Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto, Thursday’s Player of the Day, rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and is now the top-ranked National League pitcher.
Cueto pitched a complete game shutout, allowing three hits and striking out eight, in the 5-0 win over the Padres. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season. He passes Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals (7.0 Box-Toppers points) to lead NL pitchers in player rankings. He trails only Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies (9.1 Box-Toppers points), the overall leader. (See the updated top 10 player rankings for the season on the home page.)
(Cueto and Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka both have 7.7 Box-Toppers points but Cueto is ranked higher because of the tie-breaker: He has more points than Tanaka over 2013-2014—11.7 vs. 7.7.)
Yankees pitcher Dellin Betances is American League Player of the Day. Betances pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless middle relief, striking out six, in the 1-0 win over the Mets. This was Betances’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,333rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record-keeping began in 1995. He made his Major League debut on Sept. 22, 2011, and was pitching in his 23rd game.
Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays is AL Batter of the Day. Encarnacion homered twice and doubled, going 3-for-4 and driving in three runs, in the 4-2 win over the Indians.
Michael Morse of the Giants is National League Batter of the Day. Morse homered, went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs, in the 6-4 win over the Marlins.
Notables: Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha earned Player of the Game honors for batting. He had a two-run RBI in the 5-3 win over the Cubs. He is the third pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting.
Mike Trout of the Angels, currently ranked seventh among all players in Wins Above Replacement at 2.4, according to Baseball-Reference.com, earned his first Box-Toppers point of the season Thursday. Trout hit a walk-off, three-run home run—his only hit in four at-bats—in the 6-5 win over the Rays. With 1.0 Box-Toppers point this season, Trout currently ranks 257th in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Cueto receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Betances receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Encarnacion and Morse each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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 player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.