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.
▪️ Subscribe to Box-Toppers Email Newsletter.
Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to first place in season player rankings.
Gausman struck out 11 over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing five hits and two walks, in the 3-1 win over the Brewers.
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 Thursday, June 1.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 10.0 |
| 2 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 9.4 |
| 3 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.7 |
| 4 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 8.7 |
| 5 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | tex al | 7.7 |
| 6 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf cf dh | nyy al | 7.5 |
| 7 | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | pi sp | tb al | 6.7 |
| 8 | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | pi sp | tex al | 6.7 |
| 9 | Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.7 |
| 10 | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | pi sp | sea al | 6.4 |
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Gausman earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season, rising from fourth to first place in season player rankings, passing previous leader Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, who only took the lead Wednesday. Gausman also takes the lead among American League pitchers ahead of Ohtani.
Gausman becomes the first player this season to reach 10.0 Box-Toppers points. It is his fifth season with 10.0 or more points and third in a row. He also did it in 2016 with the Orioles (10.8 points, 16th among AL pitchers), in 2017 with the Orioles (11.1 points, 10th among AL pitchers), 2021 with the Giants (13.7 points, 11th among AL pitchers) and 2022 with the Blue Jays (12.7 points, 15th among AL pitchers).
This is the third time Gausman has led player rankings this season. He first took the lead April 12 before being passed April 16 and took the lead again April 23 before being passed April 26.
National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Max Scherzer struck out nine over seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned), five hits and one walk, in the 4-2 win over the Phillies.
Scherzer earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 5.7 for the season, ninth among NL pitchers.
Scherzer also now has 242.0 career Box-Toppers points, fourth among all players since 1995, and now is just 2.8 points away from the third-place player on the “all-time” career points list, Pedro Martinez (244.8). (It should be noted that Martinez’s career total is only from 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. If his entire career from 1992 were tracked, Martinez is projected to have 270 points.)
Scherzer ranks second among active players (and among active NL pitchers) in career points, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (265.4).
National League Batter of the Day—Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres hit three doubles and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-1 win over the Marlins.
This is Tatis’s first Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor since Sept. 4, 2021. He earned no points in 2022, out injured part of the season and serving an 80-game suspension under baseball’s performance enhancing drug policy that extended into 2023. Tatis earned 10.2 Box-Toppers points in 2021, second among NL batters.
American League Batter of the Day—Enrique Hernandez of the Red Sox homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-2 win over the Reds.
Debut—Diamondbacks pitcher Kevin Ginkel made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Ginkel (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K W in the 5-4 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut Aug. 5, 2019, and was playing in his 128th career game.
Scoring—Gausman earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Scherzer earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Tatis and Hernandez each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’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
| 6/1 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +10.2 | TOR 3, MIL 1 | Kevin Gausman, (W 4‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | |
| NL | +7.0 | NYM 4, PHI 2 | Max Scherzer, (W 5‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| BAT | +5.0 | SD 10, MIA 1 | Fernando Tatis Jr., RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +3.0 | BOS 8, CIN 2 | Enrique Hernández, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.0 | MIN 7, CLE 6 | Donovan Solano, PH‑DH | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | ARI 5, COL 4 | Kevin Ginkel, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.0 | HOU 5, LAA 2 | Kyle Tucker, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 10.0 | 22.7 | 44.1 | 79.4 | -2.7 |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | nym nl | 5.7 | 15.7 | 85.3 | 242.0 | -4.3 |
| Tucker, Kyle 4277 | rf | hou al | 2.0 | 6.5 | 18.7 | 18.7 | -2.5 |
| Hernandez, Enrique (Kike) 3541 | ss cf 2b | bos al | 1.5 | 2.5 | 14.5 | 17.5 | +0.5 |
| Tatis, Fernando Jr. 4101 | rf ss | sd nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 17.7 | 17.7 | +1.5 |
| Solano, Donovan 3096 | dh 3b 2b ph | min al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 12.0 | 0.0 |
| Ginkel, Kevin 4830 | pi cp | ari nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Friday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIL | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | 4.7 | 20.1 | 48.9 | 48.9 |
| CIN | Williamson, Brandon 4813 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| OAK | Harris, Hogan* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIA | Cabrera, Edward 4641 | 1.0 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| PHI | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | 5.0 | 19.4 | 61.2 | 73.9 |
| WSH | Gray, Josiah 4503 | 2.7 | 7.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| STL | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 43.3 | 43.3 |
| PIT | Contreras, Roansy 4574 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| TB | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36.4 | 36.4 |
| BOS | Whitlock, Garrett 4431 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| TOR | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 5.7 | 16.7 | 45.5 | 49.5 |
| NYM | Verlander, Justin 2112 | 2.0 | 28.0 | 80.6 | 234.6 |
| SEA | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | 6.4 | 16.4 | 52.8 | 61.2 |
| TEX | Gray, Jon 3634 | 3.7 | 9.7 | 37.4 | 49.1 |
| LAA | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | 9.4 | 34.1 | 64.7 | 64.7 |
| HOU | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 4.0 | 20.0 | 35.4 | 35.4 |
| CLE | Civale, Aaron 4173 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 23.4 | 23.4 |
| MIN | Ober, Bailey 4441 | 2.7 | 5.7 | 12.4 | 12.4 |
| COL | Anderson, Chase 3328 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 16.4 | 42.8 |
| KC | Lyles, Jordan 3100 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 23.4 | 31.1 |
| DET | Olson, Reese* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CHW | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ATL | Morton, Charlie 2503 | 2.0 | 12.4 | 60.7 | 96.1 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 5.0 | 16.0 | 31.0 | 31.0 |
| CHC | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | 0.0 | 10.7 | 32.1 | 46.1 |
| SD | Wacha, Michael 3276 | 6.0 | 14.4 | 29.5 | 56.2 |
| NYY | Severino, Luis 3567 | 2.0 | 8.7 | 29.4 | 55.5 |
| LAD | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | 6.1 | 16.8 | 58.6 | 265.4 |
| BAL | Kremer, Dean 4330 | 2.0 | 9.7 | 13.4 | 13.4 |
| SF | Webb, Logan 4258 | 3.0 | 12.7 | 30.9 | 30.9 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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