A look at how 2019 All-Star finalists fare in Box-Toppers points and rankings

Here's how 2019 All-Star finalists fare in Box-Toppers points (BTP), through the games of June 23. Listed here are the top three finalists by position in each league (top nine for outfielders) as voted by fans. On Wednesday and Thursday, June 26 and 27, fans will vote in the “general” election among the finalists for starters in July 9’s All-Star Game. Players are listed by position in order of their Box-Toppers season ranking among all players. Box-Toppers’ top-ranked player by position and league is listed below the three finalists in bold and italic over a gray background.

American League National League
First basemen Team BTP Rank First basemen Team BTP Rank
Luke Voit Yankees 4.0 97 Josh Bell Pirates 7.7 21
Carlos Santana Indians 2.5 198 Freddie Freeman Braves 4.5 80
C.J. Cron Twins 2.0 264 Anthony Rizzo Cubs 2.0 220
Jose Abreu White Sox 4.0 94 Josh Bell Pirates 7.7 21
Second basemen Team BTP Rank Second basemen Team BTP Rank
Tommy La Stella Angels 2.0 251 Ketel Marte Diamondbacks 6.0 42
DJ LeMahieu Yankees 1.0 384 Ozzie Albies Braves 5.5 51
Jose Altuve Astros 0.0 608 Mike Moustakas Brewers 1.5 314
Whit Merrifield Royals 4.0 108 Ketel Marte Diamondbacks 6.0 42
Shortstops Team BTP Rank Shortstops Team BTP Rank
Gleyber Torres Yankees 4.5 83 Trevor Story Rockies 4.0 93
Jorge Polanco Twins 2.5 212 Dansby Swanson Braves 2.0 245
Carlos Correa Astros 0.0 618 Javier Baez Cubs 1.5 303
Gleyber Torres Yankees 4.5 83 Orlando Arcia Brewers 4.7 75
Third basemen Team BTP Rank Third basemen Team BTP Rank
Alex Bregman Astros 4.5 81 Nolan Arenado Rockies 6.5 32
Hunter Dozier Royals 3.5 141 Kris Bryant Cubs 3.5 137
Gio Urshela Yankees 3.0 179 Josh Donaldson Braves 1.5 324
Alex Bregman Astros 4.5 81 Nolan Arenado Rockies 6.5 32
Catchers Team BTP Rank Catchers Team BTP Rank
Robinson Chirinos Astros 3.0 155 Brian McCann Braves 3.5 138
James McCann White Sox 3.0 166 Willson Contreras Cubs 2.0 241
Gary Sanchez Yankees 2.0 240 Yasmani Grandal Brewers 1.0 376
Omar Narvaez Mariners 3.7 122 Brian McCann Braves 3.5 138
Outfielders Team BTP Rank Outfielders Team BTP Rank
Joey Gallo Rangers 6.0 40 Cody Bellinger Dodgers 9.2 10
Mike Trout Angels 5.2 52 Christian Yelich Brewers 5.5 49
Mookie Betts Red Sox 3.0 144 Charlie Blackmon Rockies 3.5 131
George Springer Astros 2.7 182 Ronald Acuña Jr. Braves 2.7 180
Austin Meadows Rays 2.5 211 Jason Heyward Cubs 1.5 321
Eddie Rosario Twins 2.0 231 Joc Pederson Dodgers 1.0 371
Aaron Judge Yankees 0.0 562 Kyle Schwarber Cubs 1.0 377
Josh Reddick Astros 0.0 650 Albert Almora Jr. Cubs 0.0 761
Michael Brantley Astros 0.0 815 Nick Markakis Braves 0.0 770
Eloy Jimenez White Sox 6.5 33 Cody Bellinger Dodgers 9.2 10
Brett Gardner Yankees 6.0 39 Marcell Ozuna Cardinals 8.0 19
Joey Gallo Rangers 6.0 40 Christian Yelich Brewers 5.5 49
Designated hitters Team BTP Rank
J.D. Martinez Red Sox 4.5 79
Hunter Pence Rangers 4.5 82
Nelson Cruz Twins 3.5 132
Shohei Ohtani Angels 5.5 50

Nine All-Star finalists among Box-Toppers points leaders; but eight other point leaders fail to make the cut for ‘general election’

There are nine players who lead their league’s positions in Box-Toppers points who are also among the finalists in the newfangled All-Star “general” election being held this week.

But there are eight players who lead their league’s position in Box-Toppers points who are not even listed among the top three finalists (top nine for outfielders) for their positions.

These nine players are among those who lead their league’s positions in Box-Toppers points and who were selected by fans as finalists for the general election in first-round voting that ended last week:

  • Josh Bell of the Pirates leads National League first basemen with 7.7 Box-Toppers points.

  • Ketel Marte of the Diamondbacks leads NL second basemen with 6.0 points.

  • Gleyber Torres of the Yankees leads American League shortstops (4.5).

  • Alex Bregman of the Astros leads AL third basemen (4.5).

  • Nolan Arenado of the Rockies leads NL third basemen (6.5).

