Blog
Source: MLB.com
The top-seeded American League team, the Toronto Blue Jays face the New York Yankees, Box-Toppers’ top-ranked AL team in one American League Division League Series. In the other, the Detroit Tigers, who led Box-Toppers rankings much of the season before a September collapse, face the second-seed Seattle Mariners.
A Box-Toppers look at both American League Division Series, which begin Saturday.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Cam Schlittler tops players in Thursday’s three Wild Card playoff games.
Other Player of the Game winners in Thursday’s Wild Card series games: Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon and Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto tops players in Wednesday’s four Wild Card playoff games.
Other Player of the Game winners in Wednesday’s Wild Card series games: Padres pitcher Dylan Cease, Yankees closing pitcher David Bednar and Guardians closing pitcher Cade Smith.
Read MoreTigers pitcher Tarik Skubal tops players in Tuesday’s four Wild Card playoff games.
Other Player of the Game winners in Tuesday’s Wild Card series games: Red Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet, Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell and Cubs relief pitcher Daniel Palencia.
Read More
Seven of the eight starting pitchers in Tuesday’s opening Wild Card round games have more than 10 Box-Toppers points in 2025, and are among the season’s top 40 overall players.
Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, Box-Toppers’ 2025 Player of the Year, leads the way. His 22.1 Box-Toppers points led all players during the regular season, and he starts Game 1 of AL Wild Card Series against the Guardians.
Read More
The Philadelphia Phillies finish 2025 atop Box-Toppers team rankings, leading for the fourth straight week.
Meanwhile, the New York Yankees rise to lead among American League teams in final Box-Toppers team rankings, while the non-playoff-bound Atlanta Braves are the hottest team over the final days of the season.
Read More
The Philadelphia Phillies rise to lead Box-Toppers team rankings this week, passing the Detroit Tigers, who have led for the past five weeks.
The Tigers, however, maintain their lead among American League teams, while the Los Angeles Dodgers are the week’s hottest team.
Read More
The Detroit Tigers lead in Box-Toppers team rankings for the fifth straight week.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Phillies regain the lead among National League teams and the Texas Rangers are the week’s hottest team.
Read More
The Detroit Tigers regain the lead in Box-Toppers team rankings this week, boosted by trade deadline deals adding pitching depth.
Meanwhile, the San Diego Padres rocket to the lead among National League teams with the biggest collective trade deadline splash, making them the week’s hottest team.
Read More
The Philadelphia Phillies rise to lead Box-Toppers team rankings this week, passing the Detroit Tigers, who fall to second place.
| Teams | BTP | BTP/wk | Wk ago | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phillies | 74.1 | 4.0 | 2 |
| 2 | Tigers | 73.3 | 2.0 | 1 |
| 3 | Cubs | 72.5 | 3.0 | 3 |
| 4 | Mariners | 71.5 | 9.4 | 9 |
| 5 | Yankees | 71.3 | 3.0 | 4 |
| 6 | Brewers | 70.7 | 7.0 | 7 |
| 7 | Blue Jays | 69.6 | 7.7 | 10 |
| 8 | Dodgers | 69.0 | 1.0 | 5 |
| 9 | Red Sox | 68.4 | 2.0 | 6 |
| 10 | Astros | 68.3 | 5.0 | 8 |
| 11 | Rangers | 67.8 | 6.0 | 11 |
| 12 | Mets | 65.4 | 4.0 | 12 |
| 13 | Reds | 65.3 | 4.0 | 14 |
| 14 | Padres | 65.0 | 3.7 | 13 |
| 15 | Giants | 61.0 | 2.5 | 16 |
| 16 | Rays | 60.7 | 3.0 | 18 |
| 17 | Royals | 59.5 | 3.7 | 20 |
| 18 | Diamondbacks | 59.2 | 0.0 | 15 |
| 19 | Angels | 58.4 | 2.0 | 19 |
| 20 | Cardinals | 57.9 | 0.0 | 17 |
| 21 | Marlins | 56.9 | 5.2 | 24 |
| 22 | Guardians | 56.9 | 5.0 | 23 |
| 23 | Twins | 56.7 | 2.5 | 21 |
| 24 | Orioles | 54.6 | 2.0 | 22 |
| 25 | Braves | 52.1 | 2.5 | 25 |
| 26 | Pirates | 50.8 | 3.5 | 26 |
| 27 | Athletics | 47.6 | 1.0 | 27 |
| 28 | Nationals | 46.6 | 3.0 | 28 |
| 29 | White Sox | 44.1 | 6.0 | 29 |
| 30 | Rockies | 31.8 | 4.5 | 30 |
Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners are the week’s hottest team.
