(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 third straight week, as of Thursday, Aug. 27.

Top 10 teams
Here are Box-Toppers' Top 10 teams, through the games of Friday, Aug. 27. 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. 20. The column Wk ago shows the team's rank as of Aug. 20.





  
    
    
    
    
    
  

    
8/27
    
Teams
    
BTP
    BTP
/wk
    Wk
ago
  

    1
    Pirates
    104.9
    5.7
    1
  

    2
    Royals
    103.4
    5.7
    2
  

    3
    Cardinals
    102.4
    6.0
    3
  

    4
    Astros
    100.8
    7.0
    5
  

    5
    Blue Jays
    100.4
    6.7
    6
  

    6
    Mets
    99.1
    9.9
    8
  

    7
    Dodgers
    98.8
    3.0
    4
  

    8
    Giants
    94.3
    4.0
    7
  

    9
    Cubs
    91.7
    6.7
    9
  

    10
    Nationals
    82.2
    4.0
    10
  

Also, the Kansas City Royals maintained their spot atop American League teams and the New York Mets were the week’s hottest team, picking up 9.9 Box-Toppers points.

Pirates players had accumulated 104.9 Box-Toppers points this season. They are led by pitcher Gerrit Cole (15.0 Box-Toppers points). Top batter is Andrew McCutchen (9.5 points). Twenty-five different Pirates players have earned Player of the Game honors this season.

The AL-leading Royals had accumulated 103.4 Box-Toppers points this season. They are led by pitcher Johnny Cueto (12.8 Box-Toppers points). Top batter is Lorenzo Cain (8.2 points). Twenty-four different Royals players have earned Player of the Game honors this season.

The New York Mets were the week’s hottest team, picking up 9.9 Box-Toppers points. They rose from eighth to sixth in team rankings.

The Philadelphia Phillies remain in 30th and last place among all teams for the 11th straight week. The Phillies have 42.8 Box-Toppers points. Twenty 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