  • Brian McCann of the Braves leads NL catchers (3.5).

  • Joey Gallo of the Rangers ranks third among AL outfielders (6.0) and is one of nine AL outfielder finalists vying for three spots.

  • Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers leads NL outfielders (9.2).

  • Christian Yelich of the Brewers ranks third among NL outfielders (5.5) and is one of nine NL outfielder finalists vying for three spots.

In the new second round of fan voting, the so-called “general” election, fans select from the finalists to determine the starters for the July 9 All-Star Game in Cleveland. Voting in this second round runs just 28 hours, from noon (EDT) on Wednesday, June 26, to 4 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday, June 27.

These eight players, who led their league’s position in Box-Toppers points did not make the finalist cut:

Judging players based on past two seasons

The first half of 2019 is a relatively small sample size to build a case for All-Stars, so Box-Toppers also likes to look back at last season to see a more comprehensive body of work on which to judge performance.

Doing that, we can see that some finalists who may not have made a case for themselves so far in 2019, did prove themselves as judged by their performance since the start of 2018. For example:

  • J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox would be the top-ranked AL designated hitter with 17.0 Box-Toppers points over the combined 2018 and 2019 seasons.

  • Mookie Betts of the Red Sox would be among the top three AL outfielders with 13.9 points over 2018-19.

  • Mike Trout of the Angels would be among the top three AL outfielders (13.2 points over 2018-19).

  • Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs would be top-ranked NL first baseman (12.0 points over 2018-19).

  • Javier Baez of the Cubs would be top-ranked NL shortstop (11.5 points over 2018-19).

  • Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves would be among the top three NL outfielders (11.9 points over 2018-19).

Finalists making both 2019 & 2018-19 Box-Toppers All-Star teams

Only three players make the trifecta of being Box-Toppers’ All-Stars for 2019, Box-Toppers’ All-Stars for 2018-19 and among the voter finalists to be selected this week:

  • Alex Bregman of the Astros leads AL third basemen in 2019 Box-Toppers points (4.5), in 2018-19 points (10.7) and is among the three ballot finalists.

  • Nolan Arenado of the Rockies leads NL third basemen in 2019 Box-Toppers points (6.5), in 2018-19 points (11.5) and is among the three ballot finalists.

  • Christian Yelich of the Brewers ranks third among NL outfielders in 2019 Box-Toppers points (5.5), leads NL outfielders over 2018-19 (17.0) and is among the nine ballot finalist for NL outfielder.

Seven finalists with no Box-Toppers points in 2019

There are 51 total players on the All-Star finalist ballot to fill 17 All-Star starting spots. Of those 51 players, 14 are among Box-Toppers’ overall top 100-ranked players for 2019. There are 30 batters and 70 pitchers currently among the top 100. 

There are seven players among the finalists who have no Box-Toppers points so far in 2019:

  • Jose Altuve of the Astros, one of the AL second basemen finalists, who has been injured. Altuve has not ranked among top players in Box-Toppers points in recent seasons (despite winning the AL Most Valuable Player Award in 2017), but he did rank third among AL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2016 (12.5).

  • Carlos Correa of the Astros, one of the AL shortstop finalists, who has been injured. Correa ranked among the top five AL shortstops in Box-Toppers points from 2015 to 2017, but ranked eighth in 2018 with 3.0 points.

  • Aaron Judge of the Yankees, one of the AL outfielder finalists, who was out injured nearly two-thirds of the season so far. Judge ranked second among AL batters in 2017 with 11.2, but was 11th among AL outfielders in 2018 with 5.0.

  • Josh Reddick of the Astros, one of the AL outfielder finalists, has played regularly but has not earned Player of the Game honors so far in 2019. Reddick ranked third among AL outfielders in 2017 with 8.0, but ranked 32nd among AL outfielders in 2018 with 2.5 points.

  • Albert Almora Jr. of the Cubs, one of the NL outfielder finalists, has played regularly but has not earned Player of the Game honors so far in 2019. He’s never been among the Box-Toppers points leaders at his position in any season. He had 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2018 and has 4.5 career points.

  • Nick Markakis of the Braves, one of the NL outfielder finalists, has played regularly but has not earned Player of the Game honors so far in 2019. Back in 2009, when he was with the Orioles, he ranked sixth among AL outfielders (7.7 Box-Toppers points), the only time he was among Box-Toppers season leaders. He had just 1.0 point in 2018 with the Braves, but does have 50.6 career points from 2006-2018.

  • Michael Brantley of the Astros, one of the AL outfielder finalists, has played regularly but has not earned Player of the Game honors so far in 2019. In fact, Brantley has earned just 2.0 Box-Toppers points since the start of 2016—1.0 in 2016 and 1.0 in 2018, both with the Indians. Brantley is Box-Toppers’ lowest-ranked All-Star finalist, ranking in 815th place for 2019. In 2013, Brantley ranked seventh among AL outfielders (6.7 points), the only time he has been among Box-Toppers season leaders.

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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From June 21: A Box-Toppers look at All-Star teams as first round of fan voting closes