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Junior Caminero is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Monday’s American League Championship Series Game 6 as the Tampa Bay Rays eliminate the Cleveland Guardians and advance to the World Series.
Caminero went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs, including a two-run home run, as the Rays won their third straight game to capture the AL pennant.
Read MoreMiddle relievers swept Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Wednesday across all four Division Series games, as three teams advanced to the League Championship Series.
Guardians pitcher Foster Griffin led all winners in Cleveland's ALDS Game 3 victory over the White Sox, staving off elimination and forcing a Game 4.
Wednesday’s other Player of the Game winners:
Aaron Ashby, Brewers: Earned top player honors in Milwaukee’s NLDS Game 4 victory, eliminating San Diego.
Tanner Scott, Dodgers: Earned top player honors in Los Angeles' NLDS Game 4 victory, eliminating Atlanta.
Ian Seymour, Rays: Earned top player honors in Tampa Bay's ALDS Game 3 victory, completing a three-game sweep of New York.
Dodgers 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.
Read MoreBraves relief pitcher Didier Fuentes leads Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Sunday’s National League Division Series games, both low-scoring, one-run contests.
Fuentes pitched 3.2 innings as one of six Atlanta pitchers in a bullpen effort that kept Los Angeles at bay in a 3-2 win. Meanwhile, Sal Frelick of the Brewers earned Player of the Game honors in Milwaukee's 4-3 win over San Diego, driving in the Brewers' first run and scoring the ninth-inning walk-off winning run.
Read MoreRays pitcher Drew Rasmussen, who took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, leads all Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Saturday’s opening League Division Series playoff games.
Other Player of the Game winners Saturday: White Sox closing pitcher Grant Taylor, Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal and Brewers closing pitcher Trevor Megill.
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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.
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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 |
Max Fried leads all Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Wednesday’s Wild Card playoff games.
Other Player of the Game winners in Wednesday’s Wild Card games: Chase Meidroth of the White Sox, Gavin Sheets of the Padres and Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter.
Read MoreCam Schlittler leads all Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Tuesday's opening Wild Card playoff action. Joining him as Tuesday's Players of the Game: Padres pitcher Michael King, Braves pitcher Chris Sale, and White Sox relief pitcher Grant Taylor.
Read More
Source: MLB.com
Four of the eight starting pitchers in Tuesday’s opening Wild Card round games earned more than 10 Box-Toppers points in 2026, and two are among the season’s top three players.
Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo—whose 23.0 Box-Toppers points rank second overall and second among National League pitchers—leads the way as he takes the mound for Game 1 against the Braves. Meanwhile, Box-Toppers’ top American League pitcher, Cam Schlittler of the Yankees (21.7 points, third overall), starts Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Red Sox.
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Note: Brewers total corrected to 137.3 points (previously 136.3). Overall ranking is unchanged.
The Los Angeles Dodgers finish 2026 atop Box-Toppers team rankings, leading for the ninth straight week and were the hottest team of the last 10 days of the season.
Meanwhile, the New York Yankees continue to lead American League teams.
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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 MoreThe Los Angeles Dodgers lead in Box-Toppers team rankings for the fifth consecutive week.
The New York Yankees slip one spot in rankings but remain the top American League team, while the Miami Marlins earned the most points in the past week.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers maintain first place in Box-Toppers team rankings for the third straight week.
The New York Yankees are the week’s hottest team, surging into the American League lead.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers maintain first place in Box-Toppers team rankings for the second straight week.
The Minnesota Twins rise to lead American League teams, while the San Diego Padres are the hottest team of the past week.
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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 MoreVenezuela pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Tuesday’s World Baseball Classic Championship Game.
Rodríguez, who pitches for the Arizona Diamondbacks in Major League Baseball, struck out four over 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 3-2 win over the United States.
Read More
The New York Yankees enter 2026 as Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team, but their lead is a precarious one.
While the Yankees’ current roster combined for a league-leading 128.5 Box-Toppers points in 2025—narrowly edging out the Chicago Cubs (125.8 points)—the raw totals don't tell the whole story.
