(Apologies: Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)

The Pittsburgh Pirates held the Box-Toppers team rankings lead for the second straight week, as of Thursday, Aug. 20.

Also, the Kansas City Royals—the hottest team of the week from Aug. 14 to 20—rose past the Toronto Blue Jays to become the top American League team.

Top 10 teams
Here are Box-Toppers' Top 10 teams, through the games of Friday, Aug. 20. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players on the team have accumulated so far this season. The column BTP/wk shows have many points teams have accumulated since the previous report through the games of Thursday, Aug. 13. The column Wk ago shows the team's rank as of Aug. 13.





  
    
    
    
    
    
  

    
8/20
    
Teams
    
BTP
    BTP
/wk
    Wk
ago
  

    1
    Pirates
    99.2
    6.2
    1
  

    2
    Royals
    97.7
    11.7
    7
  

    3
    Cardinals
    96.4
    5.4
    3
  

    4
    Dodgers
    95.8
    3.0
    2
  

    5
    Astros
    93.8
    4.0
    5
  

    6
    Blue Jays
    93.7
    3.7
    4
  

    7
    Giants
    90.3
    9.5
    9
  

    8
    Mets
    89.2
    1.0
    6
  

    9
    Cubs
    85.0
    3.0
    8
  

    10
    Nationals
    78.2
    3.5
    10
  

Pirates players had accumulated 99.2 Box-Toppers points this season. They are led by pitcher Gerritt Cole (13.0 Box-Toppers points). Top batter is Andrew McCutchen (8.5 points). Twenty-five different Pirates players have earned Player of the Game honors this season.

The AL-leading Royals rose from seventh place among all teams to second place with 97.7 Box-Toppers points. The Royals are led by pitcher Johnny Cueto (12.8 Box-Toppers points) and center fielder Lorenzo Cain (8.2 points). Twenty-four different Royals players have earned Player of the Game honors this season. The Royals had the hottest week of any team, picking up 11.7 Box-Toppers points from Aug. 14 to 20.

Last week’s top AL team, the Toronto Blue Jays, fell to sixth place overall, third among AL teams, with 93.7 Box-Toppers points.

The Philadelphia Phillies remain in 30th and last place among all teams for the 10th straight week. The Phillies have 39.8 Box-Toppers points. Seventeen different Phillies players have earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors this season.

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.

Last week’s team rankings report