Padres rookie pitcher Chris Paddack had the biggest gain in Box-Toppers point totals from 2018 to 2019.
Most improved players
Here are the 25 players who had the biggest gains in Box-Toppers points (BTP) from 2018 to 2019, ranked by their rise in points this season. Padres rookie pitcher Chris Paddack had the biggest gain of 15.8 points, earning no points in 2018 and 15.8 in 2019, most of all players. Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole had the biggest gain among non-rookie players, gaining 14.2 more Box-Toppers points in 2019 than 2018 (32.2 vs. 18.0).| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | Rise | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | † Paddack, Chris 4093 | pi sp | sd nl | 15.8 | +15.8 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 32.2 | +14.2 |
| 3 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 20.7 | +14.0 |
| 4 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | tex al | 15.0 | +12.0 |
| 5 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 18.1 | +11.7 |
| 6 | Bellinger, Cody 3781 | rf | lad nl | 11.2 | +11.2 |
| 7 | Torres, Gleyber 3972 | ss 2b | nyy al | 12.0 | +10.5 |
| 8 | Bailey, Homer 2324 | pi sp | oak al | 10.4 | +10.4 |
| 9 | Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224 | dh | min al | 12.5 | +10.0 |
| 10 | Giolito, Lucas 3900 | pi sp | chi al | 13.7 | +9.7 |
| 11 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf | stl nl | 12.0 | +9.5 |
| 12 | Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | atl nl | 10.0 | +9.0 |
| 13 | Soler, Jorge 3403 | dh | kc al | 10.2 | +8.7 |
| 14 | † Thornton, Trent 4120 | pi sp | tor al | 8.7 | +8.7 |
| 15 | † Soroka, Mike 3956 | pi sp | atl nl | 11.4 | +8.4 |
| 16 | Pujols, Albert 1438 | 1b | ana al | 11.0 | +8.0 |
| 17 | Jackson, Luke 4139 | pi cp | atl nl | 8.0 | +8.0 |
| 17 | † Kelly, Merrill 4143 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.0 | +8.0 |
| 19 | Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | atl nl | 7.5 | +7.5 |
| 20 | † Jimenez, Eloy 4107 | lf | chi al | 7.5 | +7.5 |
| 20 | Urshela, Gio 4135 | 3b | nyy al | 7.5 | +7.5 |
| 22 | Lopez, Reynaldo 3712 | pi sp | chi al | 13.1 | +7.4 |
| 23 | Montas, Frankie 3803 | pi sp | oak al | 9.4 | +7.4 |
| 24 | Ryu, Hyun-Jin 3139 | pi sp | lad nl | 17.4 | +7.3 |
| 25 | Bell, Josh E. 3682 | 1b | pit nl | 9.7 | +7.2 |
BTP—Box-Toppers points
† Rookie status in 2019
Paddack earned 15.8 Box-Toppers points in his first season in 2019 after obviously earning no points in 2018, making his 15.8-point gain the largest among all players this season.
Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole had the biggest gain in Box-Toppers points among returning players and among American League pitchers. His 14.2-point gain from 2018 to 2019 was the second-biggest of the season. Cole led all players in 2019 Box-Toppers points with 32.2. He earned 18.0 points in 2018, which was eighth among all players. His 32.2 points is the fourth-most single-season points by a player since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. (The most single-season points is 33.7 by Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson in both 2000 and 2002.)
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who led National League pitchers in 2019 with 20.7 Box-Toppers points, had the third-largest gain in points from 2018, increasing by 14.0 points from his 6.7 total in 2018.
Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers had the largest gain in points among all batters, increasing 11.2 points from 0.0 in 2018 to 11.2 in 2019. Bellinger had 0.0 points in 2018 despite playing in all 162 games. Bellinger ranked sixth among players on Box-Toppers “most improved” list. He ranked third among NL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2019 and won the NL Most Valuable Player award.
Gleyber Torres of the Yankees had the biggest gain among AL batters, jumping 10.5 points from 1.5 in 2018 to 12.0 in 2019. It was the seventh-biggest Box-Toppers point gain of the year. Torres ranked second among AL batters.
The list also includes both players who led AL and NL batters in Box-Toppers points. Nelson Cruz of the Twins, who led AL batters with 12.5 points in 2019, ranks ninth on the “most improved” list, gaining 10.0 points from 2.5 in 2018. Marcell Ozuna of the Cardinals, who led NL batters with 12.0 points in 2019, ranks 11th on the “most improved” list, gaining 9.5 points from 2.5 in 2018.
While Paddack had the most Box-Toppers points among rookies and was Box-Toppers choice for National League Rookie of the Year, he did not receive any votes for the honor by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Paddack had more than twice as many Box-Toppers points as the second-ranked NL rookie, Pete Alonso of the Mets (7.0), who won the NL Rookie of the Year Award. Alonso’s gain of 7.0 points from 2018 to 2019 ranks 30th, just outside the list of top 25 “most improved” players listed here.
In addition to Paddack, four other players with rookie status were among the top 25 “most improved” players:
Blue Jays pitcher Trent Thornton ranked 14th with an 8.7-point gain to 8.7.
Braves pitcher Mike Soroka ranked 15th with an 8.4-point gain to 11.4. (Soroka earned 3.0 points in 2018, but maintained his rookie status until 2019.)
Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly ranked 18th with an 8.0-point gain to 8.0.
Eloy Jimenez of the White Sox ranked 20th with a 7.5-point gain to 7.5.