Read More
As Major League spring training camps open, a flurry of veteran signings this past week is reshaping baseball rosters, including Justin Verlander returning to the Detroit Tigers, bringing his 250.0 career Box-Toppers points back to where his journey began.
Other major moves include Zac Gallen reuniting with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres taking flyers on Nick Castellanos and Germán Márquez. The Baltimore Orioles added consistency with Chris Bassitt, while the Pittsburgh Pirates bolstered their lineup with veteran Marcell Ozuna.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers spent the last two seasons proving there is more than one way to win a World Series.
In 2024, they won the title with batters who ranked third in team Box-Toppers points and pitchers who ranked 11th. A year later, the script flipped: pitchers surged to third while batters fell to 12th.
It was a total inversion of identity, yet it resulted in the exact same hardware.
While conventional wisdom says pitching wins championships, the Box-Toppers data reveals a more fluid reality where teams can successfully pivot their entire competitive identity from one season to the next. By examining the balance of points earned by batters versus pitchers across all 30 clubs, we can see which teams are built to rake, which are built to shut down, and how those factors affected their success.
| Team |
Overall Rank |
Total BTP |
Batter rank |
Batter BTP |
Pitcher rank |
Pitcher BTP |
Batter % |
Pitcher % |
Wins |
Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phillies | 1 | 131.4 | 15 | 37.0 | 1 | 94.4 | 28.2% | 71.8% | 96 | Y |
| Yankees | 2 | 127.1 | 2 | 53.5 | 7 | 73.6 | 42.1% | 57.9% | 94 | Y |
| Rangers | 3 | 123.6 | 16 | 36.7 | 2 | 86.9 | 29.7% | 70.3% | 81 | |
| Padres | 4 | 118.6 | 11 | 40.0 | 4 | 78.6 | 33.7% | 66.3% | 90 | Y |
| Dodgers | 5 | 117.9 | 12 | 39.1 | 3 | 78.8 | 33.2% | 66.8% | 93 | Y |
| Mariners | 6 | 117.6 | 10 | 41.7 | 5 | 75.9 | 35.5% | 64.5% | 90 | Y |
| Cubs | 7 | 117.6 | 1 | 55.1 | 13 | 62.5 | 46.9% | 53.1% | 92 | Y |
| Red Sox | 8 | 112.7 | 4 | 49.7 | 12 | 63.0 | 44.1% | 55.9% | 89 | Y |
| Brewers | 9 | 112.6 | 3 | 52.2 | 15 | 60.4 | 46.4% | 53.6% | 97 | Y |
| Blue Jays | 10 | 111.7 | 7 | 42.9 | 10 | 68.8 | 38.4% | 61.6% | 94 | Y |
| Tigers | 11 | 109.3 | 17 | 34.0 | 6 | 75.3 | 31.1% | 68.9% | 87 | Y |
| Royals | 12 | 107.4 | 14 | 38.2 | 8 | 69.2 | 35.6% | 64.4% | 82 | |
| Braves | 13 | 106.0 | 6 | 46.2 | 16 | 59.8 | 43.6% | 56.4% | 76 | |
| Mets | 14 | 104.5 | 8 | 42.7 | 14 | 61.8 | 40.9% | 59.1% | 83 | |
| Reds | 15 | 102.7 | 18 | 33.5 | 9 | 69.2 | 32.6% | 67.4% | 83 | Y |
| Astros | 16 | 101.9 | 9 | 42.7 | 17 | 59.2 | 41.9% | 58.1% | 87 | |
| Guardians | 17 | 96.3 | 22 | 31.5 | 11 | 64.8 | 32.7% | 67.3% | 88 | Y |
| Marlins | 18 | 84.9 | 19 | 33.5 | 20 | 51.4 | 39.5% | 60.5% | 79 | |
| Giants | 19 | 84.8 | 5 | 48.7 | 28 | 36.1 | 57.4% | 42.6% | 81 | |
| Angels | 20 | 84.6 | 13 | 38.5 | 24 | 46.1 | 45.5% | 54.5% | 72 | |
| Cardinals | 21 | 80.4 | 21 | 31.7 | 22 | 48.7 | 39.4% | 60.6% | 78 | |
| Rays | 22 | 80.0 | 27 | 26.5 | 18 | 53.5 | 33.1% | 66.9% | 77 | |
| Athletics | 23 | 77.4 | 23 | 31.2 | 23 | 46.2 | 40.3% | 59.7% | 76 | |
| Orioles | 24 | 76.5 | 26 | 27.7 | 21 | 48.8 | 36.2% | 63.8% | 75 | |
| Twins | 25 | 75.4 | 24 | 30.7 | 25 | 44.7 | 40.7% | 59.3% | 70 | |
