Angels' Hector Santiago tops players for Thursday, July 7; Padres' Drew Pomeranz rises to 10th in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank July 8, 2016

Angels pitcher Hector Santiago is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 7:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	13.4
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	13.4
4	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	12.0
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	10.8
6	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
8	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	10.5
9	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	10.4
10	Pomeranz, Drew 3061	pi sp	sd nl	10.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Thursday, Padres pitcher Drew Pomeranz rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Santiago pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing three hits and four walks, in the 5-1 win over the Rays.

National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher Drew Pomeranz pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, striking out six, in the 6-0 win over the Dodgers.

Pomeranz earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season, rising to 10th place among all players. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers. Pomeranz also becomes the 11th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

Four pitchers among Thursday’s Players of the Game were tied for highest Box-Toppers game score of the day (+9.0)—Santiago, Pomeranz, plus Athletics pitcher Rich Hill and Twins pitcher Tyler Duffey. Santiago and Pomeranz ranked ahead of Hill and Duffey because they had more innings pitched (7 vs. 6). Santiago ranked ahead of Pomeranz to earn overall Player of the Day honors because he had more strikeouts (9 vs. 6).

National League Batter of the Day—Trevor Story of the Rockies hit two homers and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 11-2 win over the Phillies.

American League Batter of the Day—Salvador Perez of the Royals hit a ninth-inning, walk-off, two-run double in the 4-3 win over the Mariners. Perez went 3-for-4, scoring once.

Notable—Wilmer Flores of the Mets has earned Box-Toppers points two days in a row and three times in the past five days after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Flores (HR 1-2 R 3BI in the 9-7 win Thursday over the Nationals) was also Player of the Game Wednesday and was NL Batter of the Day in the Mets’ win Sunday, July 3. Flores has 3.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, all earned in the past five days.

Also notable—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright now has 107.3 career Box-Toppers points—57th-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began—after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Wainwright (7IP 5H R BB 9K W in the 5-1 win over the Pirates) now trails 56th-ranked player on the “all-time” list, Lance Berkman (108.1). Wainwright has 5.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, 25th among NL pitchers.

Scoring—Santiago earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Pomeranz earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Story and Perez 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) 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.

Note—Friday’s usual Box-Toppers team power rankings report and player rankings report will be delayed until the All-Star break on Monday.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/7
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    LAA 5/TB 1
    Hector Santiago (W,6-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    4
    9
  

    NL
    9.0
    SD 6/LAD 0
    Drew Pomeranz (W,8-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    9.0
    OAK 3/HOU 1
    Rich Hill (W,9-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    10
  

    
    9.0
    MIN 10/TEX 1
    Tyler Duffey (W,5-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    4
    9
  

    
    8.0
    STL 5/PIT 1
    Adam Wainwright (W,8-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    9
  

    BAT
    6.0
    COL 11/PHI 2
    Trevor Story, SS
    3
    3
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.2
    `ATL 4/CHC 3
    Lucas Harrell
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    4
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    3.0
    NYM 9/DC 7
    Wilmer Flores, 1B-3B
    2
    1
    1
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    2.0
    KC 4/SEA 3
    Salvador Perez, C
    4
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 5/DET 4
    Michael Saunders, LF
    4
    3
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    NYY 5/CLE 4
    Chase Headley, 3B
    3
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

  
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Pomeranz, Drew 3061	pi sp	sd nl	10.4	13.4	21.4	21.4	7.4
Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	9.4	13.4	13.4	33.1	5.4
Santiago, Hector 3109	pi sp	ana al	8.4	16.4	28.8	28.8	0.4
Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	5.5	8.5	56.6	107.3	2.5
Saunders, Michael 2768	lf	tor al	4.2	4.2	13.9	14.9	4.2
Perez, Salvador 2972	ca	kc al	4.0	8.5	21.7	21.7	-0.5
Duffey, Tyler 3558	pi sp	min al	4.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	0.0
Story, Trevor 3607	ss	col nl	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Flores, Wilmer 3345	3b 1b	nym nl	3.5	6.0	8.5	8.5	1.0
Headley, Chase 2552	3b	nyy al	3.5	5.5	17.0	27.5	1.5
Harrell, Lucas 2988	pi sp	atl nl	2.0	2.0	6.7	6.7	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Twins' Ervin Santana tops players for Wednesday, July 6; Giants' Cueto rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank July 7, 2016

Twins pitcher Ervin Santana is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 6:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	13.4
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	13.4
4	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	12.0
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	10.8
6	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
8	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	10.5
9	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	10.4
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto rises to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Santana pitched a two-hit, complete-game shutout, striking out eight and walking none, in the 4-0 win over the Athletics.

Santana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first Box-Toppers points of the season, and has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons.

He earned his first points in 2005 with the Angels and has 95.3 for his career, ninth among active American League pitchers. His best season was 2008 with the Angels, when he had 16.7 points, leading all AL pitchers. In 2015, he had 5.4 points with the Twins.

National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto pitched a complete game, allowing one run, five hits, one walk and striking out eight, in the 5-1 win over the Rockies.

Cueto earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 13.4 for the season and rising from fourth to second in season player rankings, trailing overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0).

Cueto’s rise in Box-Toppers top 10 rankings is the first movement in that chart in a week. None of the players in the top 10 have earned Player of the Game honors since June 29.

National League Batter of the Day—Yangervis Solarte of the Padres hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 13-6 win over the Diamondbacks.

American League Batter of the Day—Nick Castellanos of the Tigers homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 12-2 win over the Indians.

Notable—Angels pitcher Jered Weaver now has 125.1 Box-Toppers points—37th-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began—after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Weaver (6IP 4H R BB 5K W in the 7-2 win over the Rays) now trails the 36th-ranked player on the “all-time” list, Mariano Rivera (126.4). Weaver has 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Debut—Bryce Brentz of the Red Sox made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Brentz (2-4 2R 3BI in the 11-6 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut Sept. 17, 2014, and was playing in his 17th career game. He is the 3,680th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Santana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cueto earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Solarte and Castellanos each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/6
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    15.0
    MIN 4/OAK 0
    Ervin Santana (W,3-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    2
    0
    0
    0
    8
  

    NL
    9.0
    SF 5/COL 1
    Johnny Cueto (W,13-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    6.0
    TOR 4/KC 2
    Marcus Stroman (W,7-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    2
    2
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    5.0
    SD 13/ARI 6
    Yangervis Solarte, 3B
    5
    2
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    DET 12/CLE 2
    Nick Castellanos, 3B
    5
    2
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CHW 5/NYY 0
    Miguel Gonzalez (W,2-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    4.0
    LAA 7/TB 2
    Jered Weaver (W,7-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    4.0
    DC 7/MIL 4
    Jonathan Papelbon (S,17)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    HOU 9/SEA 8
    Carlos Gomez, CF
    4
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    BOS 11/TEX 6
    Bryce Brentz, LF
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    BAL 6/LAD 4
    Mark Trumbo, RF
    6
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    NYM 4/MIA 2
    Wilmer Flores, 3B
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    PIT 7/STL 5
    A.J. Schugel (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    CIN 5/CHC 3
    Tony Cingrani (S,10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    PHI 4/ATL 3
    Freddy Galvis, SS
    4
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