The Atlanta Braves have four players among the top 25 improvers, most of any team. The Braves also had four players among 2018’s top 25 improvers, also the most of any team. Here are the four Braves players on the 2019 most improved list:
Max Fried, pitcher, who had the 12th-best improvement of 9.0 Box-Toppers points, earning 10.0 points in 2019 and 1.0 in 2018.
Mike Soroka, pitcher, who had the 15th-best improvement of 8.4 points, earning 11.4 in 2019 and 3.0 in 2018.
Luke Jackson, closing pitcher, who had the 17th-best improvement of 8.0 points, earning 8.0 in 2019 and 0.0 in 2018.
Josh Donaldson, third baseman, who had the 19th-best improvement of 7.5 points, earning 7.5 in 2019 and 0.0 in 2018.
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Major League Baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year awards have some similarity to Box-Toppers’ Most Improved Players list.
The NL Comeback award went to the Braves’ Donaldson, whose 7.5-point improvement from 0.0 in 2018 to 7.5 in 2019, ranked 19th among most-improved players. Donaldson battled injuries in 2018 with the Blue Jays and Indians, earning no Box-Toppers points. However, from 2013 to 2017, he earned at least 8.0 points per season, including 10.5 in 2014, his best season, with the Athletics, in which he ranked fourth among AL batters. Donaldson was voted AL Most Valuable Player in 2015, when he had 9.9 points with the Blue Jays, seventh among AL batters. In 2019, his 7.5 points ranked 13th among NL batters.
The AL Comeback award went to Hunter Pence of the Rangers. Pence ranked 115th among most-improved players with a 3.5-point improvement from 2.0 in 2018 to 5.5 in 2019. Pence actually played fewer games in 2019 than 2018 (83 vs. 97), which is more of an indication the 36-year-old player is going away rather than coming back. His 5.5 point total in 2019 was his best since he had 6.5 in 2013 with the Giants. His best season was 2008 with the Astros when he had 8.2 points, seventh among NL outfielders.
Box-Toppers would have given those comeback awards to Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg in the NL and Rangers pitcher Lance Lynn in the AL:
Strasburg had the third-biggest improvement among all players of 14.0 points, topping all NL players with 20.7 points and leading all NL pitchers. Strasburg had 22.5 points in 2017, fourth among all players, but in 2018, had just 6.7 points, a dip of 15.8 points, the second-largest decline in points among all players from 2017 to 2018. Strasburg truly had the biggest comeback from a decline among all players.
Lynn, Box-Toppers choice for AL comeback player, had 10 or more Box-Toppers points each season from 2012 to 2015 when he was with the Cardinals, including 17.7 in 2012 (eighth overall) and 16.1 in 2013 (seventh among NL pitchers). He missed 2016 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He returned in 2017 with 8.7 points with the Cardinals, had 3.0 points in 2018 with the Twins and Yankees and had 15.0 points in 2019 with the Rangers, his first 15-point season since 2013, ranking seventh among AL pitchers. His 12.0-point gain from 2018 to 2019 is the fourth-largest among all players.
Interestingly, Strasburg and Lynn were top two players in Box-Toppers 2012’s list of most improved players. Strasburg had the biggest rise of 19.4 points, earning 1.0 point in 2011 and 20.4 in 2012, both with the Nationals. Lynn had the second-biggest increase in points of 17.7; he earned 17.7 with the Cardinals in the 2012 season in which he made his Box-Toppers debut.
Cole, who had the biggest increase in points among returning players from 2018 to 2019 (+14.2), but his increase can’t really be seen as a “comeback,” but simply a massive jump from an already good season. In 2018, he had 18.0 points, eighth among all players and in 2019, he had 32.2 points, first place overall.
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One reason players make the list of top 25 most improved in Box-Toppers points for 2019 is because they had a comparatively disastrous 2018 and were among the top 25 players with the biggest decline in points from 2017 to 2018. There are three players among the 25 biggest decliners for 2018 who made the list of 25 most improved in 2019:
Strasburg, who ranked second among 2018’s decliners (falling 15.8 points from 22.5 in 2017 to 6.7 in 2018) and third among 2019’s improvers (rising 14.0 points to 20.7).
Bellinger, who ranked ninth among 2018’s decliners (falling 8.7 points from 8.7 in 2017 to 0.0 in 2018) and sixth among 2019’s improvers (rising 11.2 points to 11.2).
Donaldson, who ranked 14th among 2018’s decliners (falling 8.0 points from 8.0 in 2017 to 0.0 in 2018) and 19th among 2019’s improvers (rising 7.5 points to 7.5).
One other notable mention: Albert Pujols of the Angels had the 16th-biggest increase in Box-Toppers points from 2018 to 2019, up 8.0 points from 3.0 in 2018 to 11.0 in 2019. Pujols, who leads all batters in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 (201.8), had his first season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points since 2011, his last season with the Cardinals, when he had 12.5. Pujols ranked third among AL batters in 2019 Box-Toppers points.
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 25 most improved players lists: 2018 (Blake Snell), 2017 (Luis Severino), 2016 (Jose Fernandez), 2015 (Matt Harvey).
See top 10 most improved players list from 1996-2018 on Box-Toppers Details page. Scroll about three-quarters down the page and look for yearly “Risers” or do a search for “Risers” to find the lists.
Top 10 overall players for 2019, plus top 10 AL and NL batters and pitchers.
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.