Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole tops Box-Toppers list of the top 100 players in 2019.
Top 100 players of 2019
Here are Box-Toppers Top 100 players of 2019, ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP).| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | hou al | 32.2 |
| 2 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 27.5 |
| 3 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 20.7 |
| 4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.1 |
| 5 | Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | tb al | 18.8 |
| 6 | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 18.1 |
| 7 | Greinke , Zack 1871 | pi sp | hou al | 17.9 |
| 8 | Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp | mil nl | 17.7 |
| 9 | Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi sp | cle al | 17.4 |
| 10 | Ryu, Hyun-Jin 3139 | pi sp | lad nl | 17.4 |
| 11 | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | pi sp | stl nl | 16.5 |
| 12 | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.4 |
| 13 | Buehler, Walker 3943 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.4 |
| 14 | Paddack, Chris 4093 | pi sp | sd nl | 15.8 |
| 15 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.4 |
| 16 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | tex al | 15.0 |
| 17 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | cin nl | 14.4 |
| 18 | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | pi sp | cin nl | 14.4 |
| 19 | Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | nyy al | 14.1 |
| 20 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cin nl | 14.1 |
| 21 | Minor, Mike 2894 | pi sp | tex al | 13.7 |
| 22 | Giolito, Lucas 3900 | pi sp | chi al | 13.7 |
| 23 | Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.4 |
| 24 | Lopez, Reynaldo 3712 | pi sp | chi al | 13.1 |
| 25 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.7 |
| 26 | Cruz, Nelson Ramon 2224 | dh | min al | 12.5 |
| 27 | Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 28 | Yarbrough, Ryan 3962 | pi sp mr | tb al | 12.4 |
| 29 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf | stl nl | 12.0 |
| 30 | Torres, Gleyber 3972 | ss 2b | nyy al | 12.0 |
| 31 | Yelich, Christian 3334 | rf | mil nl | 11.7 |
| 32 | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | bos al | 11.4 |
| 33 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 11.4 |
| 34 | Soroka, Mike 3956 | pi sp | atl nl | 11.4 |
| 35 | Bellinger, Cody 3781 | rf | lad nl | 11.2 |
| 36 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 11.0 |
| 37 | Pujols, Albert 1438 | 1b | ana al | 11.0 |
| 38 | Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | min al | 10.7 |
| 39 | German, Domingo 3957 | pi sp | nyy al | 10.7 |
| 40 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.4 |
| 41 | Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.4 |
| 42 | Bailey, Homer 2324 | pi sp | oak al | 10.4 |
| 43 | Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | atl nl | 10.2 |
| 44 | Soler, Jorge 3403 | dh | kc al | 10.2 |
| 45 | Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | tb al | 10.0 |
| 46 | Gray, Jon 3634 | pi sp | col nl | 10.0 |
| 47 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 10.0 |
| 48 | Bregman, Alex 3721 | 3b | hou al | 10.0 |
| 49 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 10.0 |
| 50 | Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | atl nl | 10.0 |
| 51 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 9.7 |
| 52 | Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 9.7 |
| 53 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | chi nl | 9.7 |
| 54 | Fiers, Mike 3029 | pi sp | oak al | 9.7 |
| 55 | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 9.7 |
| 56 | Bell, Josh E. 3682 | 1b | pit nl | 9.7 |
| 57 | Devers, Rafael 4038 | 3b | bos al | 9.5 |
| 58 | Gonzales, Marco 3408 | pi sp | sea al | 9.4 |
| 59 | Lucchesi, Joey 3936 | pi sp | sd nl | 9.4 |
| 60 | Montas, Frankie 3803 | pi sp | oak al | 9.4 |
| 61 | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.0 |
| 62 | Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 9.0 |
| 63 | Chapman, Matt 3849 | 3b | oak al | 9.0 |
| 64 | Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362 | 3b 2b | dc nl | 9.0 |
| 65 | Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | nyy al | 8.7 |