| D‑backs | 26 | 74.9 | 25 | 30.7 | 26 | 44.2 | 41.0% | 59.0% | 80 | |
| Pirates | 27 | 69.7 | 30 | 17.5 | 19 | 52.2 | 25.1% | 74.9% | 71 | |
| White Sox | 28 | 64.4 | 20 | 33.0 | 29 | 31.4 | 51.2% | 48.8% | 60 | |
| Nationals | 29 | 60.1 | 29 | 23.7 | 27 | 36.4 | 39.4% | 60.6% | 66 | |
| Rockies | 30 | 47.0 | 28 | 24.9 | 30 | 22.1 | 53.0% | 47.0% | 43 |
The Dodgers shifted their focus from a more batting-heavy team in 2024 to a more pitching-dominated squad in 2025. However, their focus on batting in 2024 was largely driven by necessity.
In fact, before the 2024 season, the Dodgers stocked up on star pitchers and planned on having shut-down hurlers for the season. But injuries limited their frontline starters, forcing Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to piece together pitching rotations with relievers serving as short-term starters in bullpen games and nursing along starters in short-inning stints as they returned from the injured list.
Still, it worked. They won the World Series over the Yankees in five games.
In 2024, the Dodgers ranked eighth among all teams in total Box-Toppers points (113.7), but were one of eight teams in which batters earned more than 40 percent of the team’s points. Batters earned 47.5 points (41.8 percent of the team’s total), third-most among all teams, while pitchers earned 66.2 points (58.2 percent), 11th-most among all teams.
But in 2025, the script flipped as Dodgers pitching rebounded. The team earned 117.9 total Box-Toppers points, fifth among all teams. Pitchers earned 78.8 of those points (66.8 percent of the team’s total), third among all teams, while batters earned 39.1 points (33.2 percent), 12th among all teams.
Box-Toppers 2025 World Series preview: Dodgers hold Box-Toppers points advantages over Blue Jays in 2025 World Series
Box-Toppers 2025 postseason postmortem: As Dodgers celebrate 2nd straight title, a Box-Toppers look back at 2025 postseason
And despite the different approach in 2025, the Dodgers won the World Series again, this time in seven games against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Dodgers pitchers’ gain of 12.6 Box-Toppers points from 2024 to 2025 was fueled by team leader Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s 17.7 Box-Toppers points, seventh overall and fourth among National League pitchers. In 2024, he earned just 6.4 points as he battled injury. Other notable Dodgers pitchers in 2025:
Clayton Kershaw, who in his final year before retirement earned 8.4 Box-Toppers points, a boost from the 2.0 he earned in his injury-shortened 2024 season.
Offseason pickup Blake Snell also bolstered the Dodgers’ pitching numbers in 2025, adding 7.0 points—even though it was less than the 15.7 he earned in 2024 with the Giants.
Andrew Heaney also oddly augmented the Dodgers’ pitching numbers, although his actual contributions to the team were minimal. Heaney earned 8.7 Box-Toppers points in 2025, all with the Pirates before being released Aug. 29. The Dodgers signed him Sept. 1, and though he only pitched one game for them, his 8.7 points are included in the Dodgers’ total since he was signed to the team at season’s end. His 8.7 points rank second among all Dodgers, behind only Yamamoto, despite his lack of contributions. Heaney, 34, announced his retirement in December.
