The Detroit Tigers have six players among the top 100 in Box-Toppers player rankings at the All-Star break, the most of any team.
The list is led by former Tigers and current Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer with 15.0 Box-Toppers points. The St. Louis Cardinals, which lead baseball in cumulative Box-Toppers points, have four players in the top 100.
Top 100 players
Here are the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 12 at the All-Star break.| PLAYER | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.0 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 14.4 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 13.4 |
| 4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 13.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 13.1 |
| 6 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 7 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 8 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 11.7 |
| 9 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 11.1 |
| 10 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 11.0 |
| 11 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 10.7 |
| 12 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 10.7 |
| 13 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 14 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | cin nl | 9.8 |
| 15 | Heston, Chris 3437 | pi sp | sf nl | 9.7 |
| 16 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 9.0 |
| 17 | Trout, Mike 2949 | cf | ana al | 9.0 |
| 18 | Kazmir, Scott 1947 | pi sp | oak al | 8.7 |
| 19 | Pineda, Michael 2841 | pi sp | nyy al | 8.7 |
| 20 | Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | pit nl | 8.4 |
| 21 | Wilson, C.J. 2074 | pi sp | ana al | 8.4 |
| 22 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cle al | 8.4 |
| 23 | Cain, Lorenzo 3171 | cf | kc al | 8.2 |
| 24 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | phi nl | 8.0 |
| 25 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 8.0 |
| 26 | Hammel, Jason 2235 | pi sp | chi nl | 7.7 |
| 27 | Britton, Zachary 2835 | pi cp | bal al | 7.7 |
| 28 | Walker, Taijuan 3453 | pi sp | fla nl | 7.7 |
| 29 | Fielder, Prince 2029 | dh | tex al | 7.5 |
| 30 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | stl nl | 7.4 |
| 31 | Frazier, Todd 2929 | 3b | cin nl | 7.2 |
| 32 | Richards, Garrett 3042 | pi sp | ana al | 7.0 |
| 33 | Zimmermann, Jordan 2612 | pi sp | dc nl | 7.0 |
| 34 | Hutchison, Drew 3038 | pi sp | tor al | 7.0 |
| 35 | Miller, Shelby 3134 | pi sp | atl nl | 7.0 |
| 36 | Vogelsong, Ryan 1820 | pi sp | sf nl | 7.0 |
| 37 | Upton, Justin 2411 | lf | sd nl | 7.0 |
| 38 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 6.7 |
| 39 | Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.7 |
| 40 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 6.7 |
| 41 | Rodriguez, Wandy 2117 | pi sp | tex al | 6.7 |
| 42 | Hunter, Torii 1190 | rf dh | min al | 6.5 |
| 43 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | lf rf | dc nl | 6.5 |
| 44 | Samardzija, Jeff 2495 | pi sp | chi al | 6.4 |
| 45 | Sanchez, Anibal 2187 | pi sp | det al | 6.4 |
| 46 | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | ari nl | 6.2 |
| 47 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 6.0 |
| 48 | Young, Chris R. 1933 | pi sp | kc al | 6.0 |
| 49 | Leake, Mike 2709 | pi sp | cin nl | 6.0 |
| 50 | Burnett, A.J. 1300 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.0 |
| 51 | Santiago, Hector 3109 | pi sp | ana al | 6.0 |
| 52 | Buchholz, Clay 2363 | pi sp | bos al | 6.0 |
| 53 | Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349 | pi sp | bal al | 6.0 |
| 54 | Gomez, Carlos 2397 | cf | mil nl | 6.0 |
| 55 | Rasmus, Colby 2608 | lf rf cf | hou al | 6.0 |
| 56 | Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 6.0 |
| 57 | Rodriguez, Alex | dh | nyy al | 6.0 |
| 58 | Pelfrey, Mike 2364 | pi sp | min al | 6.0 |
| 59 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 6.0 |
| 60 | Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | stl nl | 5.7 |
| 61 | Lincecum, Tim 2288 | pi sp | sf nl | 5.7 |
| 62 | Gonzalez, Miguel 3062 | pi sp | bal al | 5.7 |
| 63 | Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 | lf | det al | 5.7 |
| 64 | Chavez, Jesse 2780 | pi sp cp | oak al | 5.7 |
| 65 | Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf | fla nl | 5.5 |
| 66 | Bautista, Jose Antonio 2169 | dh rf | tor al | 5.5 |
| 67 | Reddick, Josh 2936 | rf | oak al | 5.5 |
| 68 | Bryant, Kris 3465 | 3b | chi nl | 5.5 |
| 69 | Souza, Steven Jr. 3461 | rf | tb al | 5.5 |
| 70 | Nelson, Jimmy 3299 | pi sp | mil nl | 5.4 |
| 71 | Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | tor al | 5.2 |
| 72 | Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | dh 1b | tor al | 5.2 |
| 73 | Harang, Aaron 1599 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.1 |
| 74 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 5.0 |
| 75 | Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 5.0 |