| 66 | Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf | bos al | 8.7 |
| 67 | Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.7 |
| 68 | Trout, Mike 2949 | cf | ana al | 8.7 |
| 69 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.7 |
| 70 | Eflin, Zach 3679 | pi sp | phi nl | 8.7 |
| 71 | Conforto, Michael 3622 | rf | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 72 | Vazquez, Felipe 3579 | pi cp | pit nl | 8.7 |
| 73 | Lyles, Jordan 3100 | pi sp | mil nl | 8.7 |
| 74 | Semien, Marcus 3302 | ss | oak al | 8.7 |
| 75 | Thornton, Trent 4120 | pi sp | tor al | 8.7 |
| 76 | Martinez, J.D. 2922 | dh rf | bos al | 8.5 |
| 77 | Gardner, Brett 2486 | cf | nyy al | 8.5 |
| 78 | Bogaerts, Xander 3383 | ss | bos al | 8.2 |
| 79 | Teheran, Julio 3176 | pi sp | atl nl | 8.0 |
| 80 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.0 |
| 81 | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | pi mr | mil nl | 8.0 |
| 82 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | phi nl | 8.0 |
| 83 | Hand, Brad 2907 | pi cp | cle al | 8.0 |
| 84 | Escobar, Eduardo 3135 | 3b 2b | ari nl | 8.0 |
| 85 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | pit nl | 8.0 |
| 86 | Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.0 |
| 87 | McMahon, Ryan 4004 | 2b 3b | col nl | 8.0 |
| 88 | Jackson, Luke 4139 | pi cp | atl nl | 8.0 |
| 89 | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.0 |
| 90 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 7.7 |
| 91 | Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | col nl | 7.7 |
| 92 | Gibson, Kyle 3312 | pi sp | min al | 7.7 |
| 93 | Roark, Tanner 3261 | pi sp | oak al | 7.7 |
| 94 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 7.7 |
| 95 | Hudson, Dakota 4035 | pi sp | stl nl | 7.7 |
| 96 | Goldschmidt, Paul 2935 | 1b | stl nl | 7.5 |
| 97 | Garver, Mitch 3950 | ca | min al | 7.5 |
| 98 | Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b | chi al | 7.5 |
| 99 | Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | atl nl | 7.5 |
| 100 | Jimenez, Eloy 4107 | lf | chi al | 7.5 |
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Cole had 32.2 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, which is the fourth-highest single-season point total in the 25 seasons of Box-Toppers tracking, which began in 1995. It was 1.5 points short of the record, 33.7, set by Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks in both 2000 and 2002.
Cole earned his 32.2 Box-Toppers points by being Box-Toppers Player of the Game in 21 of the Astros wins, earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point each time. In addition, he earned bonus points:
Six times for being American League Player of the Day (0.7 extra points each time, for a total of 4.2 more Box-Toppers points).
Seven times for being overall Player of the Day (1.0 extra point each time, for a total of 7.0 more Box-Toppers points).
Cole won Player of the Game honors four times in 2019 when he picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win.
Cole’s teammate, Justin Verlander, who led Box-Toppers season player rankings most of the season, finished second with 27.5 Box-Toppers points, the 12th-most earned by a player in a single season since 1995.
Verlander led Box-Toppers player rankings for 116 total days during the 2019 season and Cole led 36 total days, including the final 22 days of the season, passing Verlander on Sept. 8.
While the race was close between the two during the last half of the season, Cole’s 4.7-point edge is the largest by a first place player over a second-place player since 2014, when Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (31.5) led Indians pitcher Corey Kluber (25.8) by 5.7 points.
Verlander won Player of the Game honors 18 times, including AL Player of the Day honors five times and overall Player of the Day honors six times.
Verlander won the 2019 AL Cy Young Award over Cole, who finished second in voting.
It took 7.5 Box-Toppers points for a player to make the top 100 list—White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez took the 100th spot with 7.5 points. He earned them by being Player of the Game in six of the White Sox’ wins, including being American League Batter of the Day three times (earning an extra 0.5 bonus points each time), giving him 7.5 total points.
