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Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams and Brewers’ reliever JoJo Romero earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in Thursday’s League Championship Series games.
Williams earned the win as the Cleveland Guardians edged the Tampa Bay Rays to take a 2-1 series lead in the American League Championship Series. Romero, meanwhile, led the Milwaukee Brewers as they swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.
Read MorePitcher Robert Gasser is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Wednesday’s National League Championship Series Game 3, as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.
Gasser struck out three over five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk. Although the Dodgers took a brief lead after he exited, Milwaukee rallied to move within one win of the NL pennant over the two-time defending champion Dodgers.
Read MoreThe Los Angeles Dodgers lead Box-Toppers’ 2026 team rankings after holding the top spot nearly wire-to-wire. Favoring them to advance past the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series to reach their third straight World Series seems obvious.
However, top-seeded Milwaukee—ranking second in Box-Toppers points just behind Los Angeles—presents a formidable challenge. In this heavyweight matchup of baseball’s top two teams, the Brewers hold key Box-Toppers advantages that tilt the series in Milwaukee’s favor:
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto leads Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Tuesday’s National League Division Series games.
Yamamoto won top player honors in the Game 3 win over the Braves. Meanwhile, Jake Cronenworth is Box-Toppers’ top player in Tuesday’s other NL Division Series game, keeping the Padres alive with their win over the Brewers.
Read MoreWhite Sox pitcher Sean Burke leads Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Monday’s American League Division Series games.
Burke won top player honors pitching in middle relief in the Game 2 win over the Guardians. Rays pitcher Ian Seymour won Player of the Game honors in the other AL Division Series Game 2, also pitching middle relief in the win over the Yankees.
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Source: MLB.com
Both National League Division Series begin Saturday.
The Atlanta Braves face the Los Angeles Dodgers in one best-of-five game series while the San Diego Padres face the Milwaukee Brewers in the other. The top two NL seeds, the Brewers (first) and the Dodgers (second), received byes from the first round of playoffs and face the winners of the best-of-three Wild Card series played this week.
The Dodgers are Box-Toppers’ top-ranked overall team in 2026 with 142.7 points (6.4 ahead of Milwaukee's 136.3), though they enter as the NL’s 2nd playoff seed after finishing three games behind the Brewers for MLB's best record.
The Braves enter as the 3rd seed in the NL, ranking 4th among NL teams in Box-Toppers points (6th overall) with 113.7. Atlanta trails Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and the Philadelphia Phillies (117.4), whom the Braves defeated 2-1 in the Wild Card series. The Dodgers enjoyed a first-round bye.
The pitching matchup Saturday
Braves—Dylan Dodd, 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2026, 490th overall, 122nd among NL pitchers. Dodd is normally a reliever. Atlanta is expected to employ a bullpen game on Saturday as injuries have depleted their rotation. Reliever Ray Kerr earned Player of the Game honors as an opener in Thursday’s Game 3 win over Philadelphia.Other possible pitchers in Game 1 include Grant Holmes, JR Ritchie, AJ Smith-Shawver, or Brent Suter.
Dodgers—Tarik Skubal, 14.7 Box-Toppers points in 2026, 19th overall, 11th among NL pitchers.
A look at all four of Saturday’s Division Series pitching matchups
Top Pitcher: Starter Chris Sale leads Atlanta with 15.4 Box-Toppers points (16th overall, 10th among NL pitchers) and is the likely starter for Game 2 on Sunday.
Other Pitchers: Tyler Mahle (9.1 points), Martín Pérez (8.4 points), and Bryce Elder (6.5 points).
Top Batters: Outfielder Michael Harris II leads Braves batters with 9.5 Box-Toppers points (4th among NL batters). Other key hitters include Ozzie Albies (6.5 points), Matt Olson (6.0 points), and Mike Yastrzemski (6.0 points).
Top Pitcher: Yoshinobu Yamamoto leads Los Angeles with 17.4 Box-Toppers points (8th overall, 5th among NL pitchers).
Shohei Ohtani Breakdown: Ohtani ranks second on the team with 15.7 overall Box-Toppers points (15th overall, 9th among NL pitchers, 1st among NL batters). Combined, he has earned 8.7 points as a pitcher (which would rank 28th among NL pitchers) and 7.0 points as a designated hitter (which would rank 16th among NL batters). Ohtani last earned Player of the Game honors on Aug. 17.
