The Washington Nationals remain atop Box-Toppers’ team rankings report for the third week in a row.
Also, the New York Yankees remain the top-ranked American League team and the Houston Astros and Cincinnati Reds are tied as the hottest teams of the week.
Team rankings
Here are Box-Toppers' top 10 team rankings, through the games of Thursday, May 4. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players on the team have accumulated so far this season. The column BTP/wk shows have many points teams accumulated from April 28 to May 4. The column Wk ago shows the team's rank as of April 27.| 5/4 | Teams | BTP | BTP/wk | Wk ago |
| 1 | Nationals | 24.9 | 5.0 | 1 |
| 2 | Yankees | 21.2 | 5.0 | 4 |
| 3 | Astros | 20.9 | 5.5 | 5 |
| 4 | Rockies | 20.2 | 4.0 | 3 |
| 5 | Red Sox | 19.4 | 5.0 | 9 |
| 6 | Dbacks | 19.2 | 2.0 | 2 |
| 7 | Orioles | 18.2 | 3.0 | 7 |
| 8 | Indians | 18.2 | 3.0 | 6 |
| 9 | Dodgers | 18.0 | 4.0 | 10 |
| 10 | Reds | 17.7 | 5.5 | 22 |
Nationals players accumulated 24.9 Box-Toppers points through the games of Thursday, May 4, including picking up 5.0 points during the past week (April 28 to May 4). The Nationals also had baseball’s best winning percentage through the games of May 4 (.679).
The Nationals are led by pitcher Max Scherzer, who has 6.0 Box-Toppers points, third among players this season and first among NL pitchers. Top batter for the Nationals is Bryce Harper (4.0 points), who ranks first among NL batters. Twelve different Nationals players have earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors so far this season.
The AL-leading Yankees have 24.9 Box-Toppers points, including 5.0 in the past week. The Yankees rise from fourth place among all teams last week to second place this week. The Yankees are led by Aaron Judge (5.0 Box-Toppers points), who ranks ninth among all players, first among all batters. Top pitcher is Michael Pineda (2.0 points). Ten different Yankees have earned Player of the Game honors so far this season.
The Reds and Astros tied for the hottest teams of the week, each picking up 5.5 Box-Toppers points over the past week. The Astros rise from fifth to third among all teams with 20.9 Box-Toppers points, second-most among AL teams. The Reds make the biggest jump up the rankings of all teams, rising 12 spots from 22nd to 10th with 17.7 Box-Toppers points.
The Toronto Blue Jays maintain their rank of 30th and last place among all teams with 9.0 Box-Toppers points, earning 3.0 points during the past week.
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.
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