Here is a detailed look at Box-Toppers point leaders for 2018.
The chart accompanying this post shows points leaders for the season by several different categories and classifications, including:
Detail leaders 2018
Here are Box-Toppers point leaders for 2018 broken down according to several factors, including by position and league. Included here are:• Overall top 10 leaders and top 10 American League and National League pitchers and batters.
• Top batters by position in each league—top 10 for outfielders, top five for all other positions.
• The top 10 biggest dippers and risers—the "dippers" are players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from 2017; the "risers" are players whose point total climbed the most from 2017.
• Top relief pitchers, including the top five AL and NL closing (CP) and middle relief (MR) pitchers.
| 2018 OVERALL | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | tb al | 27.2 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 25.1 |
| 3 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 24.1 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 21.7 |
| 5 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 21.1 |
| 6 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 20.1 |
| 7 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 19.1 |
| 8 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 18.0 |
| 9 | Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | min al | 17.8 |
| 10 | Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 17.0 |
| 2018 AL PITCHERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | tb al | 27.2 |
| 2 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 24.1 |
| 3 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 21.7 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 20.1 |
| 5 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 19.1 |
| 6 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 18.0 |
| 7 | Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | min al | 17.8 |
| 8 | Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | nyy al | 17.7 |
| 9 | Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 17.0 |
| 10 | Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | nyy al | 15.7 |
| 2018 AL BATTERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Martinez, J.D. 2922 | lf dh rf | bos al | 12.5 |
| 2 | Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf | bos al | 10.9 |
| 3 | Lindor, Francisco 3586 | ss | cle al | 9.6 |
| 4 | Davidson, Matt 3292 | 3b dh 1b | chi al | 8.7 |
| 5 | Trout, Mike 2949 | cf | ana al | 8.0 |
| 6 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 8.0 |
| 7 | Odor, Rougned 3336 | 2b | tex al | 7.5 |
| 8 | Rosario, Eddie 3542 | lf | min al | 7.5 |
| 9 | Garver, Mitch 3950 | ca | min al | 7.5 |
| 10 | Healy, Ryon 3685 | 1b | sea al | 7.0 |
| 2018 NL PITCHERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 25.1 |
| 2 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 21.1 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 16.8 |
| 4 | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | pi sp | ari nl | 16.0 |
| 5 | Buehler, Walker 3943 | pi sp | lad nl | 15.1 |
| 6 | Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | col nl | 14.7 |
| 7 | Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 | pi sp | mil nl | 13.7 |
| 8 | Foltynewicz, Mike 3455 | pi sp | atl nl | 13.7 |
| 9 | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | pi sp | stl nl | 13.1 |
| 10 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 13.0 |
| 2018 NL BATTERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Yelich, Christian 3334 | rf lf | mil nl | 11.5 |
| 2 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 3 | Baez, Javier 3395 | ss 2b 3b | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 4 | Acuña, Ronald Jr. 3947 | lf | atl nl | 9.2 |
| 5 | Peralta, David 3370 | lf | ari nl | 8.5 |
| 6 | Granderson, Curtis 2051 | dh rf | mil nl | 8.2 |
