Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter is Box-Toppers Player of the Day on Tuesday, the final day of spring training games.
Other top players Tuesday include James Outman of the Twins and Brewers pitcher Brandon Sproat.
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Box-Toppers picks Yankees over Cubs in 2026 World Series, plus our awards forecasts
The New York Yankees are Box-Toppers’ pick to win the 2026 World Series, defeating the projected National League champion Chicago Cubs.
Box-Toppers projects the Yankees will win 100 games and the American League pennant, ahead of the Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, and Boston Red Sox.
Read MoreYankees’ Gil, Dodgers’ Yamamoto top players in spring games of Friday, March 20
Yankees pitcher Luis Gil is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Friday’s spring training games.
Other top players Friday include Cole Young of the Mariners, Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dillon Lewis of the Marlins, Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer, Marlins pitcher Chris Paddack and Matt McLain of the Reds.
Read MoreCubs’ Horton, Twins’ Keaschall top players in spring games of Monday, March 16
Cubs pitcher Cade Horton is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Monday’s spring training games.
Other top players Monday include Brandon Lockridge of the Brewers, Luke Keaschall of the Twins and George Springer of the Blue Jays.
Read MoreAthletics’ Lopez, Braves’ Elder top players in spring games of Saturday, March 14
Athletics pitcher Jacob Lopez is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Saturday’s spring training games.
Other top players Saturday include Brandon Nimmo of the Rangers, Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, Bryce Elder of the Braves and Freddy Fermin of the Padres.
Read MoreYankees’ Gil, D-backs’ Amaya top players in spring games of Wednesday, March 4
Yankees pitcher Luis Gil is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Wednesday’s spring training games while Jacob Amaya of the Diamondbacks earns National League Player of the Day.
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Among players on the Box-Toppers 2025 All-Rookie Team are rookie leaders in Box-Toppers points for the season: Drake Baldwin of the Braves, Nick Kurtz of the Athletics and Jacob Lopez of the Athletics.
Box-Toppers’ 2025 All-Rookie Team includes top newcomers Baldwin, Kurtz, Lopez
Rookie of the Year winners for 2025—Braves catcher Drake Baldwin and Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz—are among players on the Box-Toppers 2025 All-Rookie Team.
Baldwin was Box-Toppers’ choice for NL Rookie of the Year. While his 6.5 Box-Toppers points for the season trailed pitchers Cade Horton (9.7) and Nolan McLean (7.7), Box-Toppers doubles batter point totals for award comparisons to ensure they remain competitive with pitchers. This gave Baldwin an adjusted total of 13.0.
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Peers vs. points: 5 Box-Toppers leaders win 2025 Players Choice Awards
Five Box-Toppers category leaders were also 2025 Players Choice Award winners, headlined by the surprising National League Outstanding Player selection, Kyle Schwarber, who beat out unanimous NL MVP Shohei Ohtani for the honor.
But while the players and Box-Toppers data found common ground for the top NL player, a massive disparity emerged for the game’s overall top honor. Players voted Cal Raleigh of the Mariners as Player of the Year, even though he earned just 6.0 Box-Toppers points—ranking 24th among American League batters and 139th among all players.
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Box-Toppers’ big dippers—players whose 2025 point total declined most from 2024: Luis Gil leads list
The 2024 Box-Toppers rookie leaders, Luis Gil and Shota Imanaga, both faltered during sophomore slumps in 2025, recording the two largest year-over-year Box-Toppers point declines.
Yankees pitcher Gil, whose Box-Toppers point total slid 16.4 points and Cubs pitcher Imanaga, whose total slipped 13.7 points, lead this year’s list of Box-Toppers’ big dippers.
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Luzardo becomes 2nd to lead Box-Toppers’ most-improved player list in 2 seasons
Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo is Box-Toppers’ most improved player in 2025, becoming just the second player to win the honor in a second season since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
Meanwhile, the consensus 2025 Comeback Player of the Year winner in the American League, Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom, ranks fifth among Box-Toppers’ most-improved players in 2025.
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Three of six Box-Toppers’ choices won major postseason honors and three did not. Top row players all won: Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal won AL Cy Young, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes won NL Cy Young and Drake Baldwin of the Braves won NL Rookie of the Year. Box-Toppers choices in the bottom row all lost: Skubal for AL MVP, Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies for NL MVP and Athletics pitcher Jacob Lopez for AL Rookie of the Year.
Postseason awards wrap-up: Box-Toppers leaders win 3 of 6 major honors in 2025
Box-Toppers’ choices for baseball’s major postseason player awards won three of six 2025 honors.
However, for three other awards announced in the past week, voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), Box-Toppers leaders were not among the winners.
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Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, who led all players with 22.1 Box-Toppers points, won the American League Cy Young Award. Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, who led National League players with 21.1 Box-Toppers points, won the NL Cy Young Award.
