Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners.
▪️ Box-Toppers points of the day’s top players.
▪️ Top 10 players in 2023 Box-Toppers points.
▪️ A B-T look at upcoming pitching matchups.
Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Marlins pitcher Jesus Luzardo rises to first place in early Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Player of the Day—deGrom struck out 11 over six innings, allowing two runs (one earned), two hits and two walks, in the 5-2 win over the Orioles.
deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and ranks 10th in season player rankings.
deGrom has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2014 with the Mets and now has 133.5 career Box-Toppers points, 37th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his 2.0 points Wednesday, he passes Jason Giambi (133.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 36th-ranked player, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg (133.8). deGrom ranks 12th among active players in career points, fourth among active American League pitchers.
deGrom’s best season was 2015 with the Mets, when he earned 22.4 Box-Toppers points, third overall and third among NL pitchers. In 2022, deGrom earned 9.4 Box-Toppers points with the Mets, 28th among NL pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Jesus Luzardo struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, five hits and one walk, in the 5-2 win over the Twins. Luzardo did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied, 1-1, when he exited.
Luzardo earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season, rising to first place in early season player rankings, passing previous leader, Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo (2.7 points), who only took the lead Tuesday and who now falls to third place.
Luzardo earns his second Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of 2023. He was also overall Player of the Day on March 31, earning 2.0 points.
American League Batter of the Day—Wander Franco of the Rays homered and went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 7-2 win over the Nationals.
National League Batter of the Day—Jesse Winker of the Brewers hit two doubles and went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 7-6 win over the Mets.
Winker earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 2.5 points for the season, rising to fifth overall in season player rankings.
Notable—White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Cease (5IP H R 5BB 8K W in the 7-3 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.0 for the season.
Also notable—Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole now has 140.3 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Cole (6.1IP 3H R 3BB 8K W in the 4-2 win over the Phillies) ranks 32nd in career Box-Toppers points since 1995. He trails 31st-ranked player Jake Peavy (141.8). He ranks ninth among active players in career points and third among active AL pitchers.
Cole now has 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, seventh overall.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2023. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Wednesday, April 5.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | fla nl | 3.7 |
| 2 | Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 3.0 |
| 3 | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | pi sp | sea al | 2.7 |
| 4 | Diaz, Yandy 3896 | 1b 3b dh | tb al | 2.5 |
| 5 | Winker, Jesse 3988 | dh lf | mil nl | 2.5 |
| 6 | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 2.0 |
| 7 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 2.0 |
| 8 | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | pi sp | tb al | 2.0 |
| 9 | Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | pi sp | tb al | 2.0 |
| 10 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | tex al | 2.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Debut—Guardians pitcher Hunter Gaddis made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Gaddis (6IP H 0R 2BB 4K ND in the 6-4, 10-inning win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut Aug. 5, 2022, and was playing in his fourth career game.
Scoring—deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Luzardo earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Franco and Winker each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
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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Box‑Toppers Player of the Game winners
Here is the top player from each of the day’s games listed from highest to lowest Box‑Toppers game score (BTG).Back to top
| 4/5 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +10.0 | TEX 5, BAL 2 | Jacob deGrom, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 | |
| NL | +9.0 | `MIA 5, MIN 2 | Jesus Luzardo | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| +7.0 | TOR 3, KC 0 | Alek Manoah, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | ||
| +7.0 | ATL 5, STL 2 | Bryce Elder, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| +7.0 | `CLE 6, OAK 4 (F/10) | Hunter Gaddis | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| +6.1 | NYY 4, PHI 2 | Gerrit Cole, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||
| +6.0 | PIT 4, BOS 1 | Mitch Keller, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| +5.0 | LAA 4, SEA 3 | Shohei Ohtani, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | ||
| +5.0 | CHW 7, SF 3 | Dylan Cease, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 | ||
| +4.0 | HOU 8, DET 2 | Cristian Javier, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| BAT | +1.0 | TB 7, WSH 2 | Wander Franco, SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +1.0 | MIL 7, NYM 6 | Jesse Winker, DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box‑Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box‑Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box‑Toppers points.
All other players listed here would earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box‑Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no‑decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
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Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s Player of the Game winners
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Player of the Game winners. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2023 (’23). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’22-23), the period 2018-2023 (’18-23) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2023 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2022 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | fla nl | 3.7 | 7.7 | 19.8 | 19.8 | -0.3 |
| Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 3.0 | 23.4 | 39.8 | 39.8 | -17.4 |
| Winker, Jesse 3988 | dh lf | mil nl | 2.5 | 3.5 | 19.5 | 19.5 | +1.5 |
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 2.0 | 17.4 | 97.4 | 140.3 | -13.4 |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | tex al | 2.0 | 11.4 | 72.7 | 133.5 | -7.4 |
| Franco, Wander 4630 | ss | tb al | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | +0.5 |
| Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp | ana al | 1.0 | 25.7 | 56.3 | 56.3 | -23.7 |
| Javier, Cristian 4290 | pi sp | hou al | 1.0 | 16.7 | 24.7 | 24.7 | -14.7 |
| Manoah, Alek 4424 | pi sp | tor al | 1.0 | 14.1 | 24.8 | 24.8 | -12.1 |
| Elder, Bryce 4709 | pi sp | atl nl | 1.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | -3.7 |
| Keller, Mitch 4230 | pi sp | pit nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | -1.0 |
| Gaddis, Hunter 4764 | pi sp | cle al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Thursday’s pitching matchups
A Box-Toppers look at the upcoming day’s probable pitching matchups. Teams are paired below with visiting teams on top and home teams on the bottom. Each team’s starting pitcher is shown with their Box-Toppers point total from 2023 (’23), over a two-year period (’22-23), over a six-year period (’18-23) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOS | Sale, Chris 2806 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 33.1 | 144.6 |
| DET | Turnbull, Spencer 4086 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13.7 | 13.7 |
| SF | Wood, Alex 3246 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 25.0 | 60.1 |
| CHW | Lynn, Lance 2992 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 49.2 | 113.8 |
| TOR | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | 0.0 | 12.7 | 34.1 | 69.4 |
| KC | Lyles, Jordan 3100 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 23.4 | 31.1 |
| WSH | Gray, Josiah 4503 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 28.4 | 34.4 |
| SD | Snell, Blake 3688 | 0.0 | 13.1 | 65.4 | 74.4 |
| ATL | Strider, Spencer 4626 | 1.0 | 14.4 | 14.4 | 14.4 |
| LAD | May, Dustin 4214 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 0.0 | 11.0 | 26.0 | 26.0 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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