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.
Twins pitcher Sonny Gray is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Bryan Reynolds of the Pirates rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Plus, Evan Longoria of the Diamondbacks has now earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in 16 straight seasons, tied for the third-longest active streak.
Player of the Day—Gray struck out 13 over seven innings, allowing one run, one hit and one walk, in the 3-2, 10-inning win over the Astros. Gray did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied, 1-1, when he exited.
Gray earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season and is 13th in season player rankings, fifth among American League pitchers.
Gray has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2013 with the Athletics and now has 89.5 career Box-Toppers points, seventh among active AL pitchers. His best season was 2015 with the Athletics when he had 17.8 points, sixth among AL pitchers. He earned 12.1 points in 2022 with the Twins, 16th among AL pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Bryan Reynolds of the Pirates hit a three-run homer, tripled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in six runs, in the 13-9 win over the White Sox.
Reynolds 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 season player rankings, passing previous leader, Marlins pitcher Jesus Luzardo. Though Luzardo and Reynolds both have 3.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, Reynolds ranks higher on a tiebreaker—he has more 2021 Box-Toppers points—8.0 vs. 7.4. (Both players also have the same 2022 Box-Toppers point total—4.0.)
Reynolds is the first player to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the third time in 2023. He also did it April 3 and April 4.
American League Batter of the Day—Isaac Paredes of the Rays hit a grand slam and went 3-for-5, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 9-5 win over the Athletics.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Bryan Reynolds.
Active season streaks
Here are the 12 players who have active streaks of earning Box-Toppers points for 13 or more consecutive seasons. Players are listed by the length of their streak and with their current team status. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total.Back to top
| Streak | Player | Pos | Team | Duration | BTP* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Miguel Cabrera | dh 1b | Tigers | 2003‑2022 | 159.4 |
| 17 | Nelson Cruz | dh | Padres | 2006‑2022 | 88.4 |
| 16 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Royals | 2007‑2022 | 222.5 |
| 16 | Evan Longoria | 3b | Diamondbacks | 2008‑2023 | 61.0 |
| 15 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 2008‑2022 | 259.3 |
| 15 | Johnny Cueto | pi sp | Marlins | 2008‑2022 | 118.2 |
| 14 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Mets | 2009‑2022 | 236.3 |
| 14 | Andrew McCutchen | dh lf | Pirates | 2009‑2022 | 78.9 |
| 13 | Madison Bumgarner | pi sp | Diamondbacks | 2010‑2022 | 139.1 |
| 13 | Craig Kimbrel | pi cp | Phillies | 2010‑2022 | 84.1 |
| 13 | Giancarlo Stanton | dh | Yankees | 2010‑2022 | 73.4 |
| 13 | Aroldis Chapman | pi mr cp | Royals | 2010‑2022 | 62.1 |
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Streak—Evan Longoria of the Diamondbacks has now earned Box-Toppers points in 16 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2023 Friday.
Longoria (HR 2B 3-3 2R BI in the 6-3 win over the Dodgers) earned his first points in 2008 with the Rays and has 61.0 career points, seventh among active NL batters, first among active NL third basemen (ahead of Nolan Arenado of the Cardinals with 60.9 points). His best season was 2009 with the Rays, when he had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, second among AL third basemen. In 2022, he had 4.0 points with the Giants, 41st among NL batters. He has extended his consecutive streak with 2.0 or fewer points in a season five times, including both 2020 (1.0) and 2021 (1.0).
Longoria’s 16-season streak is tied for the third-longest active streak. Two players with longer streaks are Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (20 seasons) and Nelson Cruz of the Padres (17 seasons). Royals pitcher Zack Greinke has also earned points in 16 straight seasons. Cabrera, Cruz and Greinke have not yet earned points in 2023, so have the opportunity to extend their streaks this season.
Rankings—In addition to Reynolds, two other players rise into Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 after earning Player of the Game honors Friday:
Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman (6IP 2H 0R 3BB 6K W in the 2-0 win over the Rangers) rises to sixth place after earning 1.0 point, giving him 2.7 for the season.
Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff (5.1IP 4H 0R 2BB 4K W in the 4-0 win over the Cardinals) rises to 10th place after earning 1.0 point, giving him 2.0 for the season.
Debut—Two players make their Box-Toppers debut Friday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Padres pitcher Brent Honeywell Jr. (2IP 0H 0R 2BB 3K W in the 5-4 win over the Braves) made his Major League debut April 11, 2021, and was playing in his sixth career game.
Vinnie Pasquantino of the Royals (HR 2-3 R BI in the 3-1 win over the Giants) made his Major League debut June 28, 2022, and was playing in his 80th career game.