Box-Toppers leaders Tigers’ Skubal, Pirates’ Skenes win 2025 Cy Young Awards
Both pitchers who led their leagues in Box-Toppers points for the season won the 2025 Cy Young Awards on Wednesday.
Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, who led all players with 22.1 Box-Toppers points, won the American League Cy Young Award. Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, who led National League players with 21.1 Box-Toppers points, won the NL Cy Young Award.
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Box-Toppers’ top-ranked NL rookie Drake Baldwin of the Braves was voted NL Rookie of the Year. However, Nick Kurtz of the Athletics was voted AL Rookie of the Year over Box-Toppers’ top AL rookie, Athletics pitcher Jacob Lopez.
Baldwin, Kurtz win Rookie of Year Awards, but B‑T top AL rookie Lopez receives no votes
Drake Baldwin of the Braves, Box-Toppers’ choice for 2025 National League Rookie of the Year, was also voted winner of the honor by baseball writers Monday.
But Nick Kurtz of the Athletics, who won the American League Rookie of Year Award, was fourth among Box-Toppers’ top five choices for top AL rookie. Athletics pitcher Jacob Lopez, Box-Toppers’ choice for top AL rookie, received no votes from baseball writers in Monday’s balloting.
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These four are both Box-Toppers top-ranked players and finalists for major 2025 postseason awards: Tarik Skubal of the Tigers, Paul Skenes of the Pirates, Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies and Drake Baldwin of the Braves.
Box-Toppers points leaders are finalists in 4 of 6 major postseason player awards
In four of the six major postseason player awards, the 2025 Box-Toppers points leader for each honor is among the finalists announced by baseball writers.
There are two awards in which the Box-Toppers leader is not among the finalists: AL Most Valuable Player and AL Rookie of the Year.
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Here are Box-Toppers’ picks for major postseason awards: Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, Athletics pitcher Jacob Lopez and Nick Baldwin of the Braves.
Box-Toppers points leaders in 2025 seem likely to win 2 of 4 major postseason awards
Box-Toppers’ points leaders for 2025 seem likely to win two of the four major postseason awards.
Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, who led all players with 22.1 Box-Toppers points, seems likely to win the American League Cy Young Award. Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, who led National League pitchers with 21.1 Box-Toppers points, is likely to win the NL Cy Young Award.
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Logo source: Chris Creamer’s SportsLogos.Net
Box-Toppers picks Dodgers over Orioles in 2025 World Series, plus our awards forecasts
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).
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Box-Toppers three top-ranked rookies are named to Box-Toppers 2024 All-Rookie Team: Yankees pitcher Luis Gil, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes and Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga.
Box-Toppers 2024 All-Rookie Team includes Rookies of the Year Gil, Skenes
The past season’s Rookie of the Year winners—Yankees pitcher Luis Gil and Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes—are among the Box-Toppers 2024 All-Rookie Team players.
Gil is placed on the Box-Toppers All-Rookie Team as the second starting pitcher and Skenes is placed as the third starter. Gil ranked second among rookie starting pitchers with 17.4 Box-Toppers points and Skenes ranked third with 13.0 Box-Toppers points. Both finished behind Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga, Box-Toppers’ top-ranked rookie pitcher, who earned 20.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024.
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Box-Toppers points leaders Aaron Judge of the Yankees (left), Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers (middle) and Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (left) also were winners of the 2024 Players Choice Awards as voted by members of the players’ union.
Box-Toppers points leaders Judge, Ohtani, Skubal win 2024 Players Choice Awards
Three Box-Toppers category leaders also won Players Choice Awards for 2024 as voted by the players’ union:
Aaron Judge of the Yankees was voted American League Outstanding Player and also was Box-Toppers’ choice as AL Most Valuable Player.
Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers was voted National League Outstanding Player and was also Box-Toppers’ choice as NL Most Valuable Player.
Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal was voted AL Outstanding Pitcher and also was Box-Toppers’ choice as NL Cy Young Award winner.
Imanaga makes biggest leap in Box-Toppers points; 2 others win B-T Comeback Player
While Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga is Box-Toppers’ most improved player in 2024, our choices for Comeback Players of the Year are Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes and Braves pitcher Reynaldo Lopez.
Meanwhile, one of the consensus choices for Comeback Player of the Year—Braves pitcher Chris Sale—ranks 13th among Box-Toppers’ most-improved players in 2024.
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Box-Toppers analysis: Why Ichiro Suzuki is not a Hall-of-Famer
As baseball writers push for Ichiro Suzuki to not only be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame but to become only the second player voted in unanimously, what chucklehead will oppose that?
It pains me to say: Me. Let me explain.
Despite earning Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year Awards and getting 3,000 hits, Suzuki was not the key player very often in his team’s wins. There was almost always some other teammate outperforming Suzuki in team wins. Suzuki never led his team in a season in Box-Toppers points and never even led his team’s batters.
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