Box-Toppers top pitchers and batters by team, 2017

Who had the most Box-Toppers points on each team in 2017? Here is the breakdown with the top batter and pitcher on each team. Players are shown with their 2017 Box-Toppers point (BTP) total and their overall rank among all players. The player who led his overall team in points is listed in bold. There are 19 pitchers and 11 batters who led their team in Box-Toppers points. All players are shown on the team with whom they finished the 2017 season.  
 
AL teams Top pitcher Pos BTP Rank Top batter Pos BTP Rank
Angels Bridwell, Parker 3844 pi sp 7.7 84 Upton, Justin 2411 lf 7.5 86
Astros Verlander, Justin 2112 pi sp 14.7 16 Reddick, Josh 2936 rf lf cf 8.0 75
Athletics Manaea, Sean 3637 pi sp 7.4 90 Healy, Ryon 3685 dh 1b 9.7 43
Blue Jays Estrada, Marco 2847 pi sp 6.0 128 Donaldson, Josh 3144 3b 8.0 71
Indians Kluber, Corey 3200 pi sp 22.0 5 Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 dh 1b 12.1 22
Mariners Paxton, James 3280 pi sp 13.7 19 Alonso, Yonder 2945 1b 8.0 76
Orioles Gausman, Kevin 3191 pi sp 11.1 27 Mancini, Trey 3766 lf 1b 7.2 95
Rangers Hamels, Cole 2135 pi sp 9.4 47 Andrus, Elvis 2582 ss 11.0 30
Rays Odorizzi, Jake 3291 pi sp 11.1 28 Morrison, Logan 2794 1b 6.7 114
Red Sox Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp 25.1 1 Benintendi, Andrew 3815 lf 7.2 94
Royals Vargas, Jason 2055 pi sp 11.0 32 Hosmer, Eric 2886 1b 9.5 45
Tigers Fulmer, Michael 3640 pi sp 5.7 156 Iglesias, Jose 3532 ss 8.0 80
Twins Santana, Ervin 2005 pi sp 16.1 9 Sano, Miguel 3527 3b 8.5 65
White Sox Rodon, Carlos 3494 pi sp 3.0 320 Garcia, Avisail 3256 rf 6.7 113
Yankees Severino, Luis 3567 pi sp 21.1 7 Judge, Aaron 3767 rf 11.2 26
NL teams Top pitcher Pos BTP Rank Top batter Pos BTP Rank
Braves Johnson, Jim 2417 pi cp 6.0 138 Inciarte, Ender 3360 cf 6.5 119
Brewers Nelson, Jimmy 3299 pi sp 14.0 18 Shaw, Travis 3544 3b 8.0 73
Cardinals Martinez, Carlos 3371 pi sp 9.5 44 Fowler, Dexter 2698 cf 9.0 57
Cubs Quintana, Jose 3040 pi sp 15.0 15 Rizzo, Anthony 3063 1b 15.5 14
Dbacks Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp 20.1 8 Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 1b 7.4 91
Dodgers Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp 23.1 3 Bellinger, Cody 3781 1b rf lf 8.7 64
Giants Samardzija, Jeff 2495 pi sp 11.0 29 Posey, Buster 2745 ca 1b 9.5 46
Marlins Straily, Dan 3080 pi sp 9.7 40 Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 rf 14.2 17
Mets deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp 15.7 12 Conforto, Michael 3622 cf 6.0 126
Nationals Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp 25.0 2 Rendon, Anthony 3258 3b 8.0 74
Padres Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 pi sp 11.4 24 Hedges, Austin 3790 ca 4.5 234
Phillies Nola, Aaron 3569 pi sp 15.8 11 Altherr, Aaron 3563 lf rf cf 7.5 89
Pirates Taillon, Jameson 3658 pi sp 9.0 55 McCutchen, Andrew 2637 cf 9.0 53
Reds Castillo, Luis 3840 pi sp 8.4 70 Gennett, Scooter 3254 2b 10.7 34
Rockies Chatwood, Tyler 2856 pi sp 8.4 67 Arenado, Nolan 3306 3b 9.2 51
What are those numbers after players' names?

