The Texas Rangers still lead Box-Toppers team rankings this week, despite falling outside the dozen teams that would currently qualify for a playoff spot.
Team rankings
Here are Box-Toppers 2023 team rankings through games of Thursday, Sept. 7. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players on the team accumulated this season. The column BTP/wk shows have many points teams accumulated from Sept. 1 to Sept. 7. The column Wk ago shows the team's rank as of Aug. 31.| Teams | BTP | BTP/wk | Wk ago | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rangers | 114.1 | 2.0 | 1 |
| 2 | Braves | 112.4 | 4.0 | 2 |
| 3 | Rays | 108.6 | 4.0 | 3 |
| 4 | Dodgers | 106.4 | 3.7 | 4 |
| 5 | Astros | 106.0 | 4.0 | 5 |
| 6 | Orioles | 105.0 | 6.0 | 6 |
| 7 | Blue Jays | 99.7 | 5.2 | 8 |
| 8 | Phillies | 99.4 | 4.2 | 7 |
| 9 | Brewers | 97.2 | 4.0 | 9 |
| 10 | Marlins | 95.2 | 4.5 | 10 |
| 11 | Mariners | 93.0 | 3.7 | 11 |
| 12 | Cubs | 92.1 | 6.5 | 12 |
| 13 | Diamondbacks | 90.9 | 6.0 | 13 |
| 14 | Twins | 87.6 | 5.7 | 16 |
| 15 | Reds | 85.9 | 4.0 | 15 |
| 16 | Padres | 85.0 | 6.0 | 17 |
| 17 | Giants | 84.8 | 0.0 | 14 |
| 18 | Red Sox | 81.6 | 3.0 | 18 |
| 19 | Angels | 79.3 | 1.0 | 19 |
| 20 | Yankees | 77.1 | 5.0 | 20 |
| 21 | Guardians | 75.5 | 4.5 | 21 |
| 22 | Pirates | 71.2 | 4.0 | 22 |
| 23 | Tigers | 69.0 | 5.2 | 24 |
| 24 | Nationals | 67.2 | 1.0 | 23 |
| 25 | Cardinals | 55.9 | 3.0 | 26 |
| 26 | Mets | 53.4 | 4.0 | 27 |
| 27 | White Sox | 53.4 | 0.0 | 25 |
| 28 | Rockies | 47.2 | 2.0 | 28 |
| 29 | Athletics | 43.2 | 4.0 | 29 |
| 30 | Royals | 41.6 | 3.7 | 30 |
Meanwhile, the Atlanta Braves continue to gain on the Rangers, leading all National League teams. Plus, the Chicago Cubs are the week’s hottest team.
Rangers lead
Rangers hold the lead for the sixth straight week, with players accumulating 114.1 Box-Toppers points this season, picking up 2.0 points in the past week.
The Rangers won only one of their six games this week, picking up the 2.0 points on Sunday, when Mitch Garver was overall Player of the Day. Over their last 22 games, the Rangers are 6-16. Their lead in Box-Toppers team rankings has shrunk from 15.7 points three weeks ago, to 8.7 points two weeks ago, to 3.7 points last week, to 1.7 points this week. They lead over the second-place Braves, with 112.4 points. The Rangers lead over the second-place American League team, the Tampa Bay Rays (108.6), by 5.5 points.
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The Rangers would not even qualify for a playoff spot if the season ended today. They are third in the AL West, three games behind the division-leading Houston Astros and are a half-game behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the third and final Wild Card spot.
As we said last week, the Rangers built their Box-Toppers team rankings lead mainly on the strength of their July trade deadline deals, bringing starting pitchers Max Scherzer from the Mets and Jordan Montgomery from the Cardinals. The Rangers rose to the lead with the Aug. 3 team rankings report. While the points earned by players on other teams now counted toward their team total, it did not reflect the club’s actual win total but perhaps amplified their perceived potential strength at the time. Given the Rangers relatively poor performance since, that potential has not been realized.
The Rangers now have the 10th-best winning percentage (.547). (Last week, they were at .564 with the seventh-best winning percentage.) Among the key teams the Rangers trail:
The Braves have the best winning percentage (.655) but remain in second place in Box-Toppers team rankings with 112.4 points.
The Baltimore Orioles have the best winning percentage among AL teams (.633) but remain in sixth place in Box-Toppers team rankings with 105.0 points, picking up 6.0 points in the past week. The Orioles rank fourth in AL Box-Toppers team rankings.
The Tampa Bay Rays have the second-best winning percentage among AL teams (.603) and remain in third in Box-Toppers team rankings with 108.6 points, picking up 4.0 points in the past week.
The Houston Astros have the third-best winning percentage among AL teams (.567) and remain in fifth in Box-Toppers team rankings with 106.0 points, picking up 4.0 in the past week.
The Seattle Mariners have the fourth-best winning percentage among AL teams (.564) and remain in 11th in Box-Toppers team rankings with 93.0 points, picking up 3.7 in the past week. The Mariners rank second in the AL West, 2.5 games ahead of the Rangers.
The Rangers are led by pitcher Max Scherzer (14.4 Box-Toppers points, seventh among all players and fourth among American League pitchers). (Scherzer has earned 4.0 of his points since joining the Rangers; the other 10.4 were earned when he was with the Mets earlier this season.) Rangers top batter is Marcus Semien (6.7 Box-Toppers points, 11th among AL batters). There are 24 different Rangers players who have earned Box-Toppers points so far in 2023.
Braves lead NL teams
The Braves lead NL teams for the sixth week with 112.4 Box-Toppers points, picking up 4.0 in the past week, second-most among all teams. The Braves maintain second place overall and lead NL teams, ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers (106.4) by 6.0 points.
The Braves have baseball’s best winning percentage (.655) and are led by pitcher Spencer Strider (19.1 points, second among all players and first among NL pitchers). Top batter is Ronald Acuna Jr. (10.7 points, first among NL batters). There are 26 different Braves players who have earned Box-Toppers points so far in 2023.
Hottest team: Cubs
The Chicago Cubs gained 6.5 Box-Toppers points this week, most of any team, giving them 92.1 for the season, maintaining 12th place in team rankings. The Cubs won five of their eight games this week.
Biggest rise: Twins
The Minnesota Twins rise two spots in Box-Toppers team rankings from 16th to 14th place with 87.6 points, picking up 5.7 points in the past week.
Biggest fall: Giants
The San Francisco Giants had the biggest fall in team rankings, down three spots from 14th to 17th place, with 84.8 Box-Toppers points, picking up no points in the past week.
Last place: Royals
The Kansas City Royals ranked 30th and last place in Box-Toppers team rankings for the second week with 41.6 Box-Toppers points, picking up 3.7 points in the past week.
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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