| 7 | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | ari nl | 7.5 |
| 8 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 7.5 |
| 9 | Reynolds, Mark 2297 | 1b 3b 2b ph | dc nl | 7.5 |
| 10 | Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b | cin nl | 7.5 |
| 2018 AL 1B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Davidson, Matt 3292 | 3b dh 1b | chi al | 8.7 |
| 2 | Healy, Ryon 3685 | 1b | sea al | 7.0 |
| 3 | Smoak, Justin 2731 | 1b | tor al | 6.0 |
| 4 | Mauer, Joe 1869 | 1b | min al | 5.5 |
| 5 | Bauers, Jake 3993 | 1b | tb al | 5.5 |
| 2018 AL 2B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Odor, Rougned 3336 | 2b | tex al | 7.5 |
| 2 | Kinsler, Ian 2144 | 2b | bos al | 6.0 |
| 3 | Goodrum, Niko 3932 | 1b rf 3b 2b pr | det al | 5.0 |
| 4 | Lowrie, Jed 2437 | 2b | oak al | 4.0 |
| 5 | Cano, Robinson 2092 | 2b | sea al | 4.0 |
| 2018 AL SS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Lindor, Francisco 3586 | ss | cle al | 9.6 |
| 2 | Bogaerts, Xander 3383 | ss | bos al | 5.5 |
| 3 | Segura, Jean 3173 | ss | sea al | 5.0 |
| 4 | Profar, Jurickson 3665 | ss 3b 1b | tex al | 5.0 |
| 5 | Iglesias, Jose 3532 | ss | det al | 4.5 |
| 2018 AL 3B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Davidson, Matt 3292 | 3b dh 1b | chi al | 8.7 |
| 2 | Bregman, Alex 3721 | 3b | hou al | 6.2 |
| 3 | Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | cle al | 6.0 |
| 4 | Solarte, Yangervis 3304 | 3b | tor al | 5.2 |
| 5 | Profar, Jurickson 3665 | ss 3b 1b | tex al | 5.0 |
| 2018 AL CA | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Garver, Mitch 3950 | ca | min al | 7.5 |
| 2 | Chirinos, Robinson 2924 | ca | tex al | 6.0 |
| 3 | Sanchez, Gary 3701 | ca | nyy al | 5.5 |
| 4 | Maldonado, Martin 3082 | ca | hou al | 5.5 |
| 5 | Arcia, Francisco 4033 | ca | ana al | 3.2 |
| 2018 AL OF | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Martinez, J.D. 2922 | lf dh rf | bos al | 12.5 |
| 2 | Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf | bos al | 10.9 |
| 3 | Trout, Mike 2949 | cf | ana al | 8.0 |
| 4 | Rosario, Eddie 3542 | lf | min al | 7.5 |
| 5 | Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf | tex al | 7.0 |
| 6 | Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | dh rf lf | nyy al | 6.5 |
| 7 | Castellanos, Nicholas 3349 | rf | det al | 6.5 |
| 8 | Haniger, Mitch 3772 | rf | sea al | 6.5 |
| 9 | Piscotty, Stephen 3570 | rf | oak al | 6.0 |
| 10 | Gardner, Brett 2486 | cf lf | nyy al | 5.5 |
| 2018 AL DH | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Martinez, J.D. 2922 | lf dh rf | bos al | 12.5 |
| 2 | Davidson, Matt 3292 | 3b dh 1b | chi al | 8.7 |
| 3 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 8.0 |
| 4 | Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | dh rf lf | nyy al | 6.5 |
| 5 | Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | dh | cle al | 6.5 |
| 2018 NL 1B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 2 | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | ari nl | 7.5 |
| 3 | Reynolds, Mark 2297 | 1b 3b 2b ph | dc nl | 7.5 |
| 4 | Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | atl nl | 7.5 |
| 5 | Carpenter, Matt 2987 | 1b | stl nl | 6.5 |
| 2018 NL 2B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Baez, Javier 3395 | ss 2b 3b | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 2 | Reynolds, Mark 2297 | 1b 3b 2b ph | dc nl | 7.5 |
| 3 | Gennett, Scooter 3254 | 2b | cin nl | 6.0 |
| 4 | Descalso, Daniel 2855 | 3b 2b lf | ari nl | 5.0 |
| 5 | Muncy, Max 3969 | 3b lf 2b 1b | lad nl | 4.5 |
| 2018 NL SS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Baez, Javier 3395 | ss 2b 3b | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 2 | Crawford, Brandon 2878 | ss | sf nl | 7.5 |
| 3 | DeJong, Paul 3827 | ss | stl nl | 6.0 |
| 4 | Story, Trevor 3607 | ss | col nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Machado, Manny 3087 | ss | lad nl | 5.7 |