The Phillies rise from second place overall to first place with 74.1 Box-Toppers points, picking up 4.0 in the past week. They move 0.8 points ahead of last week’s leader, the Detroit Tigers, who fall to second with 73.3 points, picking up 2.0 in the past week.
The Phillies lead National League teams for the second straight week, ahead of the second-place Chicago Cubs (72.5 points, picking up 3.0 in the past week, maintaining third place overall).
The Phillies have baseball’s eighth-best winning percentage (.569) and rank second in the NL East, one-half game behind the New York Mets. Here are the teams with higher winning percentages and their Box-Toppers team rankings:
Milwaukee Brewers (.598), sixth with 70.7 Box-Toppers points, picking up 7.0 in the past week.
Toronto Blue Jays (.592), seventh with 69.6 points, picking up 7.7 in the past week.
Chicago Cubs (.588), third with 72.5 points, picking up 3.0 in the past week.
Los Angeles Dodgers (.583), eighth with 69.0 points, picking up 1.0 in the past week.
Houston Astros (.583), 10th with 68.3 points, picking up 5.0 in the past week.
Detroit Tigers (.577), second with 73.3 points, picking up 2.0 in the past week.
New York Mets (.573), 12th with 65.4 points, picking up 4.0 in the past week.
The Phillies are led by pitcher Zack Wheeler (19.1 points, first overall). Phillies’ top batter is Kyle Schwarber (5.0 points, 15th among NL batters). Eighteen different Phillies players have earned Box-Toppers points so far in 2025.
Tigers players have accumulated 73.3 Box-Toppers points this season, including 2.0 in the past week, falling from first to second place overall, behind the Phillies (74.1 points).
They lead AL teams for the fifth straight week, ahead of the second-place Seattle Mariners (71.5 points, picking up 9.4 in the past week, rising from ninth to fourth place overall).
The Tigers have the third-best winning percentage among AL teams (.577), behind the Blue Jays (.592) and the Astros (.583).
The Tigers are led by pitcher Tarik Skubal (16.4 Box-Toppers points, second among all players, first among AL pitchers). Tigers’ best batter is Riley Greene (9.0 points, first among AL batters). Twenty-two different Tigers players have earned Player of the Game honors so far this season.
The Seattle Mariners are the hottest team in the past week, picking up 9.4 Box-Toppers points, most of any team, and rising from ninth to fourth place overall with 71.5 points, second among AL teams. The Mariners’ five-spot rise is the biggest among all teams.
The Mariners picked up 5.9 points by winning four of their seven games this week and the rest by acquiring Josh Naylor Thursday from the Diamondbacks, where he has earned 3.5 points this season. Here is a look at how Mariners earned Box-Toppers points in wins this week:
1.7 points on July 18 by starting pitcher Luis Castillo for winning AL Player of the Day.
1.0 point on July 19 by relief pitcher Casey Legumina for winning Player of the Game.
1.7 points on July 22 by starting pitcher Logan Gilbert for winning AL Player of the Day.
1.5 points on July 24 by left fielder Randy Arozarena for winning AL Batter of the Day.
Four teams fell three spots each this week, tied for the biggest fall among all teams:
The Los Angeles Dodgers fell from fifth to eighth place with 69.0 Box-Toppers points, picking up 1.0 in the past week.
