Players on the First and Second teams shown in bold were chosen for Box-Toppers’ All-MLB team.
| Pos | First team | Team | BTP | Rank | Pos | Second team | Team | BTP | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | Freddie Freeman | Dodgers | 10.0 | 50 | 1B | Matt Olson | Braves | 4.2 | 220 | |
| 2B | Marcus Semien | Rangers | 6.7 | 113 | 2B | Ozzie Albies | Braves | 2.0 | 455 | |
| SS | Corey Seager | Rangers | 6.2 | 128 | SS | Francisco Lindor | Mets | 4.0 | 227 | |
| 3B | Austin Riley | Braves | 3.0 | 307 | 3B | José Ramírez | Guardians | 6.2 | 127 | |
| CA | Adley Rutschman | Orioles | 5.0 | 171 | CA | Jonah Heim | Rangers | 4.5 | 205 | |
| OF | Ronald Acuña Jr. | Braves | 10.7 | 41 | OF | Aaron Judge | Yankees | 12.0 | 29 | |
| OF | Mookie Betts | Dodgers | 8.5 | 72 | OF | Adolis García | Rangers | 6.0 | 135 | |
| OF | Corbin Carroll | D-backs | 3.0 | 366 | OF | Kyle Tucker | Astros | 12.5 | 23 | |
| DH | Shohei Ohtani | Angels | 19.4 | 3 | DH | Yordan Alvarez | Astros | 6.5 | 118 | |
| SP | Gerrit Cole | Yankees | 17.0 | 7 | SP | Kevin Gausman | Blue Jays | 18.7 | 4 | |
| SP | Zac Gallen | D-backs | 16.7 | 8 | SP | Sonny Gray | Twins | 10.4 | 42 | |
| SP | Blake Snell | Padres | 14.7 | 12 | SP | Nathan Eovaldi | Rangers | 9.7 | 56 | |
| SP | Shohei Ohtani | Angels | 19.4 | 3 | SP | Jordan Montgomery | Rangers | 10.4 | 43 | |
| SP | Spencer Strider | Braves | 21.1 | 1 | SP | Kyle Bradish | Orioles | 14.0 | 13 | |
| RP | Felix Bautista | Orioles | 11.0 | 38 | RP | Devin Williams | Brewers | 8.0 | 76 | |
| RP | Josh Hader | Padres | 4.0 | 229 | RP | Emmanuel Clase | Guardians | 6.0 | 136 |
Only four Box-Toppers points leaders are among players selected for 2023’s 16-member “All-MLB” team announced this month.
Box-Toppers All-MLB team choices
Here are Box-Toppers’ choices for the All-MLB team. Players chosen are the Box-Toppers points leader at each position regardless of league. Shown here are the Box-Toppers points leader at each position, their point total and their rank among all players in Box-Toppers points for 2023.Three of Box-Toppers’ choices for All-Stars do not appear on the ballot—Mitch Garver, Jesus Luzardo and Nick Pivetta. Box-Toppers’ next highest-ranked player at each position who appear on the ballot are shown at the bottom of the chart—Adley Rutschman, Gerrit Cole and Devin Williams.
| Pos | First team | Team | BTP | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | Pete Alonso | Mets | 12.0 | 28 |
| 2B | Nolan Gorman | Cardinals | 10.0 | 53 |
| SS | Bobby Witt Jr. | Royals | 7.7 | 83 |
| 3B | Rafael Devers | Red Sox | 7.5 | 87 |
| CA | Mitch Garver* | Rangers | 6.5 | 121 |
| OF | Kyle Tucker | Astros | 12.5 | 23 |
| OF | Aaron Judge | Yankees | 12.0 | 29 |
| OF | Ronald Acuña Jr. | Braves | 10.7 | 41 |
| DH | Shohei Ohtani | Angels | 19.4 | 3 |
| SP | Spencer Strider | Braves | 21.1 | 1 |
| SP | Chris Bassitt | Blue Jays | 20.1 | 2 |
| SP | Kevin Gausman | Blue Jays | 18.7 | 4 |
| SP | Jesus Luzardo* | Marlins | 17.8 | 5 |
| SP | Freddy Peralta | Brewers | 17.7 | 6 |
| RP | Felix Bautista | Orioles | 11.0 | 38 |
| RP | Nick Pivetta* | Red Sox | 9.0 | 59 |
| CA | Adley Rutschman† | Orioles | 5.0 | 171 |
| SP | Gerrit Cole† | Yankees | 17.0 | 7 |
| RP | Devin Williams† | Brewers | 8.0 | 76 |
* Three players had the most 2023 Box-Toppers points at their position but do not appear on the All-MLB Team ballot. Instead, Box-Toppers would have voted for the next-highest ranked player at each position, marked on the chart with a †.