Lowest points to lead category
Nolan Arenado holds the record for lowest Box-Toppers point total to lead category (10.7 to lead National League batters in 2016). Here are the lowest-point totals to win a league category since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995:| Player | Team | BTP | Category | |
| 1 | Nolan Arenado | col nl | 10.7 | 2016 NL bat |
| 2 | Carlos Gonzalez | col nl | 11.5 | 2015 NL bat | 2 | Christian Yelich | mil nl | 11.5 | 2018 NL bat |
| 4 | Troy Tulowitzki | col nl | 11.6 | 2014 NL bat |
| 5 | Marcell Ozuna | stl nl | 12.0 | 2019 NL bat |
| 6 | Edwin Encarnacion | cle al | 12.1 | 2017 AL bat |
| 7 | Adrian Beltre | tex al | 12.5 | 2015 AL bat |
| 7 | Aubrey Huff | bal al | 12.5 | 2008 AL bat |
| 7 | Ryan Braun | mil nl | 12.5 | 2012 NL bat |
| 7 | J.D. Martinez | bos al | 12.5 | 2018 AL bat |
| 7 | Nelson Cruz | min al | 12.5 | 2019 AL bat |
| 12 | Manny Machado | bal al | 12.7 | 2016 AL bat |
| 13 | Adrian Beltre | tex al | 13.0 | 2012 AL bat |
| 14 | Paul Goldschmidt | ari nl | 13.7 | 2013 NL bat |
| 14 | Bret Boone | sea al | 13.7 | 2001 AL bat |
Box-Toppers points are a measure of how much a player provides key contributions to his teams win. Specifically, 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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Here are some other highlights from the top 100 list:
1., 2. and 7. Three Astros pitchers are among the top 10 overall players, which helped propel the team to an overwhelming first-place regular season finish in Box-Toppers team rankings. Cole finished first with 32.2 Box-Toppers points, Verlander was second with 27.5 and Zack Greinke finished seventh with 17.9. (It should be noted that Greinke pitched for the Diamondbacks until July 31 where he earned 12.2 of his points). The Astros led Box-Toppers team rankings with team members accumulating 158.1 Box-Toppers points, ahead of the second-place Washington Nationals (132.9).
2. Verlander won the American League Cy Young Award. He finished second overall and second among AL pitchers with 27.5 points, behind teammate Cole (32.2).
3. Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg led all National League players in 2019 Box-Toppers points with 20.7, finishing 1.6 points ahead of fourth-place player, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (19.1), who won the 2019 NL Cy Young Award. Strasburg finished fifth in voting.
3., 12. And 15. Three Nationals pitchers are among the overall top 15 players, which helped propel the team to a second-place finish in regular season Box-Toppers team rankings, first in the NL. Strasburg ranked third with 20.7 Box-Toppers points, Patrick Corbin ranked 12th with 16.4 and Max Scherzer ranked 15th with 15.4. The Nationals ranked second in Box-Toppers team rankings with team members accumulating 132.9 Box-Toppers points, trailing only the Astros (158.1). Scherzer led NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2018 with 25.1.
4. Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom won the National League Cy Young Award. He had 19.1 Box-Toppers points, second among NL pitchers.
8. Brewers closing pitcher Josh Hader had 17.7 Box-Toppers points, the third-highest single-season point total for a relief pitcher since Box-Toppers began separately tracking relievers in 1998. He was 2.0 points shy of the record of 19.7 set in 2004 by Eric Gagne of the Dodgers. By midseason, Hader had 14.7 points and seemed poised to shatter Gagne’s record, but earned only 3.0 more points for the rest of the season. Hader is the first relief pitcher to finish among Box-Toppers’ overall top 10 players since Gagne’s 19.7 in 2004 ranked third overall.
14. Padres pitcher Chris Paddack had 15.8 Box-Toppers points, most by any rookie player in 2019. However, Paddack received no votes for NL Rookie of the Year, which went to Pete Alonso of the Mets, who had 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 119th among all players.