| 2018 NL 3B | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Baez, Javier 3395 | ss 2b 3b | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 2 | Reynolds, Mark 2297 | 1b 3b 2b ph | dc nl | 7.5 |
| 3 | Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b | cin nl | 7.5 |
| 4 | Shaw, Travis 3544 | 3b | mil nl | 6.5 |
| 5 | Rendon, Anthony 3258 | 3b | dc nl | 6.5 |
| 2018 NL CA | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Ramos, Wilson 2904 | ca | phi nl | 6.0 |
| 2 | Realmuto, J.T. 3491 | ca | fla nl | 5.5 |
| 3 | Contreras, Willson 3776 | ca | chi nl | 5.0 |
| 4 | Hundley, Nick 2497 | ca ph | sf nl | 4.5 |
| 5 | Grandal, Yasmani 3058 | ca | lad nl | 4.5 |
| 2018 NL OF | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Yelich, Christian 3334 | rf lf | mil nl | 11.5 |
| 2 | Acuña, Ronald Jr. 3947 | lf | atl nl | 9.2 |
| 3 | Peralta, David 3370 | lf | ari nl | 8.5 |
| 4 | Granderson, Curtis 2051 | dh rf | mil nl | 8.2 |
| 5 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 7.5 |
| 6 | Soto, Juan 3994 | lf | dc nl | 7.5 |
| 7 | Conforto, Michael 3622 | lf | nym nl | 6.5 |
| 8 | Anderson, Brian W. 3954 | rf | fla nl | 6.5 |
| 9 | Polanco, Gregory 3361 | rf | pit nl | 6.0 |
| 10 | Gonzalez, Carlos 2460 | rf | col nl | 5.5 |
| 2018 DIPPERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | -16.1 |
| 2 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | -15.8 |
| 3 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | -15.1 |
| 4 | Nelson, Jimmy 3299 | pi sp | mil nl | -14.0 |
| 5 | Samardzija, Jeff 2495 | pi sp | sf nl | -11.0 |
| 6 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | -10.7 |
| 7 | Andrus, Elvis 2582 | ss | tex al | -10.0 |
| 8 | Fowler, Dexter 2698 | cf | stl nl | -9.0 |
| 9 | Bellinger, Cody 3781 | 1b rf lf | lad nl | -8.7 |
| 10 | Bruce, Jay 2453 | rf | nym nl | -8.5 |
| 2018 RISERS | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | tb al | 22.2 |
| 2 | Buehler, Walker 3943 | pi sp | lad nl | 15.1 |
| 3 | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | pi sp | stl nl | 13.1 |
| 4 | Mikolas, Miles 3034 | pi sp | stl nl | 11.7 |
| 5 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 11.0 |
| 6 | Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | nyy al | 10.0 |
| 7 | Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | col nl | 10.0 |
| 8 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | bos al | 9.7 |
| 9 | Foltynewicz, Mike 3455 | pi sp | atl nl | 9.7 |
| 10 | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
| 2018 AL CP | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Treinen, Blake 3495 | pi cp | oak al | 10.0 |
| 2 | Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 9.0 |
| 3 | Trivino, Lou 3939 | pi mr cp | oak al | 8.0 |
| 4 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 7.0 |
| 5 | Hand, Brad 2907 | pi cp | cle al | 7.0 |
| 2018 AL MR | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Trivino, Lou 3939 | pi mr cp | oak al | 8.0 |
| 2 | Yarbrough, Ryan 3962 | pi mr | tb al | 7.0 |
| 3 | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi mr sp | tb al | 6.0 |
| 4 | Peacock, Brad 2968 | pi mr | hou al | 4.0 |
| 5 | Betances, Dellin 3333 | pi cp mr | nyy al | 4.0 |
| 2018 NL CP | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp mr | mil nl | 11.7 |
| 2 | Davis, Wade 2681 | pi cp | col nl | 7.0 |
| 3 | Vazquez, Felipe 3579 | pi cp | pit nl | 6.0 |
| 4 | Smith, Will 3073 | pi cp | sf nl | 5.7 |
| 5 | Doolittle, Sean 3052 | pi cp | dc nl | 5.0 |
| 2018 NL MR | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp mr | mil nl | 11.7 |
| 2 | Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp mr | lad nl | 10.7 |
| 3 | Stammen, Craig 2506 | pi mr | sd nl | 5.0 |
| 4 | Strop, Pedro 3005 | pi mr cp | chi nl | 5.0 |
| 5 | Ferguson, Caleb 4006 | pi mr | lad nl | 5.0 |
What are those numbers after players' names?