Three of the four players who won Cy Young or Most Valuable Player awards in 2017 also led their teams in Box-Toppers points for the season.

The only exception: American League Most Valuable Player Jose Altuve did not lead Astros batters in Box-Toppers points. In fact, with only 2.5 Box-Toppers points, he finished 11th among Astros batters and 21st among all Astros players. While Altuve led all players in batting average and in wins above replacement ratings in 2017, he was frequently beat by his teammates for Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in Astros wins. In fact, he was only Player of the Game in two of the Astros’ 101 wins, each of which is detailed in this linked blog post.

Altuve finished behind Astros overall leader, pitcher Justin Verlander (14.7 Box-Toppers points). He also finished behind Astros’ batting leader Josh Reddick (8.0 Box-Toppers points) and nine other Astros’ batters: Carlos Correa (7.0 points), Marwin Gonzalez (6.7), George Springer (5.0), Cameron Maybin (5.0), Brian McCann (4.0), Carlos Beltran (3.7), Alex Bregman (3.0), Jake Marisnick (2.7) and Yuli Gurriel (2.7).

Last year, Altuve led all Astros (pitchers and batters) in Box-Toppers points with 12.5 and was one of nine batters in 2016 to lead his team in Box-Toppers points.

The chart here shows pitchers and batters with the most Box-Toppers points on each team in 2017.

Award-winners who led teams in Box-Toppers points

While AL MVP Altuve was not among his team’s top batters in Box-Toppers points, the other major award winners did lead their teams in Box-Toppers points:

  • National League Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer led all Nationals players (and all NL players in 2017) with 25.0 Box-Toppers points. He ranked second overall, behind Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale (25.1).
  • AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber led all Indians players with 22.0 Box-Toppers points. He ranked fifth overall and second among AL pitchers, behind Sale.
  • NL Most Valuable Player Giancarlo Stanton led all Marlins players with 14.2 Box-Toppers points. He ranked 17th overall and second among NL batters behind Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs (15.5). Stanton was traded in the offseason to the AL Yankees.

In addition, both league’s Rookie of the Year award winners led their team’s batters in Box-Toppers points in 2017:

  • AL Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge led all Yankees batters with 11.2 Box-Toppers points. He ranked 26th among all players and second among AL batters.
  • NL Rookie of the Year Cody Bellinger led all Dodgers batters with 8.7 Box-Toppers points. He ranked 64th among all players and 10th among NL batters.

Batters who led their team in Box-Toppers points

Pitchers were the overall team leader in Box-Toppers points on 19 teams while batters led all players in points on 11 teams. One of the batters who led his team’s players in Box-Toppers points is Stanton of the Marlins, whose 14.2 points beat the team’s top pitcher Dan Straily (9.7 points). In addition to Stanton, the other 10 batters who led their teams in Box-Toppers points are:

  • Athletics—Ryon Healy had 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 43rd among all players, beating the team’s top pitcher Sean Manaea (7.4).
  • Blue Jays—Josh Donaldson had 8.0 Box-Toppers points, 71st among all players, beating the team’s top pitcher Marco Estrada (6.0).
  • Rangers—Elvis Andrus had 11.0 Box-Toppers points, 30th among all players, beating the team’s top pitcher Cole Hamels (9.4).
  • Tigers—Jose Iglesias had 8.0 Box-Toppers points, 80th among all players, beating the team’s top pitcher Michael Fulmer (5.7).
  • White Sox—Avisail Garcia had 6.7 Box-Toppers points, 113th among all players, beating the team’s top pitcher Carlos Rodon (3.0).
  • Braves—Ender Inciarte had 6.5 Box-Toppers points, 119th among all players, beating the team’s top pitcher Jim Johnson (6.0).
  • Cubs—Anthony Rizzo had 15.5 Box-Toppers points, 14th among all players, beating the team’s top pitcher Jose Quintana (15.0).
  • Pirates—Andrew McCutchen had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, 53rd among all players, beating the team’s top pitcher Jameson Taillon (9.0). (Though McCutchen had the same Box-Toppers point total as Taillon, he ranked just above him because he had more 2016 Box-Toppers points—7.0 vs. 5.0.) McCutchen was traded in the offseason to the San Francisco Giants.
  • Reds—Scooter Gennett had 10.7 Box-Toppers points, 34th among all players, beating the team’s top pitcher Luis Castillo (8.4).
  • Rockies—Nolan Arenado had 9.2 Box-Toppers points, 51st among all players, beating the team’s top pitcher Tyler Chatwood (8.4).