Rotation Depth: The next four highest-ranked Dodgers are all starting pitchers: Tarik Skubal (14.7 points, 11th among NL pitchers; 6.0 points since being traded from the Tigers), Justin Wrobleski (9.1 points, 21st among NL pitchers), Tyler Glasnow (8.4 points, 29th among NL pitchers), and Emmet Sheehan (7.0 points, 36th among NL pitchers).
Top Batters & Notables: Center fielder Andy Pages (6.7 points, 18th among NL batters), Kyle Tucker (4.5 points, 42nd among NL batters), Freddie Freeman (3.5 points), and Mookie Betts (2.5 points).
The Box-Toppers point totals of all players on the teams’ active rosters at season’s end are here. Players who did not earn Box-Toppers points in 2026 are not listed. Players who earned points in 2026 are listed even if they are not on the roster for the upcoming postseason series due to injury or for other reasons.
| Atlanta Braves | Los Angeles Dodgers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos | BTP | Player | Pos | BTP | |
| Chris Sale | pi sp | 15.4 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | pi sp | 17.4 | |
| Michael Harris | cf | 9.5 | Shohei Ohtani | pi sp dh | 15.7 | |
| Tyler Mahle | pi sp | 9.1 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | 14.7 | |
| Martín Pérez | pi sp | 8.4 | Justin Wrobleski | pi sp | 9.1 | |
| Bryce Elder | pi sp | 6.7 | Tyler Glasnow | pi sp | 8.4 | |
| Ozzie Albies | 2b | 6.5 | Emmet Sheehan | pi sp | 7.0 | |
| Matt Olson | 1b | 6.0 | Andy Pagés | cf | 6.7 | |
| Mike Yastrzemski | rf lf | 6.0 | Roki Sasaki | pi sp | 5.4 | |
| Grant Holmes | pi sp | 5.7 | Kris Bubic | pi sp | 4.7 | |
| Ronald Acuña Jr. | rf | 5.2 | Blake Snell | pi sp | 4.7 | |
| Reynaldo López | pi sp | 4.0 | Kyle Tucker | rf | 4.5 | |
| Dominic Smith | dh | 3.5 | Teoscar Hernández | lf | 4.5 | |
| Lane Thomas | cf rf | 3.0 | Tommy Edman | 2b | 4.5 | |
| Raisel Iglesias | pi cp mr | 3.0 | Eric Lauer | pi sp | 4.0 | |
| Drake Baldwin | ca | 2.5 | Tanner Scott | pi cp | 4.0 | |
| Spencer Strider | pi sp | 2.0 | Max Muncy | 3b | 3.7 | |
| Mauricio Dubón | ss lf 1b 2b | 2.0 | Freddie Freeman | 1b | 3.5 | |
| Dylan Dodd | pi cp | 2.0 | Dalton Rushing | ca | 3.2 | |
| Didier Fuentes | pi mr | 2.0 | Alex Freeland | 2b | 3.0 | |
| Víctor Mederos | pi cp | 2.0 | Mookie Betts | ss | 2.5 | |
| Michael Grove | pi sp mr | 1.7 | Edwín Díaz | pi cp | 2.0 | |
| Sean Murphy | ca dh | 1.5 | Alex Vesia | pi mr cp | 2.0 | |
| Robert Suárez | pi mr cp | 1.0 | Edgardo Henríquez | pi mr cp | 2.0 | |
| AJ Smith-Shawver | pi mr sp | 1.0 | Chadwick Tromp | ca | 1.5 | |
| Austin Riley | 3b | 1.0 | Will Klein | pi mr cp | 1.0 | |
| Ha-Seong Kim | ss pr | 1.0 | Brock Stewart | pi cp mr | 1.0 | |
| Dylan Lee | pi mr cp | 1.0 | Blake Treinen | pi cp mr | 1.0 | |
| Brent Suter | pi sp mr cp | 1.0 | Hunter Feduccia | ca | 1.0 | |
| Totals | 113.7 | Totals | 142.7 | |||
The NL Central champion Brewers are the NL's top playoff seed and rank 2nd overall in Box-Toppers team standings (136.3 points). The Padres, who finished second in the NL West, enter as the 5th seed and rank 11th overall (104.5 points, 6th among NL teams).
The Brewers received a first-round bye, while the Padres advanced by sweeping the Chicago Cubs 2-0 in the Wild Card round.
