The Toronto Blue Jays have seven players among the top 100 in Box-Toppers player rankings at the All-Star break, most of any team.
Top 100 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of July 10 at the All-Star break:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 14.4 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 4 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 13.4 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 12.5 |
| 6 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.0 |
| 7 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
| 8 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.7 |
| 9 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 10.5 |
| 10 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 10.4 |
| 11 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.4 |
| 12 | Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi sp | sd nl | 10.4 |
| 13 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 10.0 |
| 14 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 9.7 |
| 15 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 9.7 |
| 16 | Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 9.4 |
| 17 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 9.4 |
| 18 | Machado, Manny 3087 | ss 3b | bal al | 8.7 |
| 19 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 20 | Fulmer, Michael 3640 | pi sp | det al | 8.7 |
| 21 | Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 8.5 |
| 22 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 23 | Santiago, Hector 3109 | pi sp | ana al | 8.4 |
| 24 | Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | tor al | 8.2 |
| 25 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cle al | 7.7 |
| 26 | Lewis, Colby 1567 | pi sp | tex al | 7.7 |
| 27 | Roark, Tanner 3261 | pi sp | dc nl | 7.7 |
| 28 | Trout, Mike 2949 | cf | ana al | 7.5 |
| 29 | Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b | bal al | 7.5 |
| 30 | Carpenter, Matt 2987 | 3b 1b 2b | stl nl | 7.5 |
| 31 | Myers, Wil 3228 | 1b | sd nl | 7.2 |
| 32 | Trumbo, Mark 2851 | rf | bal al | 7.2 |
| 33 | Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 7.0 |
| 34 | Kazmir, Scott 1947 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 35 | Bryant, Kris 3465 | lf 3b rf | chi nl | 7.0 |
| 36 | Kennedy, Ian 2723 | pi sp | kc al | 7.0 |
| 37 | Martin, Russell 2202 | ca | tor al | 7.0 |
| 38 | Eickhoff, Jerad 3566 | pi sp | phi nl | 7.0 |
| 39 | Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b | cin nl | 7.0 |
| 40 | Carter, Chris 2828 | 1b | mil nl | 7.0 |
| 41 | Nicasio, Juan 2888 | pi sp mr | pit nl | 7.0 |
| 42 | Wieters, Matt 2643 | ca | bal al | 7.0 |
| 43 | Guerra, Junior 3633 | pi sp | mil nl | 7.0 |
| 44 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 7.0 |
| 45 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 6.7 |
| 46 | Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.7 |
| 47 | Correa, Carlos 3506 | ss | hou al | 6.7 |
| 48 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 6.7 |
| 49 | Conley, Adam 3594 | pi sp | fla nl | 6.7 |
| 50 | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.7 |
| 51 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 6.7 |
| 52 | Lee, Dae-Ho 3627 | 1b ph | sea al | 6.7 |
| 53 | Cain, Lorenzo 3171 | cf | kc al | 6.5 |
| 54 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 6.4 |
| 55 | Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 | cf lf | nym nl | 6.0 |
| 56 | Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | dh | tor al | 6.0 |
| 57 | Garcia, Jaime 2508 | pi sp | stl nl | 6.0 |
| 58 | Estrada, Marco 2847 | pi sp | tor al | 6.0 |
| 59 | Tillman, Chris 2754 | pi sp | bal al | 6.0 |
| 60 | Holliday, Matt 1836 | 1b lf dh | stl nl | 6.0 |
| 61 | Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 62 | Walker, Taijuan 3453 | pi sp | sea al | 5.7 |
| 63 | De La Rosa, Rubby 3342 | pi sp | ari nl | 5.7 |
| 64 | Ross, Joe 3499 | pi sp | dc nl | 5.7 |
| 65 | Duffy, Danny 2915 | pi sp | kc al | 5.7 |
| 66 | Sanchez, Aaron 3392 | pi sp | tor al | 5.7 |
| 67 | Moore, Matt 2975 | pi sp | tb al | 5.7 |
| 68 | LeMahieu, DJ 3091 | 2b | col nl | 5.5 |
| 69 | Cano, Robinson 2092 | 2b | sea al | 5.5 |
| 70 | Castellanos, Nick 3349 | 3b | det al | 5.5 |
| 71 | Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 5.5 |
| 72 | Hill, Aaron 2056 | 2b | bos al | 5.5 |
| 73 | Springer, George 3337 | rf | hou al | 5.5 |
| 74 | Hellickson, Jeremy 2778 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.4 |
| 75 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 5.0 |
| 76 | Hammel, Jason 2235 | pi sp | chi nl | 5.0 |
| 77 | Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 5.0 |
| 78 | Teheran, Julio 3176 | pi sp | atl nl | 5.0 |
| 79 | Dickey, R.A. 1734 | pi sp | tor al | 5.0 |
| 80 | Peavy, Jake 1635 | pi sp | sf nl | 5.0 |
| 81 | Ortiz, David | dh | bos al | 5.0 |
| 82 | Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 5.0 |
| 83 | Wright, Steven 3224 | pi sp | bos al | 5.0 |
| 84 | Martinez, Victor 1695 | dh 1b | det al | 5.0 |
| 85 | Bruce, Jay 2453 | rf | cin nl | 5.0 |
| 86 | Murphy, Daniel 2589 | 2b | dc nl | 5.0 |
| 87 | Belt, Brandon 2943 | 1b | sf nl | 5.0 |
| 88 | Chatwood, Tyler 2856 | pi sp | col nl | 5.0 |
| 89 | Conforto, Michael 3622 | lf | nym nl | 5.0 |
| 90 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 4.7 |
| 91 | Samardzija, Jeff 2495 | pi sp | sf nl | 4.7 |
| 92 | Chapman, Aroldis 2826 | pi cp | nyy al | 4.7 |
| 93 | Smyly, Drew 3009 | pi sp | tb al | 4.7 |
| 94 | Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf | bos al | 4.7 |
| 95 | Norris, Bud 2638 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.7 |
| 96 | Andrus, Elvis 2582 | ss | tex al | 4.7 |
| 97 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 4.5 |
| 98 | Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 4.5 |
| 99 | Kinsler, Ian 2144 | 2b | det al | 4.5 |
| 100 | Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf | fla nl | 4.5 |
The Chicago Cubs, the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers rankings, has the second-most players with six.