Nearly all players listed as top pitcher for their team are primarily starting pitchers—29 out of 30. The exception: Jim Johnson, who led Braves pitchers, is a closer.

Players who changed teams during 2017

It should be noted that players are listed as team leaders actually finished the 2017 season on the team with whom their listed. For example, Justin Verlander is listed with the Astros, even though he also played for the Tigers through August before being traded, spending only the final month of the regular season with the Astros.

In addition to Verlander, these three players who led their team’s pitchers or batters in Box-Toppers points in 2017 were also traded during the season:

  • Justin Upton, top batter for Angels, also played for Tigers.
  • Yonder Alonso, top batter for Mariners, also played for Athletics.
  • Jose Quintana, top pitcher for Cubs, also played for White Sox.

The highest- and lowest-ranked team leaders

In six cases, the top overall player on a team had more than 20.0 Box-Toppers points on the season—Indians, Red Sox, Yankees, Diamondbacks, Dodgers and Nationals. But in nine cases, the top overall player on a team had fewer than 10.0 Box-Toppers points in 2017—Angels, Athletics, Blue Jays, Tigers, White Sox, Braves, Cardinals, Pirates and Rockies.

The six teams that had players with more than 20.0 Box-Toppers points on their roster at the close of the season all finished in the top eight spots in Box-Toppers’ final team rankings, ranging from the Indians in first place to the Diamondbacks in eighth. Two teams each had two players with 20.0 or more points:

  • Cleveland Indians—Kluber (22.0) and pitcher Carlos Carrasco (21.8, ranked sixth among all players).
  • Washington Nationals—Scherzer (25.0) and pitcher Stephen Strasburg (22.5, ranked fourth among all players). Strasburg is the highest-rated player in 2017 who did not also lead his team’s players in Box-Toppers points. The Nationals finished third in Box-Toppers’ final team rankings.

The nine teams whose leaders had fewer than 10.0 Box-Toppers points ranked from 11th to 30th in Box-Toppers’ final team rankings. The Rockies ranked highest in 11th place while the White Sox ranked in 30th and last place.

The lowest-ranked player to lead his team’s players is Braves centerfielder Ender Inciarte, who with 6.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks 119th among all players. The next lowest-ranked player to lead his team’s players is White Sox rightfielder Avisail Garcia, who with 6.7 points, ranks 113th among all players.

The lowest-ranked player to lead his team’s batters is Austin Hedges of the Padres, who with 4.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks 234th among all players.

The lowest-ranked player to lead his team’s pitchers is Carlos Rodon of the White Sox, who with 3.0 Box-Toppers points, ranks 320th among all players. Rodon is also the lowest-ranked player among the 60 listed top pitchers and batters by team.

Nine of the 60 players listed here rank outside of Box-Toppers top 100 players for 2017, including three NL batters, two AL batters,  three AL pitchers and only one NL pitcher (Jim Johnson of the Braves, with 6.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 138th).

Last year, 18 of the 60 top batters and pitchers by team ranked outside the top 100 players for 2016, twice as many as this year.

About the White Sox

The batter (Avisail Garcia) and pitcher (Carlos Rodon) who led the Chicago White Sox in Box-Toppers points in 2017 were among the lowest-ranked team leaders. That was mainly because the White Sox traded or released many of their top players during the season. While they hope for results in the future, the team finished last in team Box-Toppers rankings.