| 76 | Gonzalez, Gio 2626 | pi sp | dc nl | 5.0 |
| 77 | Simon, Alfredo 2718 | pi sp | det al | 5.0 |
| 78 | Uehara, Koji 2802 | pi cp | bos al | 5.0 |
| 79 | Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | pi sp | tb al | 5.0 |
| 80 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 81 | Chapman, Aroldis 2826 | pi cp | cin nl | 5.0 |
| 82 | McCutchen, Andrew 2637 | cf | pit nl | 5.0 |
| 83 | Gibson, Kyle 3312 | pi sp | min al | 5.0 |
| 84 | Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | stl nl | 5.0 |
| 85 | Miley, Wade 3006 | pi sp | bos al | 5.0 |
| 86 | Braun, Ryan J. 2300 | rf | mil nl | 5.0 |
| 87 | Boxberger, Brad 3111 | pi cp | tb al | 5.0 |
| 88 | Locke, Jeff 3133 | pi sp | pit nl | 5.0 |
| 89 | Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | kc al | 5.0 |
| 90 | Pollock, A.J. 3142 | cf | ari nl | 5.0 |
| 91 | Grilli, Jason 2209 | pi cp | atl nl | 5.0 |
| 92 | Teixeira, Mark 1738 | 1b | nyy al | 5.0 |
| 93 | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | bos al | 5.0 |
| 94 | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 4.7 |
| 95 | McHugh, Collin 3316 | pi sp | hou al | 4.7 |
| 96 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | atl nl | 4.7 |
| 97 | Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | sea al | 4.7 |
| 98 | Soria, Joakim 2258 | pi cp | det al | 4.7 |
| 99 | Danks, John 2280 | pi sp | chi al | 4.7 |
| 100 | Bolsinger, Mike 3318 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.7 |
Though the Tigers have six players in the top 100, as a team they ranked 13th in Box-Toppers points with 54.5. The six top Tigers are:
- David Price, SP, 13.1 Box-Toppers points, fifth place.
- Anibal Sanchez, SP, 6.4 points, 45th place.
- Yoenis Cespedes, LF, 5.7, 63rd place.
- Alfredo Simon, SP, 5.0, 77th place.
- Miguel Cabrera, 1B, 4.7, 94th place.
- Joakim Soria, CP, 4.7, 98th place.
Two teams, the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates, each have five players in the top 100, the second-most among teams. Twelve teams, including the league-leading Cardinals and the American League leading Kansas City Royals, each have four players in the top 100.
All 30 teams have at least one player in the top 100. The Philadelphia Phillies, lowest-ranked in Box-Toppers team rankings, has two players in the top 100 (Cole Hamels, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, 24th place and Aaron Harang, 5.1 points, 73rd place). Two teams have one player each:
- Colorado Rockies: Nolan Arenado, 6.0 Box-Toppers points, 56th place.
- San Diego Padres: Justin Upton, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 37th place.
Most players in the top 100 are starting pitchers. Here is the position-by-position breakdown of players:
- 67—Starting pitchers
- 14—Outfielders (5 CF, 5 RF, 4 LF)
- 7—Closing pitchers
- 4—First base
- 4—Third base
- 4—Designated hitter
Two spots are unrepresented in the top 100—second base and shortstop. The top-ranked second baseman is Jose Altuve of the Astros (4.5 Box-Toppers points, 101st place). Top-ranked shortstop is Adeiny Hechavarria of the Marlins (4.5 Box-Toppers points, 104th place).
How are last year’s postseason award winners doing in Box-Toppers points this year?
- Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, the 2014 NL Most Valuable Player, Cy Young Award winner and overall leader in Box-Toppers points, has 9.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th.
- Corey Kluber of the Indians, the 2014 AL Cy Young Award winner and AL leader in Box-Toppers points, has 6.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 38th.
- Mike Trout of the Angels, the 2014 AL MVP, has 9.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 17th (first among AL batters).
- Jose Abreu of the White Sox, the 2014 AL Rookie of the Year and leader in Box-Toppers points among AL batters, has 2.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 245th.
- Jacob deGrom of the Mets, the 2014 NL Rookie of the Year, has 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth.
- Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies, the 2013 leader in Box-Toppers points among NL batters, has 3.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked 144th.
So far this season, 557 different players have earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. There are 244 players who have more than 2.0 Box-Toppers points.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top teams: St. Louis Cardinals lead teams in Box-Toppers points at All-Star break
Top players: Nationals’ Max Scherzer leads players in Box-Toppers points at All-Star break
Editor's note: Box-Toppers realizes the Marlins are no longer called the Florida Marlins and the Angels are no longer the Anaheim Angels. But we keep the old team abbreviation names around (fla nl, ana al) since the changes in the team name were largely for marketing or political purposes and involved no substantial change in the actual geography of the team. (Plus, it’s just a pain to make extensive database changes.)