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
➜ Players are listed by the position they predominantly played when they earned Box-Toppers points (by earning Player of the Game honors).
➜ Players are listed with the team on which they finished the season. Some players played on two or more teams in a single season.
➜ DIPPERS: Players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from one season to the next, ranked by biggest point decline.
➜ RISERS: Players whose Box-Toppers point total increased most from one season to the next, ranked by biggest point increase.
➜ Note: If players have the same Box-Toppers point total, ties are broken based on which player had more Box-Toppers points in the previous season (or the previous season before that—and so on, if those point totals are tied).
Overall top 10 leaders and top 10 American League and National League pitchers and batters.
Top batters by position in each league—top 10 for outfielders, top five for all other positions.
The top 10 biggest dippers and risers—the "dippers" are players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from 2017; the "risers" are players whose point total climbed the most from 2017.
Top relief pitchers, including the top five AL and NL closing (CP) and middle relief (MR) pitchers.
Highlights include:
Top overall player for 2018—Rays pitcher Blake Snell is Box-Toppers 2018 Player of the Year, leading all players with 27.2 Box-Toppers points for the season. He also led American League pitchers.
Top NL pitcher for 2018—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer led National League pitchers in 2018 with 25.1 Box-Toppers points, second overall behind Snell.
Top overall batters for 2018—J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox led AL batters with 12.5 Box-Toppers points. Christian Yelich of the Brewers led NL batters with 11.5 points.
Top batters by position—The chart shows the top AL and NL batters by position, including the top five first basemen, second basemen, shortstops, third basemen and catchers in both the AL and NL. Also shown are the top 10 outfielders in each league, plus the top five AL designated hitters.
Dippers—These are the players whose Box-Toppers point total declined most from 2017 to 2018. Twins pitcher Ervin Santana had the biggest decline of 16.1 points. He earned 16.1 points in 2017 and no points in 2018. Due to injuries, he only made five starts in 2018 and did not win Player of the Game honors in any of them, thus, earning no Box-Toppers points. (Box-Toppers plans to have more details on the season’s top “dippers” in a future post.)
Risers—These are the players whose Box-Toppers point total increased most from 2017 to 2018. Rays pitcher Blake Snell (Box-Toppers 2018 Player of the Year) had the biggest increase of 22.2 points. He earned 5.0 points in 2017 and 27.2 points in 2018. Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler, who finished second with a rise of 15.1 Box-Toppers points, had the biggest rise among rookie players. (Box-Toppers plans to have more details on the season’s top “risers” in a future post.)
Relief pitchers—The chart shows the top five closing and relief pitchers in both the AL and NL for 2018. Josh Hader of the Brewers led NL closing pitchers with 11.7 Box-Toppers points and Blake Treinen of the Athletics led AL closing pitchers with 10.0 points. Hader also led NL middle relief pitchers with 11.7 points and Lou Trivino of the Athletics led AL middle relief pitchers with 8.0 points. Many relievers had more than one role through the season and are ranked as both a closer and a middle reliever—such as Hader and Trivino.
Box-Toppers has tracked each game played since the start of the 1995 season. A season-by-season look at Box-Toppers’ detail leaders for all 24 seasons—a sprawling, scrolling chart—can be found at this link. Like the chart here, it shows the top groups of players at different positions and by different categories or classifications, but this chart shows every season from 1995 to 2018. For example, who was the top AL first baseman in 1996? Who was the top NL closing pitcher in 1999? Whose Box-Toppers point total rose the most from 2004 to 2005? And who was the top NL second baseman in 2008? It’s all there.
(Answers, by the way are: Mo Vaughn of the Red Sox with 18.6 points, Billy Wagner of the Astros with 15.0 points, Dontrelle Willis of the Marlins, who rose 12.7 points from 2004 to 2005 and Chase Utley of the Phillies with 12.0 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.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
Related
Top 10 players for 2018, including top 10 by category—AL and NL pitchers and batters
Box-Toppers 2018 year-end All-Star teams: Top players by position in each league
A look at Box-Toppers top 100 players for 2018
A look at 2018 baseball awards finalists and how they fared in Box-Toppers rankings