How 2022 Silver Sluggers winners fared in Box-Toppers rankings

Here are Silver Slugger Award winners for 2022, given to the top hitter at each position in both leagues, and how each player fared in Box-Toppers points and rankings at their position. Also shown is the Box-Toppers points leader at each position in both leagues.

Silver Slugger winners Box‑Toppers points leaders
AL winners Team BTP Rank* AL leaders Team BTP Rank*
1B Nathaniel Lowe Rangers 2.0 21 Ty France Mariners 7.0 1
2B Jose Altuve Astros 4.0 5 Trevor Story Red Sox 7.0 1
SS Xander Bogaerts Red Sox 7.0 1 Xander Bogaerts Red Sox 7.0 1
3B Jose Ramirez Guardians 11.7 1 Jose Ramirez Guardians 11.7 1
CA Alejandro Kirk Blue Jays 3.0 11 Cal Raleigh Mariners 7.5 1
OF Aaron Judge Yankees 13.2 1 Aaron Judge Yankees 13.2 1
OF Mike Trout Angels 5.0 12 George Springer Blue Jays 8.0 2
OF Julio Rodriguez Mariners 7.5 3 Julio Rodriguez Mariners 7.5 3
DH Yordan Alvarez Astros 8.7 1 Yordan Alvarez Astros 8.7 1
UT Luis Arraez Twins 5.5 22† Alex Bregman Astros 8.7 4†
NL winners Team BTP Rank* NL leaders Team BTP Rank*
1B Paul Goldschmidt Cardinals 7.5 4 Pete Alonso Mets 14.9 1
2B Jeff McNeil Mets 2.5 9 Nolan Gorman Cardinals 5.0 1
SS Trea Turner Dodgers 0.0 30 Francisco Lindor Mets 6.7 1
3B Nolan Arenado Cardinals 7.0 3 Austin Riley Braves 8.0 1
CA J.T. Realmuto Phillies 5.5 1 J.T. Realmuto Phillies 5.5 1
OF Mookie Betts Dodgers 11.7 1 Mookie Betts Dodgers 11.7 1
OF Juan Soto Padres 2.5 27 Mark Canha Mets 8.7 2
OF Kyle Schwarber Phillies 2.0 43 Tyler O’Neill Cardinals 6.0 4**
DH Josh Bell Padres 4.0 †† Charlie Blackmon Rockies 6.5 1
UT Brandon Drury Padres 4.5 37† Freddie Freeman Dodgers 8.5 4†
BTP: Box-Toppers points
Rank*: Shows the players rank among all players in his league at that position. For example, Nathaniel Lowe. ranks 21st among AL first basemen in Box-Toppers points; Ty France ranks first.
** Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies led NL designated hitters and also ranked third among NL outfielders in Box-Toppers points. Rather than awarding him at both positions, we picked the NL batter with the next-most Box-Toppers points who was either an outfielder or a designated hitter. That is Tyler O’Neill of the Cardinals, who ranks fourth among NL outfielders.
† Utility players are ranked by batters in their league. For example, Luis Arraez’s 5.5 Box-Toppers points is 22nd among AL batters.
†† Bell did not qualify to rank among NL DHs because he earned none of his Player of the Game honors as a DH. He played in 162 games in 2022, but only 31 of those games at DH. He mainly played first base.

Seven of the 20 batters winning Silver Slugger Awards Thursday were also among the leaders at their positions in 2022 Box-Toppers point totals.

The awards are given to the top batter in each position in both leagues, voted on by Major League Baseball coaches and managers. Box-Toppers, analyzing traditional box scores, tracks which player most helps his team win the most games, awarding points for the top player in each game.

The seven Silver Slugger award winners who also would have been among Box-Toppers’ Silver Slugger recipients:

  • Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox led American League shortstops with 7.0 Box-Toppers points.

  • Jose Ramirez of the Guardians led AL third basemen with 11.7 points.

  • Aaron Judge of the Yankees led AL outfielders with 13.2 points.

  • Julio Rodriguez of the Mariners ranked third among AL outfielders with 7.5 points.

  • Yordan Alvarez of the Astros led AL designated hitters with 8.7 points.