  
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	13.4	26.2	77.4	96.8	0.6
Trumbo, Mark 2851	rf	bal al	7.2	9.7	32.9	32.9	4.7
Castellanos, Nick 3349	3b	det al	5.5	11.7	13.7	13.7	-0.7
Galvis, Freddy 3202	ss	phi nl	4.0	8.0	12.0	12.0	0.0
Gonzalez, Miguel 3062	pi sp	chi al	3.7	10.4	32.5	32.5	-3.0
Stroman, Marcus 3327	pi sp	tor al	3.7	6.4	20.1	20.1	1.0
Flores, Wilmer 3345	3b ss 2b	nym nl	2.5	5.0	7.5	7.5	0.0
Weaver, Jered 2178	pi sp	ana al	2.0	9.7	64.3	125.1	-5.7
Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	2.0	7.4	45.8	95.3	-3.4
Papelbon, Jonathan 2110	pi cp	dc nl	2.0	6.0	23.7	54.4	-2.0
Schugel, A.J. 3669	pi mr	pit nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Solarte, Yangervis 3304	3b	sd nl	1.5	6.5	7.5	7.5	-3.5
Gomez, Carlos 2397	cf	hou al	1.0	7.0	17.5	28.5	-5.0
Cingrani, Tony 3158	pi cp	cin nl	1.0	1.0	8.4	8.4	1.0
Brentz, Bryce 3680	lf	bos al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Phillies' Eflin tops players for Tuesday, July 5; Yankees' Tanaka tops AL players

Shawn Plank July 6, 2016

Phillies pitcher Zach Eflin is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 5:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	13.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	12.0
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	10.8
6	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
8	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	10.5
9	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	10.4
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Eflin pitched a complete game, allowing one run, six hits and no walks, striking out six, in the 5-1 win over the Braves.

This was Eflin’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Eflin made his Major League debut June 14 and was playing in his fifth career game. He is the 3,679th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing six hits and one walk, striking out six, in the 9-0 win over the White Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins hit two home runs and went 3-for-4, driving in five runs, in the 5-2 win over the Mets.

American League Batter of the Day—Andrelton Simmons of the Angels tripled, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 13-5 win over the Rays.

Notable—Pirates pitcher Juan Nicasio has the most 2016 Box-Toppers points of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Nicasio (2IP H 0R BB 2K W in the 5-2 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season, 34th among all players, 16th among NL pitchers.

Scoring—Elfin earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Tanaka earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Stanton and Simmons each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/5
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    7.0
    PHI 5/ATL 1
    Zach Eflin (W,1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    AL
    6.2
    NYY 9/CHW 0
    Masahiro Tanaka (W,6-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    6
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    6.0
    MIA 5/NYM 2
    Giancarlo Stanton, RF
    4
    2
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    TOR 8/KC 3
    R.A. Dickey (W,6-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    0
    3
    8
  

    BAT
    4.0
    LAA 13/TB 5
    Andrelton Simmons, SS
    5
    3
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CIN 9/CHC 5
    Joey Votto, 1B
    1
    2
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `BAL 4/LAD 1
    Brad Brach (H,14)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.0
    CLE 12/DET 1
    Lonnie Chisenhall, RF
    5
    1
    4
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    MIL 5/DC 2
    Aaron Hill, 2B
    4
    1
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    ARI 7/SD 5
    Jean Segura, 2B
    4
    3
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    TEX 7/BOS 2
    Elvis Andrus, SS
    2
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    COL 7/SF 3
    DJ LeMahieu, 2B
    4
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    MIN 11/OAK 4
    Kennys Vargas, 1B
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    HOU 5/SEA 2
    Dallas Keuchel (W,6-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    6
  

    
    2.0
    PIT 5/STL 2
    Juan Nicasio (W,7-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

  
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Nicasio, Juan 2888	pi sp mr	pit nl	7.0	8.0	23.4	23.4	6.0
Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	6.7	14.7	27.4	27.4	-1.3
LeMahieu, DJ 3091	2b	col nl	5.5	12.5	18.5	18.5	-1.5
Hill, Aaron 2056	2b	mil nl	5.5	8.5	22.5	41.5	2.5
Andrus, Elvis 2582	ss	tex al	4.7	4.7	12.2	15.2	4.7
Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	4.5	10.0	31.7	37.2	-1.0
Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	4.0	25.4	39.8	39.8	-17.4
Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	tor al	4.0	9.0	53.2	74.9	-1.0
Chisenhall, Lonnie 2959	rf	cle al	3.5	3.5	13.5	13.5	3.5
Votto, Joey 2366	1b	cin nl	3.0	8.0	24.7	56.7	-2.0
Segura, Jean 3173	2b	ari nl	2.0	4.0	8.5	8.5	0.0
Eflin, Zach 3679	pi sp	phi nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Simmons, Andrelton 3165	ss	ana al	1.5	5.5	7.0	7.0	-2.5
Brach, Brad 3374	pi mr	bal al	1.0	4.0	5.0	5.0	-2.0
Vargas, Kennys 3511	1b	min al	1.0	2.5	2.5	2.5	-0.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Brewers' Guerra tops players for Monday, July 4; Astros' McCullers tops NL players

Shawn Plank July 5, 2016

Brewers pitcher Junior Guerra is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 4:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	13.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	12.0
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	10.8
6	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
8	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	10.5
9	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	10.4
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Guerra pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing two hits and no walks, in the 1-0 win over the Nationals.

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Lance McCullers struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, five hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Mariners.

National League Batter of the Day—Kris Bryant of the Cubs hit a two-run homer, going 1-for-1 and scoring three times, in the 10-4 win over the Reds.

Bryant earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, most of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Monday. Bryant rises to 29th place among all players and third among NL batters, behind Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals (7.5) and Wil Myers of the Padres (7.2).

American League Batter of the Day—Todd Frazier of the White Sox hit two doubles and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 8-2 win over the Yankees.

Streak—Mike Napoli of the Indians has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season Monday.

Napoli (HR 2B 2-3 2R 2BI in the 5-3 win over the Tigers) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Angels and has 52.2 career points, ninth among active AL first basemen. His best season was 2011 with the Rangers when he had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, ninth among AL batters. In 2015, he had 4.5 points with the Red Sox, a season in which he also played for the Rangers.

Notable—Giants pitcher Jake Peavy now has 141.8 career Box-Toppers points—24th-most since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began—after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Peavy (6.2IP 5H R 2BB 6K W in the 3-1 win over the Rockies) trails 23rd-ranked player on the “all-time” list, David Ortiz of the Red Sox (142.9). Peavy has 5.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 29th among NL pitchers.

Debut—Dodgers pitcher Pedro Baez made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Baez (2IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K ND in the 7-5 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut May 5, 2014, and was playing in his 110th career game. He is the 3,678th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Guerra earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and McCullers earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Bryant and Frazier each earn 1.5 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/4
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.1
    MIL 1/DC 0
    Junior Guerra (W,6-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    2
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    AL
    9.0
    HOU 2/SEA 1
    Lance McCullers (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    10
  

    BAT
    5.0
    CHC 10/CIN 4
    Kris Bryant, LF
    1
    3
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    TOR 6/KC 2
    Aaron Sanchez (W,9-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    3
  

    
    4.0
    `LAD 7/BAL 5
    Pedro Baez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.2
    PHI 8/ATL 2
    Jerad Eickhoff (W,6-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    5
    2
    2
    3
    8
  

    
    3.2
    SF 3/COL 1
    Jake Peavy (W,5-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    5
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    3.0
    NYM 8/MIA 6
    Travis d'Arnaud, C
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    SD 8/ARI 4
    Derek Norris, C
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    CHW 8/NYY 2
    Todd Frazier, 3B
    3
    2
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CLE 5/DET 3
    Mike Napoli, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    BOS 12/TEX 5
    Travis Shaw, 3B
    5
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    PIT 4/STL 2
    Gregory Polanco, RF
    5
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TB 4/LAA 2
    Logan Morrison, 1B
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.2
    OAK 3/MIN 1
    Kendall Graveman (W,4-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    3
    1
    1
    4
    3
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

