The Kansas City Royals rank higher in Box-Toppers team rankings but the New York Mets hold a big edge in Box-Toppers points among starting pitchers.
The two teams face off in the best-of-seven game World Series beginning Tuesday.
The American League-champion Royals rank second among all teams in Box-Toppers points (127.5) while the National League-champion Mets rank seventh (122.0). The Royals are the top AL team while the Mets are the fifth-ranked NL team.
While the Royals rank higher in overall team points, the Mets have a decided advantage among starting pitchers. Starter Jacob deGrom is the highest-rated player remaining in the playoffs with 22.4 Box-Toppers points. He ranks third among all players. Two other Mets pitchers are also among the top 50 players in Box-Toppers player rankings:
- Matt Harvey, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th.
- Noah Syndergaard, 10.4 points, ranked 41st.
The Royals two highest-ranked players are also starting pitchers that rank among the top 50 players:
- Johnny Cueto, 12.8 Box-Toppers points, ranked 25th.
- Yordano Ventura, 11.7 points, ranked 30th.
But if the top four starters Box-Toppers points from both teams are added, the Mets far outdistance the Royals—54.9 vs. 39.5.
The Royals have the overall edge in Box-Toppers points among batters likely in the starting line-ups. Matched up position-by-position (see the chart below), Royals starting line-up batters beat Mets starting batters seven to two. Overall, Royals starters have 47.6 total Box-Toppers points vs. 29.9 for the Mets.
However, the Mets have the top-ranked offensive player remaining in the playoffs—left fielder Yoensis Cespedes has 10.9 Box-Toppers points, ranked 37th among all players, second among NL batters. The Royals highest-rated batter is first baseman Eric Hosmer, who had 9.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, 62nd among all players and ninth among AL batters.
The chart below shows the teams matched up position-by-position in each starting offensive position, including designated hitter—the Mets’ top-ranked batter on the active roster, Kelly Johnson, was chosen by Box-Toppers as DH for New York. The teams’ four top-ranked starters were also matched against each other, though the Mets are scheduled to start Steven Matz (3.5 Box-Toppers points) in place of Bartolo Colon (6.7). Also, the teams’ top active closers are matched up as well as the teams’ next-highest rated pitcher. When all 15 positions are matched against each other, the Royals lead in eight positions and the Mets lead in seven.
However, if points from all 15 players are added, the Mets come out ahead—98.8 to 95.1.
The Royals are missing two players who contributed to their season point total. Closing pitcher Greg Holland, who had 8.0 Box-Toppers points, second among AL closers, is injured and second baseman Omar Infante with 5.2 points, isnot on the roster.
The Mets also hold another advantage. They have two players on the year-end Box-Toppers NL All-Star team, while the Royals have none on the AL All-Star team. The Mets players are:
- Pitcher Jacob deGrom, 22.4 Box-Toppers points.
- Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, 10.9 Box-Toppers points.
World Series Game 1, Mets at Royals
The pitching match-up Tuesday:
Mets—Matt Harvey, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.
Royals—Edinson Volquez, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 105th among all players, 39th among AL pitchers.
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.
Box-Toppers season-end player rankings report
Box-Toppers point totals of all Royals players active at season's end
Box-Toppers point totals of all Mets players active at season's end
World Series player comparisons
Likely starting players for the Mets and Royals listed by position with their Box-Toppers point total (BTP) for the 2015 regular season and their overall rank among all players. The checkmark shows the player with the higher Box-Toppers player ranking at that position:
| Mets | BTP | Rank | Adv | Royals | BTP | Rank | Adv | ||
| 1B | Lucas Duda | 2.5 | 377 | Eric Hosmer | 9.0 | 62 | ✓ | ||
| 2B | Daniel Murphy | 1.5 | 504 | ✓ | Ben Zobrist | 1.0 | 573 | ||
| SS | Wilmer Flores | 2.5 | 385 | Alcides Escobar | 3.5 | 95 | ✓ | ||
| 3B | David Wright | 0.0 | 863 | Mike Moustakas | 7.7 | 94 | ✓ | ||
| CA | Travis d’Arnaud | 2.5 | 381 | Salvador Perez | 4.5 | 211 | ✓ | ||
| CF | Kirk Nieuwenhuis | 4.0 | 248 | Lorenzo Cain | 8.2 | 74 | ✓ | ||
| LF | Yoenis Cespedes | 10.9 | 37 | ✓ | Alex Gordon | 4.5 | 217 | ||
| RF | Curtis Granderson | 4.0 | 246 | Jonny Gomes | 4.5 | 215 | ✓ | ||
| DH | Kelly Johnson | 2.0 | 464 | Kendrys Morales | 4.7 | 206 | ✓ | ||
| SP | Jacob deGrom | 22.4 | 3 | ✓ | Johnny Cueto | 12.8 | 25 | ||
| SP | Matt Harvey | 15.4 | 16 | ✓ | Yordano Ventura | 11.7 | 30 | ||
| SP | Noah Syndergaard | 10.4 | 41 | ✓ | Chris R. Young | 8.0 | 78 | ||
| SP | Bartolo Colon | 6.7 | 113 | Edinson Volquez | 7.0 | 105 | ✓ | ||
| CP | Jeurys Familia | 8.0 | 88 | ✓ | Wade Davis | 4.0 | 235 | ||
| PI | Jon Niese | 6.0 | 146 | ✓ | Danny Duffy | 4.0 | 228 |