  • J.T. Realmuto of the Phillies led National League catchers with 5.5 points.

  • Mookie Betts of the Dodgers led NL outfielders with 11.7 points.

•

Here is a position-by-position look at the Silver Slugger winners compared to Box-Toppers leaders:

AL first base: Box-Toppers grade: D

Award-winner Nathaniel Lowe of the Rangers had 2.0 Box-Toppers points and ranked 21st among AL first basemen. The Box-Toppers points leader at the position was Ty France of the Mariners with 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 10th among AL batters.

While Lowe had a higher batting average and more home runs, France had more runs batted in and was far more often the player who most contributed to his teams’ wins.

AL second base: Box-Toppers grade: B

Award-winner Jose Altuve of the Astros finished fifth among players at the position with 4.0 Box-Toppers points. The Box-Toppers points leader at the position was Trevor Story of the Red Sox with 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 11th among AL batters.

While Altuve had a higher batting average and more home runs, Story won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors five times to Altuve’s four.

AL shortstop: Box-Toppers grade: A

Award-winner Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox also led AL shortstops with 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ninth among AL batters.

AL third base: Box-Toppers grade: A

Award-winner Jose Ramirez of the Guardians also led AL third basemen with 11.7 Box-Toppers points, second among AL batters.

AL catcher: Box-Toppers grade: B

Award-winner Alejandro Kirk of the Blue Jays earned 3.0 Box-Toppers points, 11th among AL catchers. The Box-Toppers points leader at the position is Cal Raleigh of the Mariners, who led AL catchers with 7.5 points, seventh among AL batters.

Kirk led AL catchers in batting average and had a statistically superior season to Raleigh. But Raleigh had as many RBIs in fewer at bats and more frequently was the key player to helping his team win more games.

AL outfield: Box-Toppers grade: A-

This grade includes two As and one B.

The A grades: Two of the three top-ranked AL outfielders won awards: Aaron Judge of the Yankees (13.2 Box-Toppers points, ranked first among AL outfielders and first among AL batters) and Julio Rodriguez of the Mariners (7.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among AL outfielders and eighth among AL batters).

The B grade: Award-winner Mike Trout of the Angels ranked 12th among AL outfielders with 5.0 Box-Toppers points. Ranking second among AL outfielders in 2022 Box-Toppers points is George Springer of the Blue Jays (8.0 Box-Toppers points).

Trout had a great season with 40 homers in his limited 119-game season. But Springer more often was the key player in his team’s wins—Springer won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors seven times in 2022, while Trout did it four times.

AL designated hitter: Box-Toppers grade: A

Award-winner Yordan Alvarez of the Astros also led AL designated hitters with 8.7 Box-Toppers points, third among AL batters.

AL utility player: No Box-Toppers grade

Baseball added utility players to the awards in 2022, to award player versatility.

In the AL, the winner is Luis Arraez of the Twins. His 5.5 Box-Toppers points was 22nd among all AL batters. He played 144 games in 2022—65 at first base, 41 at second base, 38 as a designated hitter, 13 as a pinch hitter and seven at third base (sometimes playing more than one position per game).

Arraez would have been a better choice for the award as a first baseman or even a second baseman. He had more Box-Toppers points than either player awarded the Silver Slugger at those positions, but did not lead the league in Box-Toppers points at either position.

Box-Toppers gives no grade for this award. It seems like an unnecessary step to dilute the award by giving it to more players and often more likely to players with less offensive impact. Rather than awarding a specific utility player, Box-Toppers, knowingly completely violating the spirit of the award for a utility player, here places the highest-ranked AL batter who otherwise did not earn a Silver Slugger Award—Alex Bregman of the Astros, whose 8.7 Box-Toppers points was fourth among AL batters and second among AL third basemen. (Bregman played all but one of his 155 games at third base in 2022.)

NL first base: Box-Toppers grade: B

Award-winner Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals ranked fourth among NL first basemen with 7.5 Box-Toppers points. The Box-Toppers points leader at the position is Pete Alonso of the Reds with 14.9 Box-Toppers points, first among NL batters.

