Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Maeda struck out 10 over five scoreless innings, allowing five hits and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Giants.
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Indians top Box-Toppers 2018 preseason team rankings; champion Astros fall to 8th
The Cleveland Indians are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2018 preseason rankings, the same position where they finished the 2017 season.
The Nationals top NL teams and the World Series-champion Astros fall to 8th.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Tampa Bay Rays and the Kansas City Royals had the biggest declines.
Read MoreBox-Toppers top pitchers and batters by team, 2017
Three of the four players who won Cy Young or Most Valuable Player awards in 2017 also led their teams in Box-Toppers points for the season.
The only exception: American League Most Valuable Player Jose Altuve did not lead Astros batters in Box-Toppers points. In fact, with only 2.5 Box-Toppers points, he finished 11th among Astros batters and 21st among all Astros players.
Read MoreTwins' Dillon Gee tops players for Monday, Aug. 21; Dodgers' Granderson tops NL players
Twins pitcher Dillon Gee is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Gee gave up one run over six innings, allowing two hits, no walks and striking out four, in the 10-2 win over the White Sox.
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Dodgers continue lead in Box-Toppers team rankings for 7th straight week
The Los Angeles Dodgers top Box-Toppers team rankings for the seventh straight week.
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros maintain their lead in Box-Toppers rankings among American League teams for the 12th straight week and the Cleveland Indians picked up the most Box-Toppers points this week, after acquiring Jay Bruce from the New York Mets.
Read MoreDodgers' Kershaw tops players in Thursday's March 23's spring games
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Thursday’s Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day.
Box-Toppers is tracking several days of spring training during 2017 as a sort of a test and demonstration of the Box-Toppers player tracking metric. Even after 22 seasons of tracking (including sharing those results for the past four seasons on Box-Toppers.com), we need to spend a little time practicing hitting the cut-off man and getting in shape for the 2,430 games to be tracked during the regular season.
Player of the Day—Kershaw struck out 11 over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 10-2 win over the Rangers. In 2016, Kershaw ranked second in Box-Toppers points with 24.4, just behind overall leader Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (25.7). Kershaw leads all players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2012—he has 124.1 points over that span, ahead of Scherzer’s 103.9.
American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez pitched six scoreless innings, allowing one hit, no walks and striking out five, in the 9-2 win over the Giants. In 2016, Hernandez had 6.0 Box-Toppers points, which was his lowest point total in his 12 seasons. Hernandez ranks fifth among all players in Box-Toppers points since 2012 (79.7).
American League Batter of the Day—Yonder Alonso of the Athletics homered twice, going 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 15-5 win over the Brewers. In 2016, Alonso had 2.0 Box-Toppers points.
National League Batter of the Day—Jamie Romak of the Padres hit a two-run double, going 1-for-1 and scoring once, in the 6-2 win over the Angels. Romak has yet to earn Player of the Game honors in the regular season and has no Box-Toppers points.
Notable—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright earned Player of the Game honors for batting. Wainwright went 1-for-1, scoring once and driving in one run, in the 5-3 win over the Marlins. In 2016, Wainwright twice earned Player of the Game honors for batting, most of any pitcher. Wainwright had 10.2 Box-Toppers points in 2016, 20th among NL pitchers.
Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Kershaw would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Hernandez would earn 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Alonso and Romak would each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Note—Thirteen spring training games were scheduled for Thursday—11 are listed below. Two games are not listed because they ended in ties (Yankees 5, Rays 5 and Cubs 5, Diamondbacks 5).
About Box-Toppers—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.
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Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 3/23 | Score | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.0 | LAD 10, TEX 2 | Clayton Kershaw (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| AL | 10.0 | SEA 9, SF 2 | Felix Hernandez (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 8.0 | CHW 4, CIN 2 | Jose Quintana (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 6.0 | WSH 1, NYM 0 | Erick Fedde (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | OAK 15, MIL 5 | Yonder Alonso 1B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | CLE 8, COL 3 | Corey Kluber (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 4.1 | BOS 10, PIT 7 | Steven Wright (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | 4.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | SD 6, LAA 2 | Jamie Romak PR-3B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | `ATL 2, DET 1 | Arodys Vizcaíno | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | STL 5, MIA 3 | Adam Wainwright P | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIN 4, PHI 2 | Buddy Boshers (S, 2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
Indians' Danny Salazar (7IP R 4H 5K) tops players for Monday, Aug. 17
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Indians pitcher Danny Salazar is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Monday, Aug. 17.
