Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Players of the Game
▪️ B-T points of day’s top players
▪️ Top 10 players in 2024
▪️ Thursday’s sidelights sidebar
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Schmidt struck out eight over eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 5-0 win over the Twins.
Schmidt earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, 43rd among all players and 21st among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day
Reds pitcher Nick Martinez struck out four over five scoreless middle relief innings, allowing one hit and no walks, in the 7-2 win over the Dodgers.
Martinez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and ranks 53rd among NL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day
Edward Olivares of the Pirates homered, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 5-4 win over the Cubs.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Thursday, May 16:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Padres | 7.7 |
| 2 | Ranger Suárez | pi sp | Phillies | 7.7 |
| 3 | Shota Imanaga | pi sp | Cubs | 7.7 |
| 4 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 6.7 |
| 5 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 6.7 |
| 6 | Seth Lugo | pi sp | Royals | 6.4 |
| 7 | Freddy Peralta | pi sp | Brewers | 6.0 |
| 8 | Logan Gilbert | pi sp | Mariners | 6.0 |
| 9 | Tyler Glasnow | pi sp | Dodgers | 6.0 |
| 10 | Aaron Nola | pi sp | Phillies | 6.0 |
American League Batter of the Day
There is no AL Batter of the Day for Thursday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors in the six games completed.
Scoring
Schmidt earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Martinez earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Olivares earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day.
All of Thursday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart) 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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Thursday’s sidelights sidebar
Top Thursday’s pitchers
None of the three pitchers with the most 2023-24 Box-Toppers points among Thursday’s starters earned Player of the Game honors:▪️Tyler Glasnow, Dodgers
18.4 Box-Toppers points over 2023-24, 11th
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. CIN
(5IP 6H 4H BB 8K L), -2.0 B-T game score
R 0ER BB 11K W), +12.0 B-T game score
Player of the Game—Nick Martinez, Reds (5IP H 0R 0BB 4K W), +8.0 game score
▪️Joe Ryan, Twins
13.4 Box-Toppers points over 2023-24, 38th
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. NYY
(5.1IP 6H 4R BB 5K L), -4.9 B-T game score
Player of the Game—Clarke Schmidt, Yankees (8IP 3H 0R 0BB 8K W), +13.0 game score
▪️Justin Steele, Cubs
11.1 Box-Toppers points over 2023-24, 60th
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. PIT
(5.2IP 6H 5R BB 7K L), -4.8 B-T game score
Player of the Game—Edward Olivares, Pirates (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI), +2.0 game score
High scores, no points
Highest Box-Toppers game scores for the day among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:▪️+4.1—Hogan Harris, Athletics (3.1IP 0H 0R 2BB 3K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. HOU.
Player of the Game—Cristian Javier, Astros (6IP 2H 0R BB 8K W) with +11.0 game score.
▪️+4.0—Elly De La Cruz, Reds (2B 4-4 3R BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. LAD.
Player of the Game—Teammate Nick Martinez (5IP H 0R 0BB 4K W) with +8.0 game score.
▪️+2.0—Bryson Stott, Phillies (1-2 R 2BI)
Was not Player of the Game because PHI lost to NYM.
Player of the Game—Jose Quintana, Mets (5.1IP 4H 2R 0BB 4K ND) with +1.1 game score.
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores
Out of 180 total players Thursday, 54 pitchers-20.8—Joey Estes, Athletics (3.2IP 8H 8R 4BB 4K L vs. HOU)
-9.9—Nick Ramirez, Dodgers
-8.0—Zack Littell, Rays
-7.8—Cooper Criswell, Red Sox
-5.9—Taijuan Walker, Phillies
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
Out of 126 total batters Thursday-5.0—Spencer Steer, Reds 0-5 3K
-5.0—Wilyer Abreu, Red Sox 0-5 K
-4.0—Jack Suwinski, Pirates 0-4 4K
-4.0—Jake Fraley, Reds 0-4 3K
-4.0—Trent Grisham, Yankees 0-4 3K
-4.0—Trevor Larnach, Twins 0-4 3K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.
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).| 5/16 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +13.0 | NYY 5, MIN 0 | Clarke Schmidt (W, 5‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| +11.0 | HOU 8, OAK 1 | Cristian Javier (W, 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| NL | +8.0 | CIN 7, LAD 2 | Nick Martinez (W, 1‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| BAT | +2.0 | PIT 5, CHC 4 | Edward Olivares RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.0 | TB 7, BOS 5 | Manuel Rodríguez (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.1 | `NYM 6, PHI 5 (F/11) | Jose Quintana | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
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 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 2024 (’24). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’23-24), the period 2019-2024 (’19-24) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2024 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2023 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’24 | ’23‑24 | ’19‑24 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schmidt, Clarke 4581 | pi sp | nyy al | 4.0 | 6.0 | 10.4 | 10.4 | +2.0 |
| Olivares, Edward 4676 | rf dh ph | pit nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | +2.5 |
| Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 24.8 | 85.1 | +2.0 |
| Martinez, Nick 3430 | pi mr sp | cin nl | 1.7 | 9.1 | 14.1 | 20.8 | -5.7 |
| Javier, Cristian 4290 | pi sp | hou al | 1.0 | 8.0 | 31.7 | 31.7 | -6.0 |
| Rodriguez, Manuel 4520 | pi mr cp | tb al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +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 2024 (’24), this year and last year (’23-24), over a six-year period (’19-24) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’24 | ’23-24 | ’19‑24 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIT | Skenes, Paul* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CHC | Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 34.1 | 74.6 |
| WSH | Irvin, Jake 4805 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| PHI | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | 6.7 | 21.4 | 66.9 | 90.3 |
| CHW | Clevinger, Mike 3707 | 1.0 | 11.4 | 37.2 | 65.3 |
| NYY | Cortes, Nestor 4160 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 27.4 | 27.4 |
| SEA | Miller, Bryce 4797 | 4.7 | 17.8 | 17.8 | 17.8 |
| BAL | Irvin, Cole 4140 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 21.4 | 21.4 |
| TB | Alexander, Tyler 4196 | 0.0 | 2.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| TOR | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 3.0 | 23.1 | 60.9 | 66.9 |
| MIN | Woods