While the Dodgers saw an increase in Box-Toppers points from pitchers from 2024 to 2025, team batters’ points decreased from 47.5 in 2024 to 39.1 in 2025. Shohei Ohtani led all Dodgers batters in 2024 with 11.0 Box-Toppers points in an explosive season in which he hit 54 home runs, stole 59 bases and scored 134 runs. But while he was arguably as productive offensively in 2025 (55 homers and 146 runs) he only earned 5.5 total Box-Toppers points in 2025 and only 3.5 as a batter—the other 2.0 were earned as a pitcher.
That means Ohtani’s points earned as a batter declined 7.5 points from 2024 to 2025 (from 11.0 to 3.5), which constitutes most of the 8.4-point drop in points earned by Dodgers’ batters in 2025.
Despite his elite offensive performance, Ohtani did not win Box-Toppers points as Player of the Game in team wins as often in 2025. There were five team wins in which Ohtani recorded a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 or better, usually high enough for a batter to earn Player of the Game honors. But teammates with higher game scores—often the Dodgers’ resurgent pitchers of 2025—won the honor instead.
Teams with the most success in 2025, like the Dodgers, generally were more reliant on strong pitching. The top five overall teams in pitching points in 2025 were also among the top six teams in overall Box-Toppers points. Four of the five teams with the most pitching points made the postseason.
Box-Toppers’ five top pitching teams:
1. Philadelphia Phillies 94.4 (1st overall).
2. Texas Rangers 86.9 (3rd overall).
3. Los Angeles Dodgers 78.8 (5th overall).
4. San Diego Padres 78.6 (4th overall).
5. Seattle Mariners 75.9 (6th overall).
The Philadelphia Phillies led all teams in 2025 with their players accumulating 131.4 Box-Toppers points. Their pitchers accounted for 94.4 points, the most of any team, led by four pitchers who were among the top 10 NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points:
Zack Wheeler (20.1 points, 3rd overall, 2nd among NL pitchers).
Jesús Luzardo (17.4 points, 8th overall, 5th among NL pitchers).
Ranger Suárez (15.8 points, 10th overall, 6th among NL pitchers).
Cristopher Sánchez (15.4 points, 11th overall, 7th among NL pitchers).
Meanwhile, Phillies batters earned 37.0 of the team’s points in 2025, 15th-most among all teams. That means pitchers won 71.8 percent of the team’s points while batters won 28.2 percent. Only the Pittsburgh Pirates had a higher percentage of their Box-Toppers points generated by pitchers (74.9 percent).
Still, while the Phillies’ percentage of points earned by batters was second-lowest, the team’s Kyle Schwarber led NL batters with 12.0 Box-Toppers points, constituting nearly a third of the 37.0 points earned by Phillies batters in 2025.
How could a team with seemingly such strong pitching end up not making the postseason and finish with a .500 record?
It’s because the Rangers acquired three pitchers who earned most of their points elsewhere earlier in the season:
Merrill Kelly earned 12.7 Box-Toppers points, but earned 9.7 with the Diamondbacks before his July 31 trade to the Rangers.
Cal Quantrill earned 6.7 points, but earned all of them with the Marlins before signing with the Rangers as a free agent on Sept. 7.
Phil Maton earned 4.0 points, but earned 2.0 with the Cardinals before his July 31 trade to the Rangers.
Subtracting the 18.4 points earned by the pitchers elsewhere would give Rangers pitchers 68.5 total points, dropping them from second to 10th place among teams.
These “phantom” pitching points boosted the Rangers beyond their team standing. They accumulated 123.6 Box-Toppers points, third overall and highest of any non-playoff team. They finished with 81 wins, tied for 16th among all teams. Subtracting the 18.4 points their pitchers earned for other teams would give them 105.2 points, putting them in a more fitting 13th place among all teams.
Still, despite the “phantom” points, the Rangers boasted two other pitchers with more than 10.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025:
Nathan Eovaldi (14.4 points, 14th overall, 6th among AL pitchers).
Jacob deGrom (11.0 points, 35th overall, 20th among AL pitchers).