  
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Bryant, Kris 3465	lf 3b rf	chi nl	7.0	15.5	15.5	15.5	-1.5
Eickhoff, Jerad 3566	pi sp	phi nl	7.0	12.0	12.0	12.0	2.0
Guerra, Junior 3633	pi sp	mil nl	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0
Sanchez, Aaron 3392	pi sp	tor al	5.7	7.7	9.7	9.7	3.7
Peavy, Jake 1635	pi sp	sf nl	5.0	10.0	38.1	141.8	0.0
Shaw, Travis 3544	1b 3b	bos al	4.5	8.7	8.7	8.7	0.3
Polanco, Gregory 3361	rf	pit nl	4.5	7.5	11.5	11.5	1.5
McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	3.4	10.1	10.1	10.1	-3.3
Frazier, Todd 2929	3b	chi al	3.2	12.1	26.1	26.1	-5.7
Graveman, Kendall 3444	pi sp	oak al	3.0	7.7	7.7	7.7	-1.7
Napoli, Mike 2161	1b	cle al	1.0	5.5	33.2	52.2	-3.5
Norris, Derek 3198	ca	sd nl	1.0	5.5	13.0	13.0	-3.5
Morrison, Logan 2794	1b	tb al	1.0	5.0	15.0	16.5	-3.0
d’Arnaud, Travis 3384	ca	nym nl	1.0	3.5	7.5	7.5	-1.5
Baez, Pedro 3678	pi mr	lad nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Blue Jays' Happ tops players for Sunday, July 3; Dodgers' McCarthy tops NL players

Shawn Plank July 4, 2016

Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 3:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	13.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	12.0
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	10.8
6	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
8	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	10.5
9	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	10.4
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Happ struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 17-1 win over the Indians.

National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Brandon McCarthy pitched five scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing two hits and one walk, in the 4-1 win over the Rockies.

National League Batter of the Day—Wilmer Flores of the Mets hit two homers and went 6-for-6, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 14–3 win over the Cubs.

American League Batter of the Day—Sandy Leon of the Red Sox homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 10-5 win over the Angels.

This was Leon’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Leon made his Major League debut May 14, 2012, and was playing in his 89th career game. He is the 3,676th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Notable—Seth Smith of the Mariners earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Sunday.

Smith (grand slam 1-4 in the 9-4 win over the Orioles) was also Player of the Game Saturday in the Mariners 12-6 win over the Orioles.

Also notable—Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg has the most 2016 Box-Toppers points of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Strasburg (6.2 IP 0H 0R 4BB 5K W in the 12-1 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.4 for the season, 13th among all players, ninth among NL pitchers.

Debuts—In addition to Leon, two other players made their Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:

Yankees pitcher Chad Green (6IP 3H R 8K W in the 6-3 win over the Padres) made his Major League debut May 16 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,675th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Giants pitcher Josh Osich (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K W in the 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks) made his Major League debut July 3, 2015, and was playing in his 76th career game. He is the 3,677th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Happ earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and McCarthy earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Flores and Leon each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/3
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    TOR 17/CLE 1
    J.A. Happ (W,11-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    11
  

    NL
    10.0
    LAD 4/COL 1
    Brandon McCarthy (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    
    9.0
    NYY 6/SD 3
    Chad Green (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    0
    8
  

    
    7.2
    DC 12/CIN 1
    Stephen Strasburg (W,11-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    0
    0
    0
    4
    5
  

    BAT
    7.0
    NYM 14/CHC 3
    Wilmer Flores, 3B
    6
    3
    6
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    STL 9/MIL 8
    Stephen Piscotty, RF
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    CHW 4/HOU 1
    Jose Quintana (W,6-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    1
    1
    2
    4
  

    
    3.0
    MIA 5/ATL 2
    J.T. Realmuto, C
    5
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    PHI 7/KC 2
    Maikel Franco, 3B
    4
    2
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    BOS 10/LAA 5
    Sandy Leon, C
    4
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    PIT 6/OAK 3
    David Freese, 1B
    1
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    DET 5/TB 1
    Ian Kinsler, 2B
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    SEA 9/BAL 4
    Seth Smith, LF
    4
    1
    1
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    MIN 5/TEX 4
    Brian Dozier, 2B
    3
    2
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    SF 5/ARI 4
    Josh Osich (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

  
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	9.4	23.4	69.5	77.2	-4.6
Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	6.7	12.7	31.5	31.5	0.7
Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	6.0	19.1	34.5	42.5	-7.1
Kinsler, Ian 2144	2b	det al	4.5	11.0	30.2	60.6	-2.0
Realmuto, J.T. 3491	ca	fla nl	3.5	8.5	8.5	8.5	-1.5
Piscotty, Stephen 3570	rf	stl nl	3.0	7.2	7.2	7.2	-1.2
Smith, Seth 2489	rf lf	sea al	3.0	4.0	22.0	36.2	2.0
McCarthy, Brandon 2082	pi sp	lad nl	1.7	3.7	26.8	35.5	-0.3
Flores, Wilmer 3345	3b ss 2b	nym nl	1.5	4.0	6.5	6.5	-1.0
Leon, Sandy 3676	ca	bos al	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Dozier, Brian 3219	2b	min al	1.0	4.7	12.7	12.7	-2.7
Franco, Maikel 3510	3b	phi nl	1.0	4.2	4.2	4.2	-2.2
Freese, David 2710	1b 3b	pit nl	1.0	1.0	21.2	23.2	1.0
Green, Chad 3675	pi sp	nyy al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Osich, Josh 3677	pi mr	sf nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Kazmir tops players for Saturday, July 2; Angels' Cron tops AL players

Shawn Plank July 3, 2016

Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 2:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	13.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	12.0
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	10.8
6	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
8	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	10.5
9	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	10.4
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Kazmir pitched six scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing three hits and no walks, in the 6-1 win over the Rockies.

Kazmir earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 103.4 for his career, rising to 62nd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Saturday, he passes four players on the “all-time” list—Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (101.7), Carlos Beltran of the Yankees (101.9), Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2) and Miguel Tejada (102.3). Kazmir trails 61st-ranked player Jamie Moyer (104.0).

Kazmir has 7.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 14th among NL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—C.J. Cron of the Angels hit two homers and doubled, going 6-for-6, scoring five times and driving in five runs, in the 21-2 win over the Red Sox.

Cron had a Box-Toppers game score of +10 Saturday, the highest score for any batter earning Player of the Game honors this season. June 27’s Player of the Day Kris Bryant of the Cubs also had a Box-Toppers game score of +10, but Cron’s score ranks higher than Bryant’s because Cron had more at bats—6 vs. 5.

National League Batter of the Day—Wellington Castillo of the Diamondbacks hit a go-ahead, eighth-inning, three-run homer in the 6-5 win over the Giants. Castillo also doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter C.J. Cron.

100 career points—In addition to Kazmir, two other players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Saturday:

Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (7IP 4H 2R BB 8K W in the 3-2 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 128.6 for his career. He rises to 31st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, passing two players on the “all-time” list—A.J. Burnett (127.8) and Vladimir Guerrero (128.3). Verlander now trails 30th-ranked player Trevor Hoffman (129.4). Verlander has 4.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 30th among AL pitchers.
Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright (7IP 7H 0R 2BB 5K W in the 3-0 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 106.3 for his career. He rises to 57th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, passing three players on the “all-time” list—Aramis Ramirez (105.8), Adrian Beltre of the Rangers (105.8) and Frank Thomas (106.2). Wainwright now trails 56th-ranked player Lance Berkman (108.1). Wainwright has 4.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, 35th among NL pitchers.

Notable—Padres pitcher Drew Pomeranz has the most 2016 Box-Toppers points of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Pomeranz (7IP 5H R 0BB 7K ND in the 2-1 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.7 for the season, 17th among all players, 12th among NL pitchers.