† Box-Toppers substitute choices for All-MLB Team. They are the next-highest ranking player at the position who appear on the All-MLB Team ballot.
Three other Box-Toppers leaders were chosen for the “All-MLB” Second Team.
The All-MLB team was selected with half the vote coming from fans and half coming from an expert panel. Unlike the selections for baseball’s All-Star Game, players on not selected based on their affiliation with American League or National League. Rather, all players are chosen regardless of league as “First Team” or “Second Team” players.
Here is a Box-Toppers position-by-position look at the All-MLB teams, how players chosen for the teams fared in Box-Toppers points and who Box-Toppers would have chosen for those spots based on their season Box-Toppers point total.
First base
Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers was chosen as the First Team selection. His 10.0 Box-Toppers points ranked 50th among all players, third among NL batters and second among all first basemen.
Second Team selection is Matt Olson of the Braves, who had 4.2 Box-Toppers points, 220th among all players, 49th among NL batters and 20th among all first basemen.
Box-Toppers chose Pete Alonso of the Mets, who led at the position with 12.0 Box-Toppers points, which was 28th overall and first among NL batters.
Second base
Marcus Semien of the Rangers was chosen as First Team selection. His 6.7 Box-Toppers points ranked 113th among all players and eighth among all second basemen.
Second Team selection is Ozzie Albies of the Braves, who had 2.0 Box-Toppers points, 455th among all players, 30th among all second basemen.
Box-Toppers selection, Nolan Gorman of the Cardinals led at the position with 10.0 Box-Toppers points, 53rd among all players and fourth among NL batters.
Shortstop
Corey Seager of the Rangers, chosen as First Team selection, earned 6.2 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 128th among all players and sixth among all shortstops.
Second Team selection is Francisco Lindor of the Mets, whose 4.0 Box-Toppers points ranked 227th among all players and 11th among all shortstops.
Box-Toppers selection, Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals led at the position with 7.7 Box-Toppers points, 83rd among all players and fourth among AL batters.
Third base
Austin Riley of the Braves was chosen as First Team selection. His 3.0 Box-Toppers points ranked 307th among all players, 19th among all third basemen.
Second Team selection is Jose Ramirez of the Guardians, whose 6.2 Box-Toppers points ranked 127th among all players and fifth among all third basemen.
Box-Toppers selection, Rafael Devers of the Red Sox, led at the position with 7.5 Box-Toppers points, 87th among all players and sixth among AL batters.
Catcher
Adley Rutschman of the Orioles was chosen as First Team selection. His 5.0 Box-Toppers points ranked 171st among all players and third among all catchers.
Second Team selection is Jonah Heim of the Rangers, whose 4.5 Box-Toppers points is 205th among all players and seventh among all catchers.
Box-Toppers selection, Mitch Garver of the Rangers led at the position with 6.5 Box-Toppers points, 121st among all players and 19th among AL batters. Garver, however, was not among the nine catchers on the All-MLB team ballot. Rutschman was Box-Toppers’ highest-ranking catcher on the All-MLB Team ballot, in third with 5.0 Box-Toppers points, behind Garver and Francisco Alvarez of the Mets (5.5).
Outfield
Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves, Mookie Betts of the Dodgers and Corbin Carroll of the Diamondbacks are First Team selections.
Of the three, Acuna was also a Box-Toppers’ selection to its All-MLB team. Acuna ranked third among all outfielders (10.7 Box-Toppers points, 41st overall and second among NL batters).
Meanwhile, Betts’ 8.5 Box-Toppers points ranked seventh among outfielders, 72nd overall and eighth among NL batters.
Carroll’s 3.0 Box-Toppers points ranked 68th among outfielders and 366th overall.
Second Team selections were Aaron Judge of the Yankees, Adolis Garcia of the Rangers and Kyle Tucker of the Astros. Tucker and Judge were both Box-Toppers All-MLB Team selections.
Tucker’s 12.5 Box-Toppers points led all outfielders, was 23rd among all players and second among AL batters. (Tucker earned the most Box-Toppers points of any player in 2023 solely as a batter. Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, who ranks ahead of him with 19.4 Box-Toppers points, earned 9.7 of his points as a batter.)
Judge’s 12.0 Box-Toppers points ranked second among all outfielders, 29th overall and third among AL batters.
The third outfielder on the Second Team All-MLB Team, Adolis Garcia of the Rangers, earned 6.0 Box-Toppers points, 17th among all outfielders and 135th overall.
All three Box-Toppers selections to the All-MLB Team outfield made either the First or Second Team: Acuna to the First team and Judge and Tucker to the Second team.
