American League | Team | BTP | Rank | National League | Team | BTP | Rank | ||
1B | Hosmer, Eric 2886 | kc al | 18.0 | 43 | *Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | chi nl | 18.5 | 38 | |
2B | *Odor, Rougned 3336 | tex al | 15.2 | 72 | Murphy, Daniel 2589 | dc nl | 15.0 | 74 | |
SS | *Andrus, Elvis 2582 | tex al | 20.2 | 28 | *Seager, Corey 3587 | lad nl | 11.0 | 145 | |
3B | Machado, Manny 3087 | bal al | 19.7 | 33 | *Arenado, Nolan 3306 | col nl | 19.9 | 32 | |
CA | Martin, Russell 2202 | tor al | 12.5 | 111 | *Posey, Buster 2745 | sf nl | 13.0 | 103 | |
OF | *Bruce, Jay 2453 | cle al | 18.5 | 39 | *Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | fla nl | 20.7 | 26 | |
OF | Trout, Mike 2949 | ana al | 17.5 | 46 | *McCutchen, Andrew 2637 | pit nl | 16.0 | 62 | |
OF | Upton, Justin 2411 | ana al | 14.2 | 86 | *Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | fla nl | 14.2 | 85 | |
DH | *Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | cle al | 20.1 | 30 | |||||
SP | *Kluber, Corey 3200 | cle al | 43.2 | 3 | *Scherzer, Max 2588 | dc nl | 50.7 | 1 | |
SP | *Sale, Chris 2806 | bos al | 38.5 | 4 | *Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | lad nl | 47.5 | 2 | |
SP | *Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | cle al | 34.2 | 6 | *Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | dc nl | 37.6 | 5 | |
SP | Verlander, Justin 2112 | hou al | 29.4 | 9 | Lester, Jon 2173 | chi nl | 32.8 | 7 | |
CP | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | bos al | 16.7 | 58 | Jansen, Kenley 2871 | lad nl | 13.0 | 104 |
* Player who is also on Box-Toppers’ 2017 year-end All-Star team
Max Scherzer tops all players in Box-Toppers points over past 2 seasons; Indians have most players among 2016-17 All-Stars
The Box-Toppers All-Star teams for 2016-17 consist of the best players at each position in each league over the past two seasons.
Among the 27 players included on the American and National League teams are 17 who are also on Box-Toppers 2017 All-Star teams (those players are denoted in the chart above with an asterisk).
Leading the 2016-17 All-Stars is Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, who ranks first in Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons with 50.7.
The Cleveland Indians have the most players of any team on the 2015-16 All-Stars—four. The World Series champion Houston Astros have one player—pitcher Justin Verlander.
The All-Star teams are composed of the players with the highest Box-Toppers point total by position in each league. In addition to the batters—eight in the National League and nine (including the designated hitter) in the American League—are the top four starting pitchers in each league and the top closing pitcher. Players are listed with the team with whom they finished the 2017 season.
The two-year view of All-Stars, as opposed to the single-season view, provides a better indication of proven players with sustained quality. Scherzer, who leads all players over the past two seasons, ranked second overall in Box-Toppers points in 2017 (25.0) and first in 2016 (25.7). The second-ranked player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who has 47.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked third overall in 2017 (23.1) and second in 2016 (24.4).
The AL player with the most Box-Toppers points is Indians pitcher Corey Kluber (43.2), who ranks third among all players. Kluber had 21.2 Box-Toppers points in 2016, first among AL pitchers and 22.0 points in 2017, second among AL pitchers.
The NL batter with the most Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons is Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins with 20.7. Stanton ranked 19th among NL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2016 (6.5) and second in 2017 (14.2). He ranks 26th among all players in Box-Toppers points over 2016-17. Stanton was traded in the offseason to the Yankees for 2018 and will move to the American League.
The AL batter with the most Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons is Elvis Andrus of the Rangers with 20.2. Andrus ranked 10th among AL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2016 (9.2) and third in 2017 (11.0). Andrus ranks 28th among all players in Box-Toppers points over 2016-17.
The Indians have four players among the 2016-17 Box-Toppers All-Stars, most of any team:
- Starting pitcher Corey Kluber, 43.2 Box-Toppers points.
- Starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco, 34.2 points.
- Designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion, 20.1 points.
- Outfielder Jay Bruce, 18.5 points. (Bruce has reportedly agreed to sign with the New York Mets for 2018.)
Two other teams—the Nationals and Dodgers—each have three players among the 2016-17 All-Stars.
All eight starting pitchers on the AL and NL teams for 2016-17 are among the top 10 overall players in Box-Toppers points for 2016-17. (The highest-ranked player not on the teams is eighth-ranked player, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke, who had 29.8 Box-Toppers points.)
All but four of the 27 players on the All-Star teams are among the overall top 100 players in Box-Toppers points for 2016-17. The four who rank outside the top 100 are:
- NL catcher Buster Posey of the Giants, who with 13.0 Box-Toppers points ranks 103rd over 2016-17.
- NL closing pitcher Kenley Jansen of the Dodgers, who with 13.0 Box-Toppers points ranks 104th over 2016-17.
- AL catcher Russell Martin of the Blue Jays, who with 12.5 Box-Toppers points ranks 111th over 2016-17. Martin is the lowest-ranked player on the 2016-17 AL All-Star team.
- NL shortstop Corey Seager of the Dodgers, who with 11.0 Box-Toppers points ranks 145th over 2016-17. Seager is the lowest-ranked player among the 27 All-Stars for 2016-17.
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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Related:
Box-Toppers’ 2017 year-end All-Star teams
Top 10 players by category (AL, NL pitching and batting) for 2016-17
Last year’s comparable post: Box-Toppers 2015-16 All-Star teams
Box-Toppers
Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.
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.