The Rangers also had the third-highest share of their team points earned by pitchers (70.3 percent), behind the Pirates (74.9) and the Phillies (71.8).
The Dodgers had the third-most points earned by pitchers in 2025, 78.8 of their 117.9 total points. They ranked fifth overall and their 66.8 percent of points earned by pitchers was the eighth-most among all teams.
Five of the Dodgers’ top six players are full-time pitchers, led by Yoshinobu Yamamoto (17.7 points, first among Dodgers players, fourth among NL pitchers, and seventh overall). Other key Dodgers pitchers include:
Andrew Heaney (8.7 points, 2nd among Dodgers, 62nd overall), who earned all of his points with the Pirates before his release and joined the Dodgers late in the season and only pitched in one game. So while his points “officially” belong to the Dodgers since he was a member of the team, his contribution to the team was, in reality, insignificant.
Clayton Kershaw (8.4 points, 3rd among Dodgers, 72nd overall).
Blake Snell (7.0 points, 5th among Dodgers, 98th overall).
Shohei Ohtani earned 5.5 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 171st overall. He earned 2.0 of his points as a pitcher and 3.5 as a batter.
The Padres had the fourth-most points earned by pitchers, 78.6 of their 118.6 points. They ranked fourth overall and their 66.3 percent of points earned by pitchers was the ninth-most among all teams. Three of the Padres’ top-four players in 2025 were pitchers, led by:
Nick Pivetta (17.7 points, 6th overall).
Dylan Cease (8.7 points, 61st overall).
Mason Miller (7.0 points, 108th overall).
Manny Machado with 9.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked second among Padres players (and third among NL batters). Padres batters earned 40.0 points, 11th-most among all teams.
The Mariners had the fifth-most points earned by pitchers, 75.9 of their 117.6 points. They ranked sixth overall and their 64.5 percent of points earned by pitchers was the 10th-highest share among all teams.
Four Mariners pitchers, each with more than 10.0 Box-Toppers points, led the team in points in 2025. Three of them were among the top 10 AL pitchers in points in 2025:
Bryan Woo (18.0 points, 5th overall, 3rd among AL pitchers).
Luis Castillo (16.1 points, 9th overall, 4th among AL pitchers).
Logan Gilbert (13.1 points, 20th overall, 10th among AL pitchers).
George Kirby (11.0 points, 34th overall, 19th among AL pitchers).
While elite hitting is often a ticket to October—four of the top five batting teams made the postseason—it doesn't carry the same weight as elite pitching. The “quality gap” is clear when looking at overall team rankings: The top five pitching teams have a combined rank sum of just 19 (an average rank of 3.8). Meanwhile, the top five batting teams more than double that total with a sum of 45 (an average rank of 9.0). In short: the best pitching staffs anchor the very top of the leaderboard, while the best hitting teams sit further back in the pack.
Box-Toppers’ five top batting teams:
Chicago Cubs 55.1 (7th overall).
New York Yankees 53.5 (2nd overall).
Milwaukee Brewers 52.2 (9th overall).
Boston Red Sox 49.7 (8th overall).
San Francisco Giants 48.7 (19th overall).
The Cubs had the most points earned by batters in 2025, 55.1 of their 117.6 total points. They ranked seventh overall and their 46.9 percent of points earned by batters was fourth-most among all teams.
Four of the Cubs’ top eight players are batters, including two top 10 NL batters. They are led by Seiya Suzuki, whose 9.5 points is fourth-most on the team, behind pitchers Matthew Boyd (10.7), Jameson Taillon (10.1) and Cade Horton (9.7). Suzuki ranks fourth among NL batters, 52nd overall. Other key Cubs batters include:
Pete Crow-Armstrong (9.5 points, 5th among Cubs, 5th among NL batters, 54th overall).
Ian Happ (6.0 points, 7th among Cubs, 138th overall).
Carson Kelly (6.0 points, 8th among Cubs, 151st overall).