The list is led by Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who holds a dominating lead despite being on the disabled list since June 30. Kershaw has 20.0 Box-Toppers points, 5.6 points more than second-place player, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez. Fernandez would need at least three dominant starts to even catch Kershaw.
Though the Blue Jays have the most players among the top 100, they rank eighth among teams in Box-Toppers team rankings, fourth among American League teams, with an accumulated 61.3 Box-Toppers points. Here are the seven Blue Jays players in the top 100, with their overall rank shown, their position and their season Box-Toppers point total:
- 24. Josh Donaldson, third base—8.2
- 33. J.A. Happ, starting pitcher—7.0
- 37. Russell Martin, catcher—7.0
- 56. Edwin Encarnacion, designated hitter—6.0
- 58. Marco Estrada, starting pitcher—6.0
- 66. Aaron Sanchez, starting pitcher—5.7
- 79. R.A. Dickey, starting pitcher—5.0
The seven Blue Jays in the top 100 include three batters: Donaldson ranks third among AL batters, Martin ranks seventh and Encarnacion ranks 12th.
The league-leading Cubs have six players among the top 100:
- 7. Jake Arrieta, starting pitcher—10.7
- 15. Jon Lester, starting pitcher—9.7
- 16. John Lackey, starting pitcher—9.4
- 35. Kris Bryant, outfield/third base—7.0
- 76. Jason Hammel, starting pitcher—5.0
- 77. Kyle Hendricks, starting pitcher—5.0
Five teams each have five players among the top 100—the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals.
All 30 teams have at least one player in the top 100. Two teams have one representative:
- Oakland Athletics: 17. Rich Hill, starting pitcher—9.4
- Atlanta Braves: 78. Julio Teheran, starting pitcher—5.0
Most players in the top 100 are starting pitchers. Here is the position-by-position breakdown of players (if a player played more than one position, then their primary position—the one at which they most often earned Player of the Game honors—is used):
- 64—Starting pitchers
- 10—Outfielders (3 CF, 5 RF, 2 LF)
- 6—First base
- 6-Second base
- 5—Third base
- 3—Designated hitter
- 3—Shortstop
- 2—Catcher
- 1—Closing pitcher
Compared to last year at this time, there are more batters among the top 100 at the All-Star break and fewer pitchers. Last year at the All-Star break, there were 74 pitchers in the 2015 top 100 (67 starters and seven closers). This year, there are 65 pitchers (64 starters and one closer). Last year, there were no shortstops or second basemen among the 2015 top 100. This year, there are three shortstop and six second basemen in the 2016 All-Star break top 100.
How are last season’s postseason award-winners doing in Box-Toppers points this year?
National League Cy Young Award—Jake Arrieta of the Cubs has 10.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked seventh among all players, sixth among NL pitchers.
American League Cy Young Award—Dallas Keuchel of the Astros has 5.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 75th among all players, 24th among AL pitchers.
National League Most Valuable Player—Bryce Harper of the Nationals has 3.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 165th among all players, 29th among NL batters.
American League Most Valuable Player—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays has 8.2 Box-Toppers points, ranked 24th among all players, third among AL batters.
National League Rookie of the Year—Kris Bryant of the Cubs has 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 35th among all players, third among NL batters.
American League Rookie of the Year—Carlos Correa of the Astros has 6.7 Box-Toppers points, 47th among all players, ninth among AL batters.
Last year’s two Cy Young winners also led theirleagues in Box-Toppers points—Arrieta led the NL with 29.1, Keuchel led the AL with 21.4.
Last year’s leader in Box-Toppers points among AL batters was Adrian Beltre of the Rangers (12.5). This year, he has 4.0 Box-Toppers points, 113th among all players and 27th among AL batters.
Last year’s leader in Box-Toppers points among NL batters was Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies (11.5). This year, he has 3.5 Box-Toppers points, 148th among all players and 25th among NL batters.
So far this season, 562 different players have earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. There are 234 players who have more than 2.0 Box-Toppers points. There are 77 players who have made their Box-Toppers debut so far this season, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors.
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.
Editor's note: Box-Toppers realizes the Marlins are no longer called the Florida Marlins and the Angels are no longer the Anaheim Angels. But we keep the old team abbreviation names around (fla nl, ana al) since the changes in the team name were largely for marketing or political purposes and involved no substantial change in the actual geography of the team. (Plus, it’s just a pain to make extensive database changes.)