Mariners pitcher Emerson Hancock is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Meanwhile, Joey Wiemer of the Nationals rises to first place in early season player rankings, earning his second Player of the Game honor of the season.
Read MoreBlue Jays’ Cease tops players for Saturday, March 28; Padres’ Vásquez tops NL players
Blue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other top players Saturday include Padres pitcher Randy Vásquez, Liam Hicks of the Marlins, Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox and Brayan Rocchio of the Guardians.
Read MoreBlue Jays’ Gausman tops players for Friday, March 27; Braves’ Sale tops NL players
Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other top players Friday include Braves pitcher Chris Sale, Tigers pitcher Kenley Jansen and Alex Freeland of the Dodgers.
Read MorePhillies’ Sánchez tops players for Thursday, March 26; Red Sox’ Crochet tops AL players
Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Thursday, as 22 Major League teams open their 2026 seasons.
Other top players Thursday include Red Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet, Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, Chase DeLauter of the Guardians, Alec Burleson of the Cardinals and Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Read MoreYankees’ Fried tops players in Wednesday’s 2026 opening game win over Giants
Yankees pitcher Max Fried is the first Box-Toppers Player of the Day for 2026, leading New York to a 7-0 Opening Day win over the Giants.
Fried struck out four over 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 7-0 win, the first game of the 2026 season and the only game on Wednesday’s schedule.
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All 30 teams open their seasons over three days—Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Here is each team’s opening day starter and the pitching matchups for each team’s first game of the season.
A 2026 Opening Day introduction to Box-Toppers
Welcome to Opening Day of the 2026 Major League Baseball season.
This marks the 32nd season of Box-Toppers tracking the players who most help their teams win, based on box score statistics.
Read MoreRangers’ Leiter, Brewers’ Sproat top players in final spring games of Tuesday, March 24
Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter is Box-Toppers Player of the Day on Tuesday, the final day of spring training games.
Other top players Tuesday include James Outman of the Twins and Brewers pitcher Brandon Sproat.
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Box-Toppers picks Yankees over Cubs in 2026 World Series, plus our awards forecasts
The New York Yankees are Box-Toppers’ pick to win the 2026 World Series, defeating the projected National League champion Chicago Cubs.
Box-Toppers projects the Yankees will win 100 games and the American League pennant, ahead of the Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, and Boston Red Sox.
Read MoreGuardians’ Cantillo; Cubs’ Conforto top players in spring games of Monday, March 23
Guardians pitcher Joey Cantillo is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Monday’s spring training games.
Other top players Monday include Orioles pitcher Shane Baz, Drew Swift of the Athletics, Michael Conforto of the Cubs and Padres pitcher Gérman Márquez.
Read MoreDodgers’ Glasnow, Yankees’ Warren top players in spring games of Sunday, March 22
Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Sunday’s spring training games.
Other top players Sunday include Yankees pitcher Will Warren, Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray, Jeremiah Jackson of the Orioles, Luke Keaschall of the Twins and Ryan Ritter of the Rockies.
Read MoreD-backs’ Nelson, Orioles’ Noel top players in spring games of Saturday, March 21
Diamondbacks pitcher Ryne Nelson is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Saturday’s spring training games.
Other top players Saturday include P.J. Higgins of the Reds, Braves pitcher Chris Sale, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes and Jhonkensy Noel of the Orioles.
Read MoreYankees’ Gil, Dodgers’ Yamamoto top players in spring games of Friday, March 20
Yankees pitcher Luis Gil is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Friday’s spring training games.
Other top players Friday include Cole Young of the Mariners, Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dillon Lewis of the Marlins, Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer, Marlins pitcher Chris Paddack and Matt McLain of the Reds.
Read MoreRed Sox’ Bello, Phillies’ Mayza top players in spring games of Thursday, March 19
Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Thursday’s spring training games.
Other top players Thursday include Samuel Basallo of the Orioles, Phillies pitcher Tim Mayza, Jake Cronenworth of the Padres and Mets pitcher Kodai Senga.
Read MoreBraves’ Fuentes, Mariners’ Raley top players in spring games of Wednesday, March 18
Braves pitcher Didier Fuentes is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Wednesday’s spring training games.
Other top players Wednesday include Luke Raley of the Mariners, Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani and Ildemaro Vargas of the Diamondbacks.
Read MoreAs Venezuela beats USA in World Baseball Classic, a B-T look at tourney’s top players
Venezuela pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Tuesday’s World Baseball Classic Championship Game.
Rodríguez, who pitches for the Arizona Diamondbacks in Major League Baseball, struck out four over 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 3-2 win over the United States.
Read MoreCubs’ Imanaga, Guardians’ Allard top players in spring games of Tuesday, March 17
Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Tuesday’s spring training games.
Other top players Tuesday include Seby Zavala of the Dodgers, Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo, Guardians pitcher Kolby Allard and Joey Loperfido of the Astros.
Read MoreCubs’ Horton, Twins’ Keaschall top players in spring games of Monday, March 16
Cubs pitcher Cade Horton is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Monday’s spring training games.
Other top players Monday include Brandon Lockridge of the Brewers, Luke Keaschall of the Twins and George Springer of the Blue Jays.
Read MoreGiants’ Ray, Rays’ McClanahan top players in spring games of Sunday, March 15
Giants pitcher Robbie Ray is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Sunday’s spring training games.
Other top players Sunday include Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan, Jordan Yost of the Tigers, Nelson Velázquez of the Cardinals and Rhys Hoskins of the Guardians.
Read MoreAthletics’ Lopez, Braves’ Elder top players in spring games of Saturday, March 14
Athletics pitcher Jacob Lopez is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Saturday’s spring training games.
Other top players Saturday include Brandon Nimmo of the Rangers, Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, Bryce Elder of the Braves and Freddy Fermin of the Padres.
Read MoreBraves’ Fuentes, Athletics’ White top players in spring games of Friday, March 13
Braves pitcher Didier Fuentes is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Friday’s spring training games.
Other top players Friday include Tommy White of the Athletics and Alec Bohm of the Phillies.
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