Salazar allowed one run and four hits over seven innings, striking out five, in the 8-2 win over the Red Sox.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 17.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 18.4 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 3 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 16.1 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 16.1 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.0 |
| 7 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 15.8 |
| 8 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
| 9 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 15.4 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 14.7 |
National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha allowed one run over seven innings, striking out six, in the 2-1 win over the Giants. Wacha did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because he exited with the game tied, 1-1.
Wacha has the highest Box-Toppers season player ranking of any of the 10 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday. Earning 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, Wacha now has 9.7 Box-Toppers points this season and ranks 27th among all players, 13th among NL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Brian McCann of the Yankees homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, driving in five runs, in the 8-7 win over the Twins.
National League Batter of the Day—Yonder Alonso of the Padres homered and doubled, going 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 5-3 win over the Braves.
Scoring—Salazar earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wacha earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. McCann and Alonso each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/17 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 5.0 | Indians | Danny Salazar (W,11-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Yankees | Brian McCann, C | 5 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 4.0 | `Cardinals | Michael Wacha | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| 3.1 | Dbacks | Jeremy Hellickson (W,9-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | Rays | Asdrubal Cabrera, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Angels | Fernando Salas (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Rangers | Adrian Beltre, 3B | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 1.0 | Padres | Yonder Alonso, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1.0 | Orioles | Steve Clevenger, DH | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Marlins | Casey McGehee, PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Justin Masterson strikes out 11, tops players for Sunday, May 19, takes Box-Toppers points lead
Indians pitcher Justin Masterson is Sunday's Player of the Day and takes over top spot among players in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season.
Masterson struck out 11 over seven innings and gave up no runs in the 6-0 win over the Mariners. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for Player of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season, putting him atop the player standings for 2013 (see the updated standings on the home page).
Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco is National League Player of the Day. Nolasco struck out 11 and gave up only one run over eight innings in the 2-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
David Murphy of the Rangers is American League Batter of the Day. Murphy hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3 in the 11-8 win over the Tigers. (Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers hit three homers, went 4-for-4, drove in five runs and had a Box-Toppers game score of 9.0—Murphy had 5.0—but since Cabrera's team lost to the Rangers, he receives no Box-Toppers points.)
Yonder Alonso is NL Batter of the Day. Alonso homered and went 3-for-4 in the 13-4 win over the Nationals.
Standings update: Rays pitcher Matt Moore rises to sixth place in player standings for the 2013 season. Moore (7IP 1R) was Player of the Game in the 3-1 win over the Orioles. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point Sunday, giving him 7.7 for the season.
Masterson receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Day. Nolasco receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Murphy and Alonso receive 1.5 each for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Sunday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point:
| 519 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 13.0 | Indians | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Justin Masterson (W, 7-2) | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | ||
| NL | 11.0 | Marlins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ricky Nolasco (W, 3-5) | 8.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 8.0 | Red Sox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | John Lackey (W, 2-4) | 6.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |||
| 7.0 | Rockies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Juan Nicasio (W, 4-1) | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 6.0 | Angels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jason Vargas (W, 3-3) | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | |||
| 6.0 | Pirates | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jeff Locke (W, 4-1) | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |||
| 6.0 | `Braves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mike Minor | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | |||
| BAT | 5.0 | Rangers | David Murphy LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Padres | Yonder Alonso 1B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3.0 | Mets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Scott Rice (W, 2-3) | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 2.0 | Rays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Matt Moore (W, 8-0) | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||
| 2.0 | `Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Trevor Rosenthal (H, 13) | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 1.0 | Athletics | Yoenis Cespedes LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Phillies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Antonio Bastardo (W, 2-1) | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.