The Yankees had the second-most points earned by batters in 2025, most among American League teams, 53.5 of their 127.1 total points. They ranked second overall and their 42.1 percent of points earned by batters was the ninth-most among all teams.
Four of the Yankees’ top nine players are batters, led by Jazz Chisholm Jr., whose 7.2 points was fifth among all Yankees behind pitchers Max Fried (14.4), Carlos Rodón (13.7), Will Warren (9.4) and Cam Schlittler (7.4). Chisholm’s 7.2 points ranked 12th among AL batters and 95th overall. The other three batters among the Yankees’ top nine players:
Trent Grisham (7.2 points, 6th among Yankees, 96th overall).
Aaron Judge (6.5 points, 8th among Yankees, 127th overall). While Judge put up impressive offensive numbers and was voted AL Most Valuable Player, he was often beaten by teammates with higher Box-Toppers game scores for Player of the Game honors.
Cody Bellinger (5.9 points, 9th among Yankees, 158th overall).
The Brewers had the third-most points earned by batters in 2025, 52.2 of their 112.6 total points. They ranked ninth overall and their 46.4 percent of points earned by batters was fifth-most among all teams.
Six of the Brewers’ top 10 players are batters, led by Christian Yelich (11.2 points, second among Brewers players, second among NL batters and 33rd overall). Other key Brewers batters include:
Isaac Collins (5.5 points, 6th among Brewers, 179th overall).
Jackson Chourio (5.0 points, 7th among Brewers, 189th overall).
Rhys Hoskins (4.5 points, 8th among Brewers, 225th overall).
William Contreras (4.0 points, 9th among Brewers, 248th overall).
Jake Bauers (4.0 points, 10th among Brewers, 253rd overall).
The Red Sox had the fourth-most points earned by batters in 2025, 49.7 of their 112.7 total points. They rank eighth overall and their 44.1 percent of points earned by batters was seventh among all teams. Five of the Red Sox’s top nine players are batters, led by:
Wilyer Abreu (8.5 points, 3rd among Red Sox, 6th among AL batters, 67th overall).
Trevor Story (8.0 points, 4th among Red Sox, 10th among AL batters, 77th overall).
Nathaniel Lowe (7.0 points, 6th among Red Sox, 111th overall).
Ceddanne Rafaela (6.5 points, 7th among Red Sox, 131st overall).
Jarren Duran (6.0 points, 9th among Red Sox, 145th overall).
The Giants had the fifth-most points earned by batters in 2025, 48.7 of their 84.8 total points. They rank 19th overall and their 57.4 percent of points earned by batters was first among all teams.
The Giants are one of only three teams in which the majority of the Box-Toppers point total came from batters, usually the sign of a team that wins fewer games. The others:
The Colorado Rockies, whose 53.0 percent ranked 2nd (24.9 of their 47.0 total points came from batters).
The Chicago White Sox, whose 51.2 percent ranked 3rd (33.0 of their 64.4 total points came from batters).
Notably, the Rockies and White Sox won the fewest games among all teams—the Rockies 43 and the White Sox 60. But the Giants won 81 games, finishing with a .500 record, and were tied with the 16th-best win total among all teams.
Five of the Giants’ top seven players are batters. Behind the top two, pitchers Robbie Ray (9.4 points) and Logan Webb (9.0 points), they are:
Willy Adames (8.5 points, 3rd among Giants, 6th among NL batters, 66th overall).
Rafael Devers (7.7 points, 4th among Giants, 7th among NL batters, 84th overall).
Jung Hoo Lee (6.5 points, 5th among Giants, 134th overall).
Matt Chapman (5.0 points, 6th among Giants, 186th overall).
Wilmer Flores (5.0 points, 7th among Giants, 202nd overall).
In 2025, teams that were over-reliant on a single facet of their roster often found themselves stuck in the middle of the pack—or worse.
The “imbalance penalty” was particularly harsh for teams dependent on their batters; the five clubs with the highest percentage of points from batters stumbled to a dismal average overall rank of 18.6, weighed down by bottom-tier finishes from the Rockies and White Sox.