Debut—Reds pitcher Josh Smith made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Smith (1.1IP 0H 0R 0BB K W in the 9-4 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut June 23, 2015, and was playing in his 22nd career game. He is the 3,674th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Kazmir earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cron earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Castillo earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/2
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    13.0
    LAD 6/COL 1
    Scott Kazmir (W,7-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    10
  

    AL
    10.0
    LAA 21/BOS 2
    C.J. Cron, 1B
    6
    5
    6
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    DET 3/TB 2
    Justin Verlander (W,8-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    7.0
    `SD 2/NYY 1
    Drew Pomeranz
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    7
  

    
    6.0
    MIN 17/TEX 5
    Max Kepler, RF
    5
    2
    2
    7
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.2
    KC 6/PHI 2
    Danny Duffy (W,4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.2
    7
    2
    2
    0
    8
  

    
    5.0
    ATL 9/MIA 1
    Lucas Harrell (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    4.1
    `NYM 4/CHC 3
    Addison Reed (H,17)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    4.0
    SEA 12/BAL 6
    Seth Smith, LF
    5
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    ARI 6/SF 5
    Welington Castillo, C
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    TOR 9/CLE 6
    Josh Donaldson, DH
    4
    3
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    STL 3/MIL 0
    Adam Wainwright (W,7-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    0
    0
    2
    5
  

    
    2.1
    CIN 9/DC 4
    Josh Smith (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    CHW 7/HOU 6
    Dioner Navarro, DH
    4
    0
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    PIT 4/OAK 2
    Juan Nicasio (W,6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

  
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Pomeranz, Drew 3061	pi sp	sd nl	8.7	11.7	19.7	19.7	5.7
Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	tor al	8.2	18.1	38.1	38.1	-1.7
Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	lad nl	7.0	19.7	47.6	103.4	-5.7
Nicasio, Juan 2888	pi sp	pit nl	6.0	7.0	22.4	22.4	5.0
Duffy, Danny 2915	pi sp	kc al	5.7	9.7	24.7	24.7	1.7
Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	4.5	7.5	55.6	106.3	1.5
Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	4.0	10.4	73.6	128.6	-2.4
Cron, C.J. 3338	dh 1b	ana al	2.7	8.7	9.7	9.7	-3.3
Smith, Seth 2489	rf lf	sea al	2.0	3.0	21.0	35.2	1.0
Kepler, Max 3664	rf	min al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Castillo, Wellington 3251	ca	ari nl	1.5	5.0	8.0	8.0	-2.0
Navarro, Dioner 2087	dh ca	chi al	1.0	2.0	10.0	19.0	0.0
Reed, Addison 3023	pi mr	nym nl	1.0	2.0	10.0	10.0	0.0
Harrell, Lucas 2988	pi sp	atl nl	1.0	1.0	5.7	5.7	1.0
Smith, Josh 3674	pi mr	cin nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Tigers' Fulmer tops players for Friday, July 1; Dodgers' Norris is ‘Kershavian,' topping NL players

Shawn Plank July 2, 2016

Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 1:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	13.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	12.0
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	10.8
6	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
8	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	10.5
9	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	10.4
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Fulmer pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing two hits and one walk, in the 10-2 win over the Rays.

Fulmer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.7 for the season, most of any of Friday’s 15 Players of the Games. Fulmer ranks 17th among all players and fifth among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Bud Norris of the Dodgers performed in a very “Kershavian” manner, pitching six scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing two hits and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Rockies.

This was Norris’ first start with the Dodgers after being traded from the Braves to fill in for the injured ace Clayton Kershaw (20.0 Box-Toppers points and leader in player rankings). Norris now has 4.7 Box-Toppers points on the season.

National League Batter of the Day—Wil Myers of the Padres homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-6 win over the Yankees.

Myers earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.2 for the season, rising to second place among NL batters, behind Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals (7.5).

American League Batter of the Day—David Ortiz of the Red Sox homered and went 3-for-4, in the 5-4 win over the Angels. His homer was his 522nd for his career, putting him in 19th place on the all-time list.

Ortiz earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 142.9 for his career, 23rd-most of any player since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 22nd-ranked player, Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon (143.8). Ortiz ranks eighth in career points among all active players and third among active batters, behind Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees (187.0) and Albert Pujols of the Angels (176.3).

Ortiz has 5.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 15th among AL batters.

Debut—Rangers pitcher Matt Bush made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Bush (2IP H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 3-2 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut May 13 and was playing in his 23rd career game. He is the 3,673rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Fulmer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Norris earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Myers and Ortiz each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/1
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.0
    DET 10/TB 2
    Michael Fulmer (W,8-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    10
  

    NL
    11.0
    LAD 5/COL 0
    Bud Norris (W,4-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    
    6.0
    NYM 10/CHC 2
    Jacob deGrom (W,4-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    5.0
    `DC 3/CIN 2
    Sammy Solis
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    STL 7/MIL 1
    Jaime Garcia (W,6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    1
    4
    6
  

    
    4.0
    PHI 4/KC 3
    Jeremy Hellickson (W,6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    4.0
    HOU 5/CHW 0
    Mike Fiers (W,6-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    BAT
    3.0
    SD 7/NYY 6
    Wil Myers, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    SEA 5/BAL 2
    Wade LeBlanc (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    2
    2
    1
    5
  

    
    3.0
    CLE 2/TOR 1
    Trevor Bauer (W,7-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    3
  

    
    3.0
    TEX 3/MIN 2
    Matt Bush (W,3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    MIA 7/ATL 5
    Marcell Ozuna, CF
    6
    1
    4
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    SF 6/ARI 4
    Conor Gillaspie, 3B
    4
    2
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    1.0
    BOS 5/LAA 4
    David Ortiz, DH
    4
    1
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    PIT 7/OAK 3
    Jordy Mercer, SS
    4
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

  
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fulmer, Michael 3640	pi sp	det al	8.7	8.7	8.7	8.7	8.7
Bauer, Trevor 3065	pi sp	cle al	7.7	17.1	25.8	25.8	-1.7
Myers, Wil 3228	1b	sd nl	7.2	10.2	15.7	15.7	4.2
Garcia, Jaime 2508	pi sp	stl nl	6.0	15.4	33.1	41.8	-3.4
Hellickson, Jeremy 2778	pi sp	phi nl	5.4	10.4	34.1	37.1	0.4
Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	5.0	9.5	40.9	142.9	0.5
Norris, Bud 2638	pi sp	lad nl	4.7	5.7	36.1	45.1	3.7
deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	4.0	26.4	39.4	39.4	-18.4
Ozuna, Marcell 3190	cf	fla nl	4.0	7.0	17.5	17.5	1.0
Fiers, Michael 3029	pi sp	hou al	3.0	10.0	24.1	24.1	-4.0
Mercer, Jordy 3206	ss	pit nl	2.0	2.0	8.0	8.0	2.0
LeBlanc, Wade 2669	pi sp	sea al	2.0	2.0	2.0	9.0	2.0
Solis, Sammy 3651	pi mr	dc nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Gillaspie, Conor 3218	3b	sf nl	1.0	1.0	7.5	7.5	1.0
Bush, Matt 3673	pi mr	tex al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

A look at Box-Toppers All-Stars at the season's halfway point

Shawn Plank July 1, 2016

Box-Toppers points leaders by position and league in both the 2016 season the combined 2015-16 seasons.

Though Clayton Kershaw is on DL, he still holds commanding Box-Toppers player rankings lead

Shawn Plank July 1, 2016

If Kershaw comes back, he could break single-season Box-Toppers points record of 33.7. If he doesn't come back, his 20 points could still lead NL pitchers.

Chicago Cubs lead Box-Toppers rankings for 11th week, but challengers are closing in

Shawn Plank July 1, 2016

Cubs lead holds again, but slips slightly. Hot Indians pass Rangers to become top AL team. Nationals are hottest team of week, partly due to an acquisition.