Designated hitter
Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, the First Team selection, is also Box-Toppers All-MLB Team selection. While he led all AL batters with 19.4 Box-Toppers points, 9.7 of those came as a starting pitcher. Still, if you subtract his pitching points from his total, his 9.7 points earned as a designated hitter would rank second among players who qualified to be ranked at that position, behind only Aaron Judge of the Yankees (12.0). But since Judge was primarily an outfielder, we place him at that position on the All-MLB team, which would make Ohtani’s 9.7 points earned as a batter the leader among remaining designated hitters.
Ohtani’s 19.4 Box-Toppers points is third among all players and second among AL players. The 9.7 points he earned as a batter would rank third among AL batters.
Second Team selection is Yordan Alvarez of the Astros. Alvarez earned 6.5 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 118th among all players and ninth among all designated hitters.
Starting pitchers
Among the five starting pitchers selected for Box-Toppers 2023 All-MLB Team, only two made the All-MLB Team—one on the First Team and one on the Second Team:
Spencer Strider of the Braves, who led all players with 21.1 Box-Toppers points, was selected to the All-MLB First Team.
Kevin Gausman of the Blue Jays, whose 18.7 Box-Toppers points was fourth overall and third among AL pitchers, was selected to the All-MLB Second Team.
Here are the reamaining All-MLB First Team selections: Gerrit Cole of the Yankees, Zac Gallen of the Diamondbacks, Blake Snell of the Padres and Shohei Ohtani of the Angels.
Cole earned 17.0 Box-Toppers points, seventh among all players and fourth among AL pitchers. He just missed making Box-Toppers’ All-MLB First Team. In fact, based on the 26 starting pitchers on the All-MLB Team ballot, Box-Toppers would have voted for him because he ranked fifth among those nominees.
Gallen earned 16.7 Box-Toppers points, eighth among all players and fourth among NL pitchers.
Snell earned 14.7 Box-Toppers points, 12th among all players and sixth among NL pitchers.
Ohtani earned 19.4 Box-Toppers points, third among all players and second among AL pitchers. However, because he earned 9.7 points as a batter, we only rank him here based on the 9.7 points he earned as a pitcher, which would put him 47th among all starting pitchers. However, if we were ranking him based on his 19.4 total Box-Toppers points, he would be on Box-Toppers’ All-MLB First Team.
Here are the remaining All-MLB Second Team selections for starting pitcher: Sonny Gray of the Twins, Nathan Eovaldi of the Rangers, Jordan Montgomery of the Rangers and Kyle Bradish of the Orioles.
Gray earned 10.4 Box-Toppers points, 42nd overall and 38th among all pitchers.
Eovaldi earned 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 56th overall and 50th among all pitchers.
Montgomery earned 10.4 Box-Toppers points, 43rd overall and 39th among all pitchers.
Bradish earned 14.0 Box-Toppers points, 13th overall, 13th among all pitchers and seventh among AL pitchers.
Three of Box-Toppers’ All-MLB Team starting pitcher selections did not make either the First Team or the Second Team. They are:
Chris Bassitt of the Blue Jays, whose 20.1 Box-Toppers points was second overall and first among AL pitchers.
Jesus Luzardo of the Marlins, whose 17.8 Box-Toppers points was fifth overall and second among NL pitchers. Luzardo was not among the 26 starters on the All-MLB Team ballot.
Freddy Peralta of the Brewers, whose 17.7 Box-Toppers points was sixth overall and third among NL pitchers.
Relief pitchers
Felix Bautista of the Orioles and Josh Hader of the Padres are MLB All-Star First Team selections.
Bautista, chosen as a relief pitcher on Box-Toppers’ All-MLB team, was also the top-ranked closing pitcher with 11.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 38th overall.
Hader, not selected to Box-Toppers’ All-MLB team, earned 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 13th among all closing pitchers and 229th overall.
Second Team relief pitchers are Devin Williams of the Brewers and Emmanuel Clase of the Guardians.
Williams had 8.0 Box-Toppers points, third among all closing pitchers and 76th overall. Box-Toppers would have voted for Williams for the All-MLB Team based on the 24 relievers on the ballot. Williams ranked second among those nominees.
Clase had 6.0 points, seventh among all closers and 136th overall.
Box-Toppers’ second choice for All-MLB Team relief pitcher was Nick Pivetta of the Red Sox, an admittedly unconventional choice as a reliever, since he earned only one save in 2023. However, he earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors seven times in 2023, three times as a middle reliever, three times as a starting pitcher and once as a closing pitcher. He ranks among both relievers and starting pitchers since he earned more than 25 percent of his Player of the Game honors at both positions. And his 9.0 Box-Toppers points is second among all relievers, 59th among all players. Pivetta was not among the 24 relief pitchers on the All-MLB Team ballot.
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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