Pitching-heavy teams fared better—and some, like the Phillies, still rode their high pitching share to the top of the league. But even for this group, over-reliance carried a risk: the five clubs most dependent on their arms averaged an overall rank of 11.4, dragged down by the 27th-ranked Pirates.
Ultimately, the data suggests that while you can occasionally win with just pitching, it is almost impossible to “slug” your way around a deficient rotation.
Pittsburgh Pirates: 74.9% (52.2 of 69.7 pts). Overall rank: 27th. (The Pirates were led by Paul Skenes, whose 21.1 Box-Toppers points led NL pitchers and represented 40.4% of the team’s pitching points and 30.3% of the team’s overall points.)
Philadelphia Phillies: 71.8% (94.4 of 131.4 pts). Overall rank: 1st.
Texas Rangers: 70.3% (86.9 of 123.6 pts). Overall rank: 3rd.
Detroit Tigers: 68.9% (75.3 of 109.3 pts). Overall rank: 11th.
Cincinnati Reds: 67.4% (69.2 of 102.7 pts). Overall rank: 15th.
San Francisco Giants: 57.4% (48.7 of 84.8 pts). Overall rank: 19th.
Colorado Rockies: 53.0% (24.9 of 47.0 pts). Overall rank: 30th.
Chicago White Sox: 51.2% (33.0 of 64.4 pts). Overall rank: 28th.
Chicago Cubs: 46.9% (55.1 of 117.6 pts). Overall rank: 7th.
Milwaukee Brewers: 46.4% (52.2 of 112.6 pts). Overall rank: 9th.
The San Francisco Giants had the biggest variance in ranking between batters (fifth with 48.7 points) and pitchers (28th with 36.1). That 23-spot variance was nine places more than the next-highest:
Philadelphia Phillies—14 spots: 15th among batters (37.0), first among pitchers (94.4).
Texas Rangers—14 spots: 16th among batters (36.7), second among pitchers (86.9).
Chicago Cubs—12 spots: first among batters (55.1), 13th among pitchers (62.5).
Milwaukee Brewers—12 spots: third among batters (52.2), 15th among pitchers (60.4).
Teams with strong pitching were more likely to make the postseason in 2025 than teams that relied more heavily on batters.
Among the teams that ranked in the top 10 in Box-Toppers points earned by pitchers, eight made the postseason. However, among teams that ranked in the top in points earned by batters, only six made the postseason.
Among the top 10 teams in pitching, only two did not make the postseason:
The Texas Rangers, second in pitching points (86.9). However, as previously noted, many of those were “phantom” points, earned by players when they were on other teams who finished the season with the Rangers.
The Kansas City Royals, eighth in pitching points (69.2). The Royals were 12th overall in team points (107.4) and their 82 wins ranked 15th overall.
Among the top 10 in batting, four did not make the postseason:
The San Francisco Giants, fifth in batting points (48.7).
The Atlanta Braves, sixth in batting points (46.2). The Braves were 13th overall in team points (106.0) and their 76 wins ranked tied for 22nd overall.
The New York Mets, eighth in batting points (42.7). The Mets were 14th overall in team points (104.5) and their 83 wins ranked tied for 13th overall.
The Houston Astros, ninth in batting points (42.7). The Astros were 16th overall in team points (101.9) and their 87 wins ranked tied for 11th overall.
Only three teams rank in the overall top 10 teams in Box-Toppers points, the top 10 among batters and the top 10 among pitchers. All three made the postseason:
Seattle Mariners: Sixth overall (117.6 points), 10th among batters (41.7) and fifth among pitchers (75.9). (The Mariners lost to the Blue Jays in the AL Championship Series.)
New York Yankees: Second overall (127.1 points), second among batters (53.5) and seventh among pitchers (73.6). (The Yankees lost to the Blue Jays in the AL Division Series.)
Toronto Blue Jays: 10th overall (111.7 points), seventh among batters (42.9) and 10th among pitchers (68.8). (The Blue Jays lost to the Dodgers in the World Series.)
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. (No Box-Toppers points are awarded in postseason games.)
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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. 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.