Indians' Carrasco tops players for Thursday, June 30; Nationals' Espinosa tops NL players

Shawn Plank July 1, 2016

Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 30:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	13.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	12.0
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	10.8
6	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
8	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	10.5
9	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	10.4
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Carrasco struck out 14 over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 4-1 win over the Blue Jays.

Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season (most of any of Thursday’s 11 Players of the Games), rising to 31st place among all players, ninth among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Danny Espinosa of the Nationals hit a grand slam and a three-run homer in the 13-4 win over the Reds. Espinosa went 2-for-4, driving in seven runs.

American League Batter of the Day—Cameron Maybin of the Tigers doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 10-7 win over the Rays.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the NL Player of the Day was batter Danny Espinosa.

Debut—Mets pitcher Erik Goeddel made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Goeddel (1.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 4-3 win over the Cubs) made his Major League debut Sept. 1, 2014, and was playing in his 48th career game. He is the 3,672nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Espinosa earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Maybin earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/30
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.1
    CLE 4/TOR 1
    Carlos Carrasco (W,4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    3
    1
    1
    2
    14
  

    
    11.0
    `NYY 2/TEX 1
    Michael Pineda
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    1
    1
    3
    12
  

    NL
    7.0
    DC 13/CIN 4
    Danny Espinosa, SS
    4
    2
    2
    7
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.1
    SEA 5/BAL 3
    Taijuan Walker (W,4-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    4
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    
    5.0
    LAD 8/MIL 1
    Kenta Maeda (W,7-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    DET 10/TB 7
    Cameron Maybin, CF
    4
    1
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.2
    NYM 4/CHC 3
    Erik Goeddel (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    ATL 8/MIA 5
    Brandon Snyder, PH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    CHW 6/MIN 5
    David Robertson (S,21)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    2.0
    SF 12/OAK 6
    Brandon Belt, 1B
    5
    1
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    KC 4/STL 2
    Kendrys Morales, RF
    4
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

  
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	6.7	24.7	40.8	40.8	-11.3
Walker, Taijuan 3453	pi sp	sea al	5.7	19.4	19.4	19.4	-8.0
Belt, Brandon 2943	1b	sf nl	5.0	6.5	18.5	18.5	3.5
Maeda, Kenta 3609	pi sp	lad nl	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Robertson, David 2774	pi cp	chi al	4.0	12.0	24.0	25.0	-4.0
Pineda, Michael 2841	pi sp	nyy al	3.0	13.7	31.1	31.1	-7.7
Morales, Kendrys 2142	dh	kc al	3.0	7.7	17.7	33.7	-1.7
Espinosa, Danny 2804	ss 2b	dc nl	1.7	4.7	13.4	15.4	-1.3
Maybin, Cameron 2672	cf	det al	1.5	2.5	10.0	14.0	0.5
Snyder, Brandon 3017	3b ph	atl nl	1.0	1.0	2.7	2.7	1.0
Goeddel, Erik 3672	pi mr	nym nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Nationals' Scherzer tops players for Wednesday, June 29, rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank June 30, 2016

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to third in player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 29:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	13.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	12.0
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	10.8
6	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
8	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	10.5
9	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	10.4
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Indians pitcher Danny Salazar rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Player of the Day—Scherzer struck out 10 over 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 4-2 win over the Mets.

Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season, rising to third among all players and third among National League pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (20.0) and Jose Fernandez of the Marlins (13.4).

Scherzer also now has 118.0 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 39th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Wednesday, he passes five players on the “all-time” list—Todd Helton (116.4), Mark Buehrle (116.7), Cubs pitcher John Lackey (117.2), Barry Zito (117.4) and Carlos Delgado (117.7).

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing five hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Braves.

Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 10.5 for the season and rising to eighth in player rankings, third among AL pitchers, behind Corey Kluber of the Indians (10.8) and Chris Sale of the White Sox (10.7).

Salazar also becomes the 10th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

American League Batter of the Day—Brian McCann of the Yankees hit two home runs, going 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in four, in the 9-7 win over the Rangers.

With his first Player of the Game honor of the season, McCann has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons, beginning in 2006 with the Braves. He has 56.7 career Box-Toppers points, first among active catchers and fifth among all catchers since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. His best season was 2009 with the Braves when he had 8.5 points, first among NL catchers. In 2015, he had 6.5 points with the Yankees, first among AL catchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Sean Rodriguez of the Pirates hit two doubles and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-1 win over the Mariners.

Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Salazar earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. McCann and Rodriguez each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/29
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.1
    DC 4/NYM 2
    Max Scherzer (W,9-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    2
    0
    0
    1
    10
  

    
    11.0
    MIL 7/LAD 0
    Junior Guerra (W,5-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    AL
    10.0
    CLE 3/ATL 0
    Danny Salazar (W,10-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    0
    8
  

    
    8.0
    TB 4/BOS 0
    Matt Moore (W,4-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    BAT
    6.0
    NYY 9/TEX 7
    Brian McCann, C
    3
    3
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    PIT 8/SEA 1
    Sean Rodriguez, RF
    3
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    HOU 10/LAA 4
    Jose Altuve, 2B
    5
    4
    4
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.2
    `KC 3/STL 2
    Edinson Volquez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    6
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    3.0
    BAL 12/SD 6
    Mark Trumbo, RF
    5
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    DET 10/MIA 3
    Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
    3
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.2
    OAK 7/SF 1
    Sean Manaea (W,3-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    6
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    2.0
    CHW 9/MIN 6
    Tyler Saladino, 3B
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 5/COL 3
    Edwin Encarnacion, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    PHI 9/ARI 8
    Cody Asche, LF
    5
    0
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.0
    CHC 9/CIN 2
    Javier Baez, 2B
    5
    1
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

  
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	12.0	33.0	97.6	118.0	-9.0
Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	10.5	23.9	33.3	33.3	-2.9
Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	8.5	15.5	25.0	25.0	1.5
Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	6.4	13.4	38.1	64.2	-0.6
Trumbo, Mark 2851	rf	bal al	6.2	8.7	31.9	31.9	3.7
Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh	tor al	6.0	16.4	44.6	65.1	-4.4
Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	5.7	5.7	31.2	31.2	5.7
Guerra, Junior 3633	pi sp	mil nl	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Manaea, Sean 3637	pi sp	oak al	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Saladino, Tyler 3645	ss 3b	chi al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
McCann, Brian 2179	ca	nyy al	1.5	8.0	33.7	56.7	-5.0
Asche, Cody 3268	lf 3b	phi nl	1.0	4.5	10.0	10.0	-2.5
Rodriguez, Sean 2729	rf1b 2b	pit nl	1.0	1.0	12.5	17.5	1.0
Baez, Javier 3395	2b	chi nl	1.0	1.0	3.5	3.5	1.0
Saltalamacchia, Jarod 2355	ca	det al	1.0	1.0	12.0	18.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Twins' Gibson tops players for Tuesday, June 28; Kluber, Hamels rise in Box-Toppers top 10 rankings

Shawn Plank June 29, 2016

Twins pitcher Kyle Gibson is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 28:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	13.4
3	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	10.8
5	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
6	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
7	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	10.4
8	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	10.0
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0
10	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	9.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings (first among American League pitchers) and Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels rises to seventh place. Plus, Matt Carpenter took the lead Tuesday in season Box-Toppers points among National League batters.

Player of the Day—Gibson pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing five hits and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the White Sox.

National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester allowed one run over 7 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and one walk, striking out four, in the 7-2, 15-inning win over the Reds. Lester did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because even though the Cubs led when he exited, the Indians later tied the game before the Cubs went ahead with the winning runs in the 15th inning.

Lester earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 130.8 for his career, rising to 29th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, he passes Trevor Hoffman (129.4) on the “all-time” list. He now trails 28th-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4). Lester has 9.7 Box-Toppers points for the season, 11th among all players and eighth among NL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros hit a three-run homer and a double and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five total runs, in the 7-1 win over the Angels.