The team traded away eight players who earned Box-Toppers points in 2017, including these seven who earned points while on the White Sox:

  • Starting pitcher Jose Quintana, traded to the Cubs. He had 15.0 Box-Toppers points on the season (which led Cubs pitchers), including 8.0 points he earned with the White Sox before being traded.
  • Starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez, traded to the Rangers. He had 7.0 Box-Toppers points all earned with the White Sox before being traded.
  • Closing pitcher David Robertson, traded to the Yankees. He had 6.0 Box-Toppers points, including 4.0 points he earned with the White Sox before being traded.
  • Leftfielder Melky Cabrera, traded to the Royals. He earned 5.7 Box-Toppers points all earned with the White Sox before being traded.
  • Starting pitcher Derek Holland, released. He earned 5.0 Box-Toppers points all with the White Sox.
  • Middle relief pitcher Anthony Swarzak, traded to the Brewers. He had 4.0 Box-Toppers points all earned with the White Sox before being traded.
  • Middle relief pitcher Dan Jennings, traded to the Rays. He had 1.0 Box-Toppers point earned with the White Sox prior to the trade.

In addition, the White Sox traded Todd Frazier to the Yankees. He had 1.5 Box-Toppers points in 2017, earned after the trade.

Repeat leaders

Of the 60 players listed here, 14 were also top pitcher or batter on their team in 2016: Pitchers Justin Verlander, Sean Manaea, Corey Kluber, Kevin Gausman, Cole Hamels, Chris Sale, Carlos Martinez, Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer and Tyler Chatwood, plus batters Eric Hosmer, Giancarlo Stanton, Andrew McCutchen and Nolan Arenado.

Two of those 14 players were top player for one team in 2016 and top player for a different team in 2017:

  • Verlander led Tigers players in 2016 with 14.7 Box-Toppers points and led Astros players in 2017 with 14.7.
  • Sale led White Sox players in 2016 with 13.4 Box-Toppers points and led Red Sox players in 2017 with 25.1.

Seven of the 12 repeaters were top overall player on their team for the second straight year. In addition to Verlander and Sale (who switched teams), they are:

  • Corey Kluber, who led Indians players in 2016 with 21.2 and in 2017 with 22.0.
  • Carlos Martinez, who led Cardinals players in 2016 with 12.4 and in 2017 with 9.5.
  • Clayton Kershaw, who led Dodgers players in 2016 with 24.4 and in 2017 with 23.1.
  • Max Scherzer, who led Nationals players in 2016 with 25.7 and in 2017 with 25.0.
  • Nolan Arenado, who led Rockies players in 2016 with 10.7 and in 2017 with 9.2. Arenado is the only batter who led his overall team in Box-Toppers points in both of the past two seasons.

Only one team, the Colorado Rockies, had the same players leading team pitchers and batters in Box-Toppers points in both 2016 and 2017. As stated previously, Arenado led batters (and all players) in each of the past two seasons. Tyler Chatwood led Rockies pitchers both years (2016—7.0 and 2017—8.4).

There are four players who have led their overall team in Box-Toppers points for three straight seasons:

  • Chris Sale, who led all White Sox players in 2015 with 18.8 and in 2016 with 13.4 and led all Red Sox players in 2017 with 25.1.
  • Carlos Martinez, who led all Cardinals in 2015 with 13.7, in 2016 with 12.4 and in 2017 with 9.5.
  • Clayton Kershaw, who led all Dodgers in 2015 with 25.7, in 2016 with 24.4 and in 2017 with 23.1.
  • Max Scherzer, who led all Nationals in 2015 with 21.0, in 2016 with 25.7 and in 2017 with 25.0.

There are three other players who have led their teams’ batters or pitchers in Box-Toppers points for three straight seasons:

  • Cole Hamels, who led Rangers pitchers in 2015 with 15.4, in 2016 with 17.8 and in 2017 with 9.4. (Hamels led all Rangers in 2015 and 2016 and was second among Rangers in 2017, behind batter Elvis Andrus, who had 11.0.)
  • Eric Hosmer, who led all Royals batters in 2015 with 9.0, in 2016 with 8.5 and in 2017 with 9.5.
  • Andrew McCutchen, who led Pirates batters in 2015 with 10.5, in 2016 with 7.0 and in 2017 with 9.0. (McCutchen led all Pirates players in Box-Toppers points in 2017.) McCutchen was traded in the offseason and will play for the Giants in 2018.

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 Top 10 players by category (AL and NL pitching and batting) for 2017

Box-Toppers Top 100 players for 2017

Box-Toppers top pitchers and batters by team in 2016