The Boston Red Sox fell from sixth to ninth place with 68.4 points, picking up 2.0 in the past week.
The Arizona Diamondbacks fell from 15th to 18th place with 59.2 points, with no net gain in points this week. (They gained 3.5 points in three wins this week, but also lost 3.5 points by trading Josh Naylor to the Mariners.)
The St. Louis Cardinals fell from 17th to 20th place with 57.9 points, with no net gain in points this week. (They gained 2.7 points in two wins this week, all earned by first baseman Willson Contreras, but also lost 2.7 points by designating for assignment pitcher Erick Fedde, who had 2.7 points this season).
The Colorado Rockies remain in 30th and last place for the 14th straight week with 31.8 Box-Toppers points, picking up 4.5 points in the past week.
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
For additional updates, follow Box-Toppers on Bluesky or Twitter (X).
The Detroit Tigers regain first place in Box-Toppers team rankings at the All-Star break, passing the Los Angeles Dodgers, who led the last team rankings report July 3.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Phillies rise to lead National League teams and the Boston Red Sox are the hottest team of the past 10 days.
Read More
The Detroit Tigers maintain their lead in Box-Toppers team rankings this week.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers continue to lead National League teams and the Tampa Bay Rays are the week’s hottest team.
Read More
The San Diego Padres remain atop Box-Toppers team rankings for the second week.
Meanwhile, the New York Yankees continue to lead American League teams, while the Washington Nationals are the week’s hottest team.
Read MorePirates pitcher Andrew Heaney is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, two Red Sox batters rise into Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after both earn Player of the Game honors in a doubleheader. Alex Bregman rises to fifth place (earning American League Player of the Day honors) and Wilyer Abreu rises to sixth.
Read More
Logo source: Chris Creamer’s SportsLogos.Net
Box-Toppers picks the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the 2025 World Series, beating the predicted American League champion Baltimore Orioles.
Box-Toppers projects the Dodgers will have the most wins among all teams—108—and that National League teams will be among the most dominant. Eight of the 15 NL teams are projected to have as many or more wins as the best American League teams (89).
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers season-by-season leaders chart for each of the past 30 seasons, including the leaders in Box-Toppers points each season among four main categories—American League and National League pitchers and batters.
Also, a look at how often Box-Toppers leaders win major postseason awards (Cy Young and Most Valuable Player), what players have led a Box-Toppers season category most often since tracking began in 1995 and what teams have had the most category leaders in 30 seasons. Also, a look at the lowest point totals to lead a season category, which includes 2024 leaders.
Read More
The New York Yankees hold dominating Box-Toppers points advantages over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2024 World Series.
Looking at the Box-Toppers numbers alone, the Yankees can’t lose. But the Dodgers this postseason through mojo and moxie (and Mookie), have won two postseason series despite being severely depleted at starting pitching, the same handicap they face in the World Series.
Read More
Source: MLB.com
Both American League Division Series begin Saturday.
The Detroit Tigers face the Cleveland Guardians in one best-of-five game series and the Kansas City Royals face the New York Yankees in the other. The top two AL seeds, the Yankees (first) and the Guardians (second) received byes from the first round of playoffs and face the winners of the best-of-three Wild Card series played this week.
Read More
The Philadelphia Phillies finish 2024 atop Box-Toppers team rankings, leading for the 22nd straight week.
Meanwhile, the New York Yankees maintain their lead among American League teams in final Box-Toppers team rankings, while the non-playoff-bound Seattle Mariners are the hottest team over the final days of the season.
Read More
The Philadelphia Phillies maintain the Box-Toppers team rankings lead for the 14th week, despite winning only one game in the past week and making only minimal moves at a trade deadline which shook up team rankings.
Among the changes this week: The New York Yankees rise past the Baltimore Orioles to regain the lead among American League teams and the Los Angeles Dodgers are the hottest team of the week, in part due to landing the top trade deadline acquisition, picking up pitcher Jack Flaherty (9.0 Box-Toppers points) from the Tigers.
Read MoreBox-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.