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 Friday, April 7.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reynolds, Bryan 4169 | cf lf | pit nl | 3.7 |
| 2 | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | fla nl | 3.7 |
| 3 | Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 3.0 |
| 4 | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | pi sp | sea al | 2.7 |
| 5 | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | pi sp | col nl | 2.7 |
| 6 | Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.7 |
| 7 | Diaz, Yandy 3896 | 1b 3b dh | tb al | 2.5 |
| 8 | Winker, Jesse 3988 | dh lf | mil nl | 2.5 |
| 9 | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 2.0 |
| 10 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Scoring—Gray earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Reynolds earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Paredes earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’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
| 4/7 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +13.0 | `MIN 3, HOU 2 (F/10) | Sonny Gray | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | |
| NL | +7.0 | PIT 13, CHW 9 | Bryan Reynolds, LF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +7.0 | CHC 2, TEX 0 | Marcus Stroman, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| +4.0 | NYM 9, MIA 3 | Tylor Megill, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| +3.1 | MIL 4, STL 0 | Brandon Woodruff, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | TB 9, OAK 5 | Isaac Paredes, 3B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | ARI 6, LAD 3 | Evan Longoria, 3B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | SD 5, ATL 4 | Brent Honeywell, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| +2.0 | WSH 10, COL 5 | CJ Abrams, SS | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | TOR 4, LAA 3 | Bo Bichette, SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | SEA 5, CLE 3 | J.P. Crawford, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | BAL 7, NYY 6 | Ramon Urías, 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | PHI 5, CIN 2 | Edmundo Sosa, PH‑3B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | KC 3, SF 1 | Vinnie Pasquantino, DH | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reynolds, Bryan 4169 | cf lf | pit nl | 3.7 | 7.7 | 21.7 | 21.7 | -0.3 |
| Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.7 | 8.4 | 29.4 | 57.2 | -3.0 |
| Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 | 22.8 | 55.6 | 56.6 | -18.8 |
| Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | min al | 2.0 | 14.1 | 48.3 | 89.5 | -10.1 |
| Paredes, Isaac 4666 | 3b 2b 1b | tb al | 1.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | -3.0 |
| Bichette, Bo 4233 | ss | tor al | 1.0 | 7.5 | 16.0 | 16.0 | -5.5 |
| Megill, Tylor 4464 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 6.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 | -4.7 |
| Urias, Ramon 4491 | 3b | bal al | 1.0 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | -3.5 |
| Longoria, Evan 2423 | 3b | ari nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 12.0 | 61.0 | -3.0 |
| Crawford, J.P. 3937 | ss | sea al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 13.5 | 13.5 | -1.0 |
| Sosa, Edmundo 4495 | 3b ss ph | phi nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | -1.0 |
| Abrams, CJ 4688 | ss 2b | dc nl | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | -0.5 |
| Honeywell, Brent Jr. 4765 | pi mr | sd nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Pasquantino, Vinnie 4766 | dh | kc 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 Saturday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | Garcia, Luis 4423 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 19.7 | 19.7 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 0.0 | 14.7 | 17.4 | 17.4 |
| CIN | Lodolo, Nick 4586 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| PHI | Falter, Bailey 4473 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| KC | Singer, Brady 4337 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 18.7 | 18.7 |
| SF | Manaea, Sean 3637 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 36.1 | 50.2 |
| TEX | Perez, Martin 3213 | 0.0 | 9.1 | 12.8 | 29.8 |
| CHC | Steele, Justin 4415 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| BOS | Houck, Tanner 4342 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| DET | Wentz, Joey 4639 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| MIA | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| NYM | Senga, Kodai 4762 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| OAK | Fujinami, Shintaro* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TB | Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | 2.0 | 12.7 | 15.7 | 15.7 |
| SEA | Gonzales, Marco 3408 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 32.5 | 36.5 |
| CLE | Quantrill, Cal 4195 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 15.7 | 15.7 |
| CHW | Clevinger, Mike 3707 | 1.0 | 7.4 | 40.5 | 54.9 |
| PIT | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 19.1 | 28.1 |
| NYY | Cortes, Nestor 4160 | 0.0 | 15.4 | 22.4 | 22.4 |
| BAL | Irvin, Cole 4140 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| STL | Montgomery, Jordan 3814 | 0.0 | 9.4 | 20.1 | 26.1 |
| MIL | Lauer, Eric 4017 | 0.0 | 9.4 | 28.8 | 28.8 |
| SD | Wacha, Michael 3276 | 0.0 | 8.4 | 23.5 | 50.2 |
| ATL | Morton, Charlie 2503 | 0.0 | 10.4 | 58.7 | 94.1 |
| LAD | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 22.4 | 52.5 |
| ARI | Davies, Zach 3581 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 14.0 | 29.7 |
| WSH | Williams, Trevor 3792 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 18.7 | 23.7 |
| COL | Gomber, Austin 3985 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 17.7 | 17.7 |
| TOR | Berrios, Jose 3791 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 49.9 | 58.9 |
| LAA | Anderson, Tyler 3656 | 1.0 | 13.7 | 31.4 | 36.4 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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