The pitching matchup Saturday:
Padres—Robbie Ray, 7.4 Box-Toppers points in 2026, 87th among all players, 33rd among NL pitchers.
Brewers—Jacob Misiorowski, 26.1 Box-Toppers points in 2026, first among all players, first among NL pitchers.
A look at all four of Saturday’s Division Series pitching matchups
Top Pitcher & Standout Closer: Closer Mason Miller leads San Diego with 16.0 Box-Toppers points (13th overall, 7th among NL pitchers, 1st among all closers). This marks the 4th-highest single-season point total for a closing pitcher since 1998.
Top Batter: First baseman Ty France leads Padres hitters with 9.5 points (5th among NL batters).
Starting Pitching: Randy Vásquez (9.4 points), Robbie Ray (7.4 points), Michael King (7.0 points), and Casey Mize (5.0 points).
Notables: Jackson Merrill (5.0 points), Fernando Tatis Jr. (4.5 points), and Manny Machado (1.0 point).
Player of the Year: Starter Jacob Misiorowski leads all MLB players with 26.1 Box-Toppers points, tied for the 19th-highest single-season total since tracking began in 1995.
Starting Rotation: Milwaukee's top four point earners are all starters: Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison (14.7 points, 12th among NL pitchers), Logan Henderson (10.4 points, 18th among NL pitchers), and Dustin May (8.7 points, 28th among NL pitchers).
Relief & Position Players: Reliever Chad Patrick (6.0 points, 1st among NL middle relievers), catcher William Contreras (5.7 points, 29th among NL batters), first baseman Jake Bauers (5.0 points, 34th among NL batters), Jackson Chourio (2.5 points), and Christian Yelich (2.0 points).
The Box-Toppers point totals of all players on the teams’ active rosters at season’s end are here. Players who did not earn Box-Toppers points in 2026 are not listed. Players who earned points in 2026 are listed even if they are not on the roster for the upcoming postseason series due to injury or for other reasons.
| San Diego Padres | Milwaukee Brewers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos | BTP | Player | Pos | BTP | |
| Mason Miller | pi cp | 16.0 | Jacob Misiorowski | pi sp | 26.1 | |
| Ty France | 1b | 9.5 | Kyle Harrison | pi sp | 14.7 | |
| Randy Vásquez | pi sp | 9.4 | Logan Henderson | pi sp | 10.4 | |
| Robbie Ray | pi sp | 7.4 | Dustin May | pi sp | 8.7 | |
| Michael King | pi sp | 7.0 | Chad Patrick | pi mr | 7.0 | |
| Casey Mize | pi sp | 5.0 | Robert Gasser | pi sp | 6.0 | |
| Adrián Morejón | pi mr | 5.0 | William Contreras | ca | 5.7 | |
| Jackson Merrill | cf | 5.0 | Jake Bauers | 1b | 5.0 | |
| Nick Pivetta | pi sp | 4.7 | Aaron Ashby | pi mr | 5.0 | |
| Fernando Tatis Jr. | rf | 4.5 | Antonio Senzatela | pi cp mr | 5.0 | |
| Griffin Canning | pi sp mr | 3.0 | Brice Turang | 2b | 4.7 | |
| Bradgley Rodríguez | pi mr | 3.0 | Trevor Megill | pi cp | 4.0 | |
| Gavin Sheets | lf dh | 2.5 | Garrett Mitchell | cf | 4.0 | |
| Xander Bogaerts | ss | 2.5 | Brandon Sproat | pi sp | 4.0 | |
| JP Sears | pi sp mr | 2.0 | Brandon Woodruff | pi sp | 3.0 | |
| Dustin Harris | rf cf | 2.0 | Jackson Chourio | lf | 2.5 | |
| Samad Taylor | lf | 2.0 | Christian Yelich | dh ph | 2.0 | |
| Ramón Laureano | lf | 1.5 | Gary Sánchez | dh ca | 2.0 | |
| Jake Cronenworth | 3b 2b | 1.5 | Joey Ortiz | ss 3b | 2.0 | |
| Luis Campusano | ca | 1.5 | Sal Frelick | rf lf | 2.0 | |
| Ethan Salas | ca | 1.5 | Abner Uribe | pi mr | 2.0 | |
| Manny Machado | 3b | 1.0 | Shane Drohan | pi sp cp | 2.0 | |
| Walker Buehler | pi sp | 1.0 | Andrew Vaughn | 1b | 1.5 | |
| Freddy Fermin | ca dh | 1.0 | JoJo Romero | pi mr cp | 1.0 | |
| Austin Hays | dh lf | 1.0 | DL Hall | pi mr sp | 1.0 | |
| Miguel Andújar | dh lf | 1.0 | David Hamilton | 3b 2b ss pr | 1.0 | |
| Luis Rengifo | 3b 2b ph | 1.0 | Bryse Wilson | pi mr | 1.0 | |
| Yuki Matsui | pi mr | 1.0 | Grant Anderson | pi mr | 1.0 | |
| Jase Bowen | rf pr | 1.0 | Coleman Crow | pi sp | 1.0 | |
| Luis Lara | rf | 1.0 | ||||
| Totals | 88.5 | Totals | 136.3 | |||
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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Final 2026 Box-Toppers player rankings: Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski is 2026 Box-Toppers Player of the Year
Final 2026 Box-Toppers team rankings: Los Angeles Dodgers finish 2026 atop Box-Toppers team rankings
| Game | Starter | ’26 | ’25‑26 | ’21‑26 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHW | Smith, Hagen 5466 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| CLE | Messick Parker 5266 | 11.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| ATL | Dodd, Dylan 5318 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| LAD | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 14.7 | 36.8 | 88.0 | 88.0 |