National League Batter of the Day—Adrian Gonzalez doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 6-5 win over the Brewers.

Gonzalez has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the 2016 season Tuesday. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Padres and has 67.6 career points, third among active NL first basemen (behind Matt Holliday of the Cardinals, 97.8 and Ryan Howard of the Phillies, 96.7). Gonzalez’s best season was 2010 with the Padres when he had 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ninth among NL batters. He had 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Dodgers.

Rankings—Two players rise in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday, becoming the eighth and ninth players this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points:

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber (8IP 3H 2R BB 7K W in the 5-3 win over the Braves) rises to fourth place in player rankings. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.8 for the season. He also takes the Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers, passing previous leader, Chris Sale of the White Sox (10.7).
Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (7IP 6H 0R BB 7K W in the 7-1 win over the Yankees) rises to seventh place in player rankings. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season. Hamels also now has 136.6 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 27th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 26th-ranked player Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (136.9). It is the 11th straight season Hamels has earned 10 or more Box-Toppers points. In fact, Hamels has had 10 or more points each season since he made his Box-Toppers debut in 2006.

Notable—Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals took the season lead in Box-Toppers points among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Carpenter (HR 2-3 2R 2BI n the 8-4 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.5 for the season. He passes Eugenio Suarez of the Reds (7.0) for the lead among NL batters. Carpenter ranks 23rd among all players.

Debut—Hyun Soo Kim of the Orioles made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Kim (HR 2B 2-3 2R 3BI in the 11-7 win over the Padres) made his Major League debut April 10 and was playing in his 37th career game. He is the 3,671st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Gibson earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Lester earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Correa and Gonzalez each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/28
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    MIN 4/CHW 0
    Kyle Gibson (W,1-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    7.0
    CLE 5/ATL 3
    Corey Kluber (W,8-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    2
    2
    1
    7
  

    
    7.0
    TEX 7/NYY 1
    Cole Hamels (W,9-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    NL
    5.2
    `CHC 7/CIN 2
    Jon Lester
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    3
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    BAT
    5.0
    HOU 7/LAA 1
    Carlos Correa, SS
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    BOS 8/TB 2
    Travis Shaw, 3B
    5
    1
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    BAL 11/SD 7
    Hyun Soo Kim, LF
    3
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    OAK 13/SF 11
    Stephen Vogt, C-1B
    3
    3
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    LAD 6/MIL 5
    Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
    3
    2
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    STL 8/KC 4
    Matt Carpenter, 2B
    3
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    TOR 14/COL 9
    Russell Martin, C
    5
    3
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    DET 7/MIA 5
    Nick Castellanos, 3B
    4
    1
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    SEA 5/PIT 2
    Robinson Cano, 2B
    4
    2
    3
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    DC 5/NYM 0
    Bryce Harper, RF
    4
    2
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    PHI 4/ARI 3
    Andres Blanco, 2B
    2
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

  
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	10.8	24.2	55.0	55.0	-2.6
Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	10.4	25.8	77.4	136.6	-5.0
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	9.7	21.7	67.9	130.8	-2.3
Carpenter, Matt 2987	3b 1b 2b	stl nl	7.5	13.0	27.5	27.5	2.0
Martin, Russell 2202	ca	tor al	7.0	12.0	28.5	49.5	2.0
Correa, Carlos 3506	ss	hou al	6.7	13.9	13.9	13.9	-0.5
Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	sea al	5.5	12.0	41.0	72.9	-1.0
Castellanos, Nick 3349	3b	det al	4.0	10.2	12.2	12.2	-2.2
Shaw, Travis 3544	1b 3b	bos al	3.5	7.7	7.7	7.7	-0.7
Harper, Bryce 3011	rf	dc nl	3.0	12.0	27.4	27.4	-6.0
Blanco, Andres 2980	ss 3b 2b	phi nl	3.0	4.0	5.0	5.0	2.0
Gibson, Kyle 3312	pi sp	min al	2.0	10.0	16.0	16.0	-6.0
Gonzalez, Adrian 2193	1b	lad nl	1.5	5.5	32.2	68.1	-2.5
Vogt, Stephen 3503	ca 1b	oak al	1.0	3.5	3.5	3.5	-1.5
Kim, Hyun Soo 3671	lf	bal al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cubs' Kris Bryant tops players for Monday, June 27, with season's highest game score for a batter

Shawn Plank June 29, 2016

Kris Bryant of the Cubs is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 27:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	13.4
3	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
4	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
6	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	10.0
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0
8	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	9.8
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	9.7
10	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	9.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Bryant hit three homers and two doubles, going 5-for-5, scoring four times and driving in six runs, in the 11-8 win over the Reds.

Bryant’s Box-Toppers game score Monday of +10 was the highest for a batter this season. The highest Box-Toppers game score earned by a batter in 2015 was +11.0, done by four players.

American League Player of the Day—Royals pitcher Danny Duffy struck out eight over eight innings, allowing two runs, six hits and no walks, in the 6-2 win over the Cardinals.

American League Batter of the Day—Nick Franklin of the Rays homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, driving in five runs, in the 13-7 win over the Red Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall Player of the Day was NL batter Kris Bryant.

Notable—Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez has the highest season Box-Toppers point total of all 11 of Monday’s Players of the Game. Velasquez (5IP 5H 0R 0BB 7K W in the 8-0 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season. He ranks 27th among all players and 14th among NL pitchers.

Debut—Rangers pitcher Tony Barnette made his Box-Toppers debut Monday with his first career Player of the Game honor Monday.

Barnette (1.2IP H 0R BB 3K W in the 9-6 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut April 5 and was playing in his 30th career game. He is the 3,670th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Bryant earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Duffy earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Franklin earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
6/27

Score

Game

Player of Game

AB

R

H

BI

IP

H

R

ER

BB

K

MLB

10.0

CHC 11/CIN 8

Kris Bryant, 3B-RF-LF

5

4

5

6

-

-

-

-

-

-

7.0

PHI 8/ARI 0

Vince Velasquez (W,6-2)

-

-

-

-

5.0

5

0

0

0

7

AL

6.0

KC 6/STL 2

Danny Duffy (W,3-1)

-

-

-

-

8.0

6

2

2

0

8

BAT

4.0

TB 13/BOS 7

Nick Franklin, DH

5

1

3

5

-

-

-

-

-

-

4.0

COL 9/TOR 5

Carlos Gonzalez, RF

3

2

2

3

-

-

-

-

-

-

3.0

DC 11/NYM 4

Ben Revere, CF

5

3

4

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

3.0

OAK 8/SF 3

Marcus Semien, SS

4

1

2

4

-

-

-

-

-

-

2.2

TEX 9/NYY 6

Tony Barnette (W,5-2)

-

-

-

-

1.2

1

0

0

1

3

2.1

LAD 5/PIT 4

Kenley Jansen (S,22)

-

-

-

-

1.1

0

0

0

1

2

2.0

CLE 8/ATL 3

Lonnie Chisenhall, RF

4

1

2

3

-

-

-

-

-

-

1.0

HOU 4/LAA 2

Jake Marisnick, PR-DH

0

1

0

0

-

-

-

-

-

-

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0
Bryant, Kris 3465	lf 3b rf	chi nl	5.5	14.0	14.0	14.0	-3.0
Duffy, Danny 2915	pi sp	kc al	4.7	8.7	23.7	23.7	0.7
Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	rf	col nl	3.5	15.0	43.7	56.7	-8.0
Semien, Marcus 3302	ss	oak al	3.5	3.5	7.0	7.0	3.5
Jansen, Kenley 2871	pi cp	lad nl	3.0	7.0	33.4	33.4	-1.0
Chisenhall, Lonnie 2959	rf 3b	cle al	2.5	2.5	12.5	12.5	2.5
Franklin, Nick 3238	dh ss	tb al	1.5	2.5	6.0	6.0	0.5
Marisnick, Jake 3428	dh cf pr	hou al	1.0	3.0	4.0	4.0	-1.0
Revere, Ben 2886	cf	dc nl	1.0	2.0	11.0	11.0	0.0
Barnette, Tony 3670	pi mr	tex al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Twins' Duffey tops players for Sunday, June 26; Marlins' Fernandez rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank June 26, 2016

Twins pitcher Tyler Duffey is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Sunday, two players who earned Player of the Game honors rise in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings:

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 26:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	13.4
3	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
4	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
6	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	10.0
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0
8	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	9.8
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	9.7
10	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	9.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez rises to second place.
White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to fifth place among all players and first place among AL pitchers.