While Goldschmidt has barely half the Box-Toppers point total of Alonso, he still ranks high at the competitive first base position in the NL (Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers has 8.5 points and Rowdy Tellez of the Brewers has 8.2 points). Plus, Goldschmidt ranks seventh among all NL batters in Box-Toppers points.

NL second base: Box-Toppers grade: C

Award-winner Jeff McNeil of the Mets ranks ninth among NL second basemen with 2.5 Box-Toppers points. The Box-Toppers points leader at the position is Nolan Gorman of the Cardinals with 5.0 points, 31st among NL batters.

NL shortstop: Box-Toppers grade: D

Award-winner Trea Turner of the Dodgers earned no Box-Toppers points in 2022. Based on his Box-Toppers points totals in previous seasons, he ranked 30th among NL shortstops in 2022. While Turner had 21 home runs, 100 RBIs and batted .298, he did not earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in 2022—he simply was not the one key player in any of the Dodgers’ wins.

Box-Toppers points leader at the position is Francisco Lindor of the Mets with 6.7 points, 11th among NL batters.

NL third base: Box-Toppers grade: B

Award-winner Nolan Arenado of the Cardinals ranked third at the position with 7.0 Box-Toppers points, just 1.0 point behind Austin Riley of the Braves (8.0). Riley ranks sixth among NL batters; Arenado ranks eighth.

Last year, Riley won the award over Arenado, though Arenado edged Riley in Box-Toppers points.

NL catcher: Box-Toppers grade: A

Award-winner J.T. Realmuto of the Phillies also led NL catchers with 5.5 Box-Toppers points, 20th among NL batters.

NL outfield: Box-Toppers grade C

This grade includes one A and two Ds.

The A: Box-Toppers’ top-ranked NL outfielder Mookie Betts of the Dodgers (11.7 Box-Toppers points, second among NL batters) also won a Silver Slugger award.

The Ds: Award-winners Juan Soto of the Nationals ranked 27th among NL outfielders with 2.5 points and Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies ranked 43rd among NL outfielders with 2.0 points.

After Betts, Box-Toppers’ second-ranked NL outfielder is Mark Canha of the Mets (8.7 Box-Toppers points, third among NL batters). Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies ranks third, but since he also served as designated hitter, we are placing him there. The fourth-ranked NL outfielder is Tyler O'Neill of the Cardinals, whose 6.0 Box-Toppers points is 16th among NL batters.

NL designated hitter: Box-Toppers grade: D

Award-winner Josh Bell had 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 35th among NL batters. But Bell, who mainly played first base in 2022, did not qualify to rank among NL designated hitters because he earned none of his Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors at that position. Bell played 31 of his 162 games at designated hitter.

Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies led NL designated hitters with 6.5 Box-Toppers points, 13th among NL batters. Blackmon also ranked third among NL outfielders in Box-Toppers points. He earned Player of the Game honors six times in 2022, three times as a right fielder and twice as a designated hitter. He was DH in 80 of his 138 games and outfielder in 51.

Bryce Harper of the Phillies had the most Box-Toppers points of any NL designated hitter who was most purely a DH in 2022. Harper had 6.0 Box-Toppers points, all of them earned as a DH, 17th among NL batters. Harper was DH in 90 of his 99 games in 2022.

NL utility player: No Box-Toppers grade

Award-winner Brandon Drury had 4.5 Box-Toppers points, 37th among NL batters. He won Player of the Game honors four times in 2022, twice as a designated hitter, once as a third baseman and once as a first baseman. Drury played in 138 games in 2022—67 at third base, 30 at first base, 27 at second base, 26 at designated hitter, two at shortstop and one at right field.

Again, Box-Toppers gives no grade for the utility player award. Box-Toppers instead—again, violating the spirit of the utility player honor—gives an extra award to the NL batter who ranked highest in Box-Toppers points and did not received a Silver Slugger—Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers, whose 8.5 Box-Toppers points is second among NL first baseman and fourth among NL batters. (Freeman played all 159 of his games as a first baseman in 2022.)

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:

Box-Toppers 2022 player rankings leaders

Box-Toppers 2022 year-end All-Star teams

Past Box-Toppers’ Silver Slugger coverage: