Blog
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 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.
Read MoreMariners pitcher George Kirby is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Yordan Alvarez of the Astros climbs to first place among American League batters after both win Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreMets pitcher Nolan McLean is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Cade Cavalli is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, recording the third-highest Box-Toppers game score of the season.
Also Tuesday, Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez regains the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo bolsters his sixth-place spot in season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreAngels pitcher José Soriano is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to first place in season player rankings.
Other Player of the Game winners Sunday include Padres pitcher Nick Pivetta, Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom, Willson Contreras of the Red Sox and Dansby Swanson of the Cubs.
Read More
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 More
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.
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 MoreNick Kurtz of the Athletics is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, recording the highest Box-Toppers game score for a batter in 2025 and what seems to be the third-best by a batter since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
Other Player of the Game winners Friday include Diamondbacks pitcher Ryne Nelson, Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies and Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi.
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).
Blue Jays pitcher Eric Lauer is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other Player of the Game winners Thursday include Willson Contreras of the Cardinals and Randy Arozarena of the Mariners.
Read MorePadres pitcher Dylan Cease is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Saturday’s spring training games.
Other Player of the Game winners Saturday include Kenny Piper of the Rays, Robert Moore of the Phillies, Blue Jays pitchers Max Scherzer, Willson Contreras of the Cardinals and Michael Toglia of the Rockies.
Read MoreBraves pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Wednesday’s spring training games.
Other Player of the Game winners Wednesday include Brent Rooker of the Athletics, Mets pitcher David Peterson, Jo Adell of the Angels, Tyler Black of the Brewers, Ceddanne Rafaela of the Red Sox and Willson Contreras of the Cardinals.
Read MoreTwins pitcher Bailey Ober is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to sixth place in season player rankings.
Also Friday, Brenton Doyle of the Rockies extends his 2024 Box-Toppers points lead among National League batters after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreRyan Mountcastle of the Orioles is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Mountcastle hit two doubles and went 3-for-6, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 17-5 win over the Yankees.
Read MoreWillson Contreras of the Cardinals is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Contreras hit two three-run home runs, going 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 16-8 win over the Dodgers.
Read More
The New York Yankees and New York Mets lead Box-Toppers offseason rankings after landing the winter’s two biggest free agents.
The Yankees rank first after Carlos Rodon Thursday agreed to a free agent deal. Rodon earned 19.8 Box-Toppers points in 2022 with the Giants, sixth overall and third among National League pitchers. He ranked second among all free agents going into the 2023 season.
Read MoreGiants pitcher Alex Wood is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, two pitchers with the most Box-Toppers points in 2021 both failed to earn Player of the Game honors. Max Scherzer of the Dodgers (ranked first with 25.1 Box-Toppers points) and Gerrit Cole of the Yankees (ranked second with 22.4 points) both started but did not add to their Box-Toppers point total. With four days remaining in the regular season, it is now extremely unlikely Cole can catch Scherzer, who he trails by 2.7 points, making it extremely likely that Scherzer will be Box-Toppers’ 2021 Player of the Year.
Read MoreMarlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Wednesday’s spring training games.
Alcantara struck out nine over five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 3-2 win over the Mets. Alcantara did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Mets took the lead after he exited.
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.