Player of the Day—Duffey struck out eight over eight innings, allowing one run, two hits and no walks, in the 7-1 win over the Yankees.

Duffey had a Box-Toppers game score Sunday of +12, tied with Royals pitcher Ian Kennedy, Player of the Game in the 6-1 win over the Astros (7IP 3H R BB 11K W), but Duffey wins Player of the Day honors on a tiebreaker because he had more innings pitched.

National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez struck out 13 over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and three walks, in the 6-1 win over the Cubs.

Fernandez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 13.4 for the season, rising to second place in season player rankings. He trails overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0 Box-Toppers points).

Fernandez had a Box-Toppers game score Sunday of +11, tied with Braves pitcher Bud Norris, Player of the Game in the 5-2 win over the Mets (7IP 4H 0R 0BB 8K W), but Fernandez wins NL Player of the Day over Norris on a tiebreaker because he had more strikeouts.

American League Batter of the Day—Lonnie Chisenhall of the Indians homered, tripled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 9-3 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Trevor Story of the Rockies homered and went 2-for-2, scoring four runs, in the 9-7 win over the Diamondbacks.

Rankings—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to fifth place among all players—and first among AL pitchers—after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Sale (8IP 5H 2R 2BB 7K W in the 5-2 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He becomes the seventh player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He also takes the Box-Toppers points lead for the season among AL pitchers, passing Corey Kluber of the Indians (9.8).

Streak—Shin-Soo Choo of the Rangers has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season Sunday.

Choo (2B 3-4 2R in the 6-2 win over the Red Sox) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2007 with the Indians and has 47.7 for his career, sixth among active AL outfielders. His best season was 2010 with the Indians, when he had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, seventh among AL batters. In 2015, he had 4.5 Box-Toppers points with the Rangers, 13th among AL outfielders.

Debut—Pirates pitcher A.J. Schugel made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Schugel (2IP 0H 0R 0BB K ND in the 4-3 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut April 12, 2015, and was playing in his 27th career game. He is the 3,669th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Duffey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Fernandez earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Chisenhall and Story each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/26
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    MIN 7/NYY 1
    Tyler Duffey (W,3-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    1
    1
    0
    8
  

    
    12.0
    KC 6/HOU 1
    Ian Kennedy (W,6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    11
  

    NL
    11.0
    MIA 6/CHC 1
    Jose Fernandez (W,10-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    3
    13
  

    
    11.0
    ATL 5/NYM 2
    Bud Norris (W,3-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    8
  

    
    8.0
    CIN 3/SD 0
    Anthony DeSclafani (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    
    6.0
    DC 3/MIL 2
    Tanner Roark (W,7-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    5.0
    CLE 9/DET 3
    Lonnie Chisenhall, RF
    4
    2
    4
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    COL 9/ARI 7
    Trevor Story, SS
    2
    4
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    SF 8/PHI 7
    Angel Pagan, LF
    5
    3
    4
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    BAL 12/TB 5
    Chris Davis, DH
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    CHW 5/TOR 2
    Chris Sale (W,13-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    2
    2
    2
    7
  

    
    3.0
    LAA 7/OAK 6
    Mike Trout, CF
    5
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `PIT 4/LAD 3
    A.J. Schugel (H,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    STL 11/SEA 6
    Matt Carpenter, 2B
    6
    3
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    TEX 6/BOS 2
    Shin-Soo Choo, RF
    4
    2
    3
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

  
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	13.4	18.1	44.1	44.1	8.7
Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7	29.5	81.7	83.7	-8.1
Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	7.5	18.5	49.4	57.9	-3.5
Kennedy, Ian 2723	pi sp	kc al	7.0	13.7	57.5	63.5	0.3
Roark, Tanner 3261	pi sp	dc nl	6.7	7.7	22.7	22.7	5.7
Trout, Mike 2949	cf	ana al	6.5	18.5	43.0	43.0	-5.5
Carpenter, Matt 2987	3b	stl nl	6.5	12.0	26.5	26.5	1.0
Duffey, Tyler 3558	pi sp	min al	3.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	-1.0
Norris, Bud 2638	pi sp	atl nl	3.0	4.0	34.4	43.4	2.0
Story, Trevor 3607	ss	col nl	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5
Chisenhall, Lonnie 2959	rf 3b	cle al	1.5	1.5	11.5	11.5	1.5
DeSclafani, Anthony 3441	pi sp	cin nl	1.0	8.7	8.7	8.7	-6.7
Choo, Shin-Soo 2267	rf	tex al	1.0	5.5	22.0	47.7	-3.5
Pagan, Angel 2184	lf	sf nl	1.0	3.0	14.5	25.5	-1.0
Schugel, A.J. 3669	pi mr	pit nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Indians' Carrasco tops players for Saturday, June 25; Padres' Pomeranz tops NL players

Shawn Plank June 26, 2016

Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Carrasco pitched a complete game shutout, allowing four hits, one walk and striking out seven, in the 6-0 win over the Tigers.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 26:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	11.7
4	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
5	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	10.0
6	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0
7	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	9.8
8	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	9.7
9	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	9.7
10	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	9.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher Drew Pomeranz pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing four hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Reds.

Pomeranz earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, most among Saturday’s 16 Players of the Games. Pomeranz ranks 20th among all players, 13th among NL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Altuve of the Astros hit a three-run homer, two doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring three times, in the 13-5 win over the Royals.

Altuve earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.5 for the season and ranks second among AL batters. In addition, Altuve passed his Box-Toppers points total for 2015 (7.0), his previous best season.

National League Batter of the Day—Tony Wolters of the Rockies homered, doubled and went 3-for-3, driving in four runs, in the 11-6 win over the Diamondbacks.

This was Wolters’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Wolters made his Major League debut April 5 and was playing in his 36th career game. He is the 3,668th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Pomeranz earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Altuve and Wolters each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/25
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    CLE 6/DET 0
    Carlos Carrasco (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    10.2
    BAL 5/TB 0
    Kevin Gausman (W,1-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    4
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    NL
    9.0
    SD 3/CIN 0
    Drew Pomeranz (W,7-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    
    9.0
    `NYY 2/MIN 1
    Michael Pineda
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    6.0
    `NYM 1/ATL 0
    Jacob deGrom
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    7
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    
    5.1
    `SEA 5/STL 4
    Mike Montgomery (H,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    BAT
    5.0
    HOU 13/KC 5
    Jose Altuve, 2B
    5
    3
    4
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    TOR 10/CHW 8
    Edwin Encarnacion, 1B
    4
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    OAK 7/LAA 3
    Coco Crisp, LF
    4
    4
    3
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    COL 11/ARI 6
    Tony Wolters, C
    3
    1
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    BAL 8/TB 6
    Matt Wieters, C
    4
    2
    3
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    PIT 6/LAD 1
    Andrew McCutchen, CF
    4
    2
    2
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    MIA 9/CHC 6
    Giancarlo Stanton, RF
    3
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    MIL 6/DC 5
    Chris Carter, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.2
    TEX 10/BOS 3
    Cesar Ramos (W,2-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.2
    1
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    1.0
    PHI 3/SF 2
    Cameron Rupp, C
    3
    1
    1
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

