Sept. 25, 2019, with the Blue Jays in his 16th career game. Saturday was his 66th career game. Waguespack played in Japan in 2022 and 2023.
Scoring
Tong earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
Peña earns 1.7 points as AL Player of the Day.
Goodman earns 1.5 points as NL Batter of the Day.
All of Saturday’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).| 9/26 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 8.0 | `NYM 7, WSH 1 | Jonah Tong | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| AL | 6.0 | HOU 13, ATH 2 | Jeremy Peña SS | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| 6.0 | MIL 3, STL 2 | Kyle Harrison (W, 11‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 5.0 | `ATL 8, MIA 3 | Brent Suter | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | TB 12, PHI 1 | Victor Mesa Jr. LF | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 4.0 | CLE 11, KC 5 | Brayan Rocchio SS | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | COL 9, CHW 6 | Hunter Goodman DH | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| 3.0 | SEA 8, LAA 4 | Cole Young 2B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 3.0 | CIN 5, TOR 1 | Rhett Lowder (W, 7‑12) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | `LAD 4, SF 3 | Alex Vesia | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | TEX 6, MIN 2 | Danny Jansen C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 2.0 | `SD 10, ARI 7 | Bradgley Rodriguez (H, 17) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1.1 | DET 4, PIT 3 | Jacob Waguespack (W, 2‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 2 | 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.
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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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison, Kyle 4914 | pi sp | mil nl | 14.7 | 16.7 | 24.7 | 24.7 | +12.7 |
| Goodman, Hunter 5033 | ca | col nl | 7.2 | 13.1 | 16.1 | 16.1 | +1.3 |
| Young, Cole 5336 | 2b | sea al | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | +6.5 |
| Rocchio, Brayan 5100 | ss | cle al | 6.0 | 7.5 | 9.0 | 9.0 | +4.5 |
| Jansen, Danny 4163 | ca | tex al | 4.0 | 5.0 | 13.0 | 16.5 | +3.0 |
| Pena, Jeremy 5025 | ss | hou al | 3.7 | 4.7 | 8.2 | 8.2 | +2.7 |
| Lowder, Rhett 5107 | pi sp | cin nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +3.0 |
| Mesa, Victor Jr. 5470 | rf lf | tb al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Rodriguez, Bradgley 5432 | pi mr | sd nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Vesia, Alex 4504 | pi mr cp | lad nl | 2.0 | 7.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | -3.0 |
| Tong, Jonah 5291 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +1.0 |
| Suter, Brent 3843 | pi sp mr cp | atl nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 13.7 | +1.0 |
| Waguespack, Jacob 4213 | pi cp sp | det al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Sunday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAL | Baz, Shane 4560 | 4.0 | 14.7 | 20.4 | 20.4 |
| NYY | Rodriguez, Elmer* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| NYM | Manaea, Sean 3637 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 45.8 | 74.3 |
| WSH | Herz, DJ 5032 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| CHC | Imanaga, Shota 4960 | 9.0 | 16.0 | 36.7 | 36.7 |
| BOS | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TB | Martinez, Nick 3430 | 8.0 | 14.7 | 36.8 | 43.5 |
| PHI | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | 17.7 | 37.8 | 109.4 | 142.8 |
| HOU | Lambert, Peter 4155 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 11.7 | 13.7 |
| ATH | Johnson, Seth* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| LAD | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SF | Seymour, Carson 5296 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| CIN | Williamson, Brandon 4813 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| TOR | Scherzer, Max 2588 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 58.5 | 259.7 |
| ATL | Ritchie, JR* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIA | Junk, Janson 4697 | 5.0 | 9.7 | 11.4 | 11.4 |
| PIT | Jones, Jared 4956 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 16.7 | 16.7 |
| DET | Ryan, River 5071 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| CLE | Messick Parker 5266 | 11.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| KC | Lynch, Daniel 4488 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 13.4 | 13.4 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 4.7 | 8.7 | 29.4 | 49.8 |
| CHW | Kay, Anthony 4285 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 |
| STL | Pallante, Andre 4656 | 8.7 | 14.4 | 25.1 | 25.1 |
| MIL | Misiorowski, Jacob 5200 | 25.1 | 31.1 | 31.1 | 31.1 |
| TEX | Gore, MacKenzie 4582 | 10.0 | 18.7 | 38.4 | 38.4 |
| MIN | Kremer, Dean 4330 | 4.0 | 11.7 | 39.8 | 41.5 |
| LAA | Kikuchi, Yusei 4136 | 1.0 | 8.7 | 41.1 | 46.8 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 14.7 | 27.8 | 75.3 | 75.3 |
| ARI | Soroka, Michael 3956 | 7.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 23.4 |
| SD | Vasquez, Randy 4841 | 8.4 | 13.8 | 16.8 | 16.8 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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