| NYY | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 70.5 | 171.0 |
| TB | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | 15.0 | 24.7 | 46.2 | 46.2 |
| SD | Ray, Robbie 3502 | 7.4 | 16.8 | 52.6 | 96.7 |
| MIL | Misiorowski, Jacob 5200 | 26.1 | 32.1 | 32.1 | 32.1 |
Brewers pitcher Dustin May is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Riley Greene of the Tigers rises to first place among American League batters in 2026 Box-Toppers points, passing Pete Alonso of the Orioles.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers hold onto first place in Box-Toppers team rankings this week—without winning a single game—thanks to trade deadline deals that provided them the biggest net point gain from player moves.
The New York Yankees maintain their Box-Toppers points lead among American League teams despite making few trades before the Aug. 3 deadline. Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays had the biggest net gain in points this week—they had the third-biggest net gain in points from trade deadline deals and won four of their seven games.
Read MoreCardinals pitcher Dustin May is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, with a complete-game, one-hit shutout.
Also Monday, Nick Kurtz of the Athletics extends his lead among American League batters in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreBlue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease is Tuesday's Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other top Tuesday players include Cardinals pitcher Dustin May, Dillon Dingler of the Tigers and Otto Lopez of the Marlins.
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The Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers have experienced the steepest declines in the league as we approach the 2026 season.
While both teams have seen their Box-Toppers rankings plummet, the reasons behind their slides are very different.
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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 MoreRays pitcher Shane Baz is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other Player of the Game winners Monday include Dodgers pitcher Dustin May, Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray, Tyler Fitzgerald of the Giants and Yankees pitcher Carlos Carrasco.
Read MoreCubs pitcher Sam Armstrong is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Tuesday’s final day of spring training.
Other Player of the Game winners Tuesday include Dodgers pitcher Dustin May, Royals pitcher Kris Bubic, Tyler Fitzgerald of the Giants and Trevor Larnach of the Twins.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2024 preseason rankings.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the San Diego Padres saw the biggest decline.
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The Atlanta Braves are Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team going into 2024, with a roster mostly intact from 2023 when they had baseball’s best record.
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners are Box-Toppers’ top two American League teams, with the Mariners having one of the best offseason improvements of any team so far. And also, while the Los Angeles Dodgers have made big offseason splashes adding Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Teoscar Hernandez, their offseason ranking has actually fallen from third place last season to fourth place now.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Dustin May is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Braves pitcher Spencer Strider rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Ryan Noda of the Athletics rises to first place among American League batters after earning Player of the Game honors for the second straight day.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Dustin May is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Sunday’s spring training games.
May struck out seven over four scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 8-1 win over the Reds.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Dustin May is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
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The Chicago White Sox rise to lead Box-Toppers weekly player rankings report, while the Los Angeles Dodgers tumble from first to eighth place.
Also, the Philadelphia Phillies rise to lead National League teams in Box-Toppers rankings and the New York Yankees are the week’s hottest team.
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.