  
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Pomeranz, Drew 3061	pi sp	sd nl	7.7	10.7	18.7	18.7	4.7
Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	7.5	14.5	24.0	24.0	0.5
Wieters, Matt 2643	ca	bal al	7.0	8.0	26.0	31.7	6.0
Carter, Chris 2828	1b	mil nl	6.0	7.0	24.9	25.9	5.0
Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh	tor al	5.0	15.4	43.6	64.1	-5.4
Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	4.7	22.7	38.8	38.8	-13.3
deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	3.0	25.4	38.4	38.4	-19.4
Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	3.0	8.5	30.2	35.7	-2.5
Ramos, Cesar 3168	pi mr sp	tex al	3.0	3.0	5.0	5.0	3.0
Gausman, Kevin 3191	pi sp	bal al	2.7	8.4	16.1	16.1	-3.0
McCutchen, Andrew 2637	cf	pit nl	2.5	13.0	43.7	49.4	-8.0
Pineda, Michael 2841	pi sp	nyy al	2.0	12.7	30.1	30.1	-8.7
Montgomery, Mike 3513	pi cp mr	sea al	2.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	-2.0
Crisp, Coco 1876	lf	oak al	2.0	4.0	20.5	37.7	0.0
Rupp, Cameron 3556	ca	phi nl	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	1.0
Wolters, Tony 3668	ca	col nl	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Astros' George Springer tops players for Friday, June 24, a second straight lackluster day of performances

Shawn Plank June 25, 2016

George Springer of the Astros is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 24:


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	11.7
3	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	10.7
4	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	10.0
6	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	10.0
7	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	9.8
8	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	9.7
9	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	9.7
10	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	9.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Springer hit a grand slam and a triple in the 13-4 win over the Royals. Springer went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five total runs.

National League Player of the Day—Wil Myers of the Padres homered and doubled, going 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 13-4 win over the Reds.

Both Springer and Myers had Box-Toppers game scores Friday of +5.0, but Springer held the tiebreaker to earn overall Player of the Day honors because he hit a homer and a triple, while Myers hit a homer and a double.

Batters of the Day—There are no separate American League or National League Batters of the Day for Friday because both the overall Player of the Day and the NL Player of the Day were batters—Springer and Myers.

Notable—Mariners pitcher Wade LeBlanc earned his first Box-Toppers point in nearly six years after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

LeBlanc (6IP 3H 0R BB 3K ND in the 4-3 win over the Cardinals) last earned Player of the Game honors and a Box-Toppers point on Aug. 15, 2010, when he was with the Padres.

Commentary—It was the second unremarkable day in a row for Box-Toppers Players of the Games, with no particularly outstanding performances contributing to team wins. Thursday’s Player of the Day had the season’s second-lowest Box-Toppers game score to win that honor; Friday had the third-lowest high score of the season.

And while some of the blame on low scores Thursday was placed on the light schedule (only nine games played), Friday’s scores did not fare much better with a complete slate of 15 games.

It was a rare occurrence Friday when no pitchers earned Box-Toppers bonus points for being overall or league Player of the Day—batters won both spots.

Starting pitchers generally are the players with each day’s highest Box-Toppers game scores, but for the past two days only two starting pitchers have even earned Player of the Game honors (Friday—Wade LeBlanc of the Mariners, Thursday—Wei-Yin Chen of the Marlins. Interestingly, both pitchers earned no decisions.) There have been 12 middle relievers or closers with two or fewer innings pitched who earned Player of the Game honors over the 24 games played Thursday and Friday.

In addition, over the past two days, players earning Player of the Game honors have had relatively fewer season Box-Toppers points. It is as if the big stars have mostly taken the past two days off. Friday’s Player of the Game with the most season Box-Toppers points is Chris Davis of the Orioles (2B 2-4 R 2BI in the 6-3 win over the Rays). Davis earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.5 for the season, 27th among all players and fourth among AL batters.

Interestingly (or not), baseball’s other Khris Davis (of the Athletics) also earned Player of the Game honors Friday in the 7-4 win over the Angels (2-4 R 3BI).

Scoring—Springer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Myers earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    6/24
    Score
    Game
    Player of Game
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    5.0
    HOU 13/KC 4
    George Springer, RF
    5
    2
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    NL
    5.0
    SD 13/CIN 4
    Wil Myers, 1B
    5
    2
    3
    5
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    NYM 8/ATL 6
    James Loney, 1B
    3
    3
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    `SEA 4/STL 3
    Wade LeBlanc
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    4.0
    ARI 10/COL 9
    Yasmany Tomas, RF
    5
    2
    3
    4
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    NYY 5/MIN 3
    Aroldis Chapman (S,14)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    BOS 8/TEX 7
    Koji Uehara (S,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.2
    PIT 8/LAD 6
    Neftali Feliz (W,2-0; H,17)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    MIL 5/DC 3
    Carlos Torres (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.1
    CHC 5/MIA 4
    Hector Rondon (S,13)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    OAK 7/LAA 4
    Khris Davis, LF
    4
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    SF 5/PHI 4
    Brandon Belt, 1B
    4
    1
    2
    3
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    CHW 3/TOR 2
    Nate Jones (W,3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    BAL 6/TB 3
    Chris Davis, 1B
    4
    1
    2
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    CLE 7/DET 4
    Chris Gimenez, C
    4
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    
    `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
  

  
  

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players


Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	6.5	17.5	48.4	56.9	-4.5
Myers, Wil 3228	1b	sd nl	5.7	8.7	14.2	14.2	2.7
Springer, George 3337	rf	hou al	5.5	6.5	9.5	9.5	4.5
Davis, Khris 3242	lf	oak al	4.2	8.2	14.2	14.2	0.2
Belt, Brandon 2943	1b	sf nl	4.0	5.5	17.5	17.5	2.5
Chapman, Aroldis 2826	pi cp	nyy al	3.0	11.0	41.0	42.0	-5.0
Uehara, Koji 2802	pi cp mr	bos al	3.0	8.0	25.0	29.0	-2.0
Rondon, Hector 3201	pi cp	chi nl	3.0	5.0	8.0	8.0	1.0
Tomas, Yasmany 3489	lf rf	ari nl	2.5	6.0	6.0	6.0	-1.0
Jones, Nate 3125	pi cp mr	chi al	2.0	3.0	10.0	10.0	1.0
Feliz, Neftali 2651	pi mr cp	pit nl	1.0	2.0	10.7	18.7	0.0
Torres, Carlos 2668	pi mr	mil nl	1.0	2.0	8.0	9.7	0.0
Gimenez, Chris 2870	ca	cle al	1.0	2.0	4.0	4.0	0.0
Loney, James 2206	1b	nym nl	1.0	1.0	12.0	33.4	1.0
LeBlanc, Wade 2669	pi sp	sea al	1.0	1.0	1.0	8.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

A late June look at Box-Toppers All-Star teams, led by Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw

Shawn Plank June 24, 2016

Eight AL players and five NL players occupy All-Star spots at their position in both the 2016 season and the combined 2015-16 seasons.

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops Box-Toppers player rankings for 7th straight week

Shawn Plank June 24, 2016

Kershaw had dominating lead with 20 Box-Toppers points. Indians' Kluber takes AL pitching lead. Machado, Suarez maintain leads among batters.

Cubs top Box-Toppers team rankings for 10th week, Rangers again top AL teams

Shawn Plank June 24, 2016

Cubs slip but still lead Box-Toppers team rankings for 10th week, Rangers lead AL teams for third week, Indians are the week's hottest team.

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Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

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Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

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Box-Toppers

Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.