26. Nelson Cruz of the Twins led all batters with 12.5 Box-Toppers points. That is tied with two others for the lowest point total to lead all batters in Box-Toppers’ 25 seasons of player tracking. Last season, in 2019, J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox also led all batters with 12.5 points (he ranked 28th among all players). In 2015, Adrian Beltre of the Rangers also led all batters with 12.5 points (he ranked 27th among all players). Cruz’s 12.5 points is tied for the seventh-lowest total to lead any Box-Toppers’ season category (AL or NL pitchers or batters) since 1995.
29. Marcell Ozuna of the Cardinals led all NL batters with 12.0 Box-Toppers points. That is the fifth-lowest point total to lead any Box-Toppers season category. The lowest is the 10.7 points Nolan Arenado of the Rockies earned in 2016 to lead NL batters.
31. Christian Yelich of the Brewers led all NL batters in 2018 with 11.5 Box-Toppers points. In 2019, he had more points—11.7—but finished second among NL batters.
35. Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers won the NL Most Valuable Player Award. He had 11.2 Box-Toppers points in 2019, third among NL batters, behind Ozuna and Yelich.
45. Rays pitcher Blake Snell, 2018’s Box-Toppers Player of the Year, leading all players with 27.2 Box-Toppers points, earned 10.0 points in 2019, 19th among AL pitchers.
68. Mike Trout of the Angels won the AL Most Valuable Player Award. He had 8.7 Box-Toppers points in 2019, ninth among AL batters.
75. Blue Jays pitcher Trent Thornton had the most Box-Toppers points among American League players who made their Box-Toppers debut in 2019 (8.7).
78. J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox led AL batters in 2018 with 12.5 Box-Toppers points. In 2019, he had 8.5 points, 11th among AL batters.
100. Eloy Jimenez of the White Sox had the most Box-Toppers points among AL batters who made their Box-Toppers debut in 2019 (7.5).
Other notable players not among the top 100:
Ranked 119th—Pete Alonso of the Mets won NL Rookie of the Year honors. His 7.0 Box-Toppers points ranked second among NL players who made their Box-Toppers debut in 2019.
Ranked 395th—Yordan Alvarez of the Astros won AL Rookie of the Year honors. He had only 2.5 Box-Toppers points on the season.
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Box-Toppers tends to favor pitchers, especially in the short term, so most of the top 100 players are pitchers (71). However, that number is down from last year, when 82 of the top 100 players were pitchers.
Here is a breakdown of this year’s top 100 players by their primary position:
66—Starting pitcher
9—Outfield (5 RF, 2 LF, 2 CF)
7—Third base
5—First base
4—Closing pitcher
3—Shortstop
3—Designated hitter
1—Second base
1—Middle relief pitcher
1—Catcher
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Five teams each had six players among the top 100—the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics.
Four teams each had five players among the top 100—the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins.
Seven teams each had four players among the top 100 and two of them were the teams with the highest accumulated Box-Toppers points among their players—the Astros and Nationals. The other five were the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays.
Three teams had no representatives among the top 100 players—the Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers and Miami Marlins. The Orioles top player was outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. (7.2 points, 103rd overall). The Tigers top player was starting pitcher Matthew Boyd (5.0 points, 167th overall). The Marlins top player was starting pitcher Caleb Smith (6.0 points, 143rd overall).
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This season, 767 different players earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. There were 400 players who had more than 2.0 Box-Toppers points and 44 with 10.0 or more points. There were 184 players who made their Box-Toppers debut in 2019, earning Player of the Game honors for the first time.
Here are comparisons with those numbers from recent seasons:
Players earning Player of the Game honors—2018 (744), 2017 (763), 2016 (730), 2015 (751), 2014 (722).
Players earning more than 2.0 Box-Toppers points—2018 (400), 2017 (409), 2016 (395), 2015 (402), 2014 (399).
Players earning 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points—2018 (52), 2017 (38), 2016 (54), 2015 (47), 2014 (58).
Players making their Box-Toppers debut—2018 (175), 2017 (169), 2016 (151), 2015 (172), 2014 (135).
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