Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw maintains his dominant lead among all players in Box-Toppers points, but the race for most points among American League pitchers is tightening up.
Top players
Through Thursday, Sept. 11| OVERALL LEADERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 28.8 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | det al | 21.1 |
| 3 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 20.9 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 20.4 |
| 5 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | cin nl | 19.4 |
| 6 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 17.8 |
| 7 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.4 |
| 8 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 16.1 |
| 9 | Richards, Garrett 3042 | pi sp | ana al | 15.7 |
| 10 | Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b | chi al | 15.5 |
| AL PITCHERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | det al | 21.1 |
| 2 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 20.4 |
| 3 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 17.8 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 16.1 |
| 6 | Richards, Garrett 3042 | pi sp | ana al | 15.7 |
| 7 | Kazmir, Scott 1947 | pi sp | oak al | 14.1 |
| 8 | Hutchison, Drew 3038 | pi sp | tor al | 14.0 |
| 9 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | oak al | 13.7 |
| 10 | Shields, Jamie (James) 2157 | pi sp | kc al | 13.7 |
| AL BATTERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b | chi al | 15.5 |
| 2 | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 11.0 |
| 3 | Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | oak al | 10.5 |
| 4 | Jones, Adam 2347 | cf | bal al | 9.5 |
| 5 | Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224 | dh lf | bal al | 8.5 |
| 6 | Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | 1b dh lf | tor al | 8.0 |
| 7 | Carter, Chris 2828 | dh | hou al | 8.0 |
| 8 | Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 | lf | bos al | 8.0 |
| 9 | Seager, Kyle 3031 | 3b | sea al | 8.0 |
| 10 | Pujols, Albert 1438 | dh 1b | ana al | 7.5 |
| NL PITCHERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 28.8 |
| 2 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 20.9 |
| 3 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | cin nl | 19.4 |
| 4 | Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 15.0 |
| 5 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.8 |
| 6 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 13.7 |
| 7 | Teheran, Julio 3176 | pi sp | atl nl | 13.4 |
| 8 | Fister, Doug 2688 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.4 |
| 9 | Collmenter, Josh 2863 | pi sp | ari nl | 12.0 |
| 10 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 12.0 |
| NL BATTERS | POS | TEAM | BTP | |
| 1 | Tulowitzki, Troy 2308 | ss | col nl | 11.6 |
| 2 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | cf | fla nl | 8.0 |
| 3 | Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | atl nl | 7.7 |
| 4 | Posey, Buster 2745 | ca | sf nl | 7.5 |
| 5 | Holliday, Matt 1836 | lf | stl nl | 7.5 |
| 6 | Duda, Lucas 2818 | 1b | nym nl | 7.5 |
| 7 | Yelich, Christian 3334 | lf | fla nl | 7.5 |
| 8 | Gonzalez, Adrian 2193 | 1b | lad nl | 7.2 |
| 9 | Upton, Justin 2411 | lf | atl nl | 7.2 |
| 10 | Howard, Ryan 2040 | 1b | phi nl | 7.2 |
Kershaw picked up 1.0 Box-Toppers point over the past week and now has 28.8, the seventh-highest single-season total since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. With possibly three starts left in the season, Kershaw has a chance of breaking the “all-time” single season record of 33.7 set by Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson in 2000 and 2002.
Kershaw leads second-place National League pitcher Madison Bumgarner of the Giants by 7.9 Box-Toppers points. Bumgarner has 20.9 for the season.
The race for top American League pitcher is getting tighter. Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer still leads with 21.1 Box-Toppers points, but Indians pitcher Corey Kluber, who has picked up 3.0 points in the past week, now has 20.4, only 0.7 points behind. Scherzer has led AL pitchers since the July 3 player rankings report, but in the past four weeks has only earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, while Kluber has picked up 5.0 in that time.
Jose Abreu of the White Sox still leads AL batters in Box-Toppers points with 15.5. He ranks 10th among all players and is the only batter among the top 10.
Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies still leads National League batters in Box-Toppers points with 11.6. Tulowitzki will have played in just over half the season’s games (91) and is out for the season recovering from hip surgery.
There is a new number two NL batter: Marcell Ozuna of the Marlins has 8.0 Box-Toppers points, passing Freddie Freeman of the Braves (7.7). Freeman has been in second place among NL batters since the May 1 player rankings report and has not earned any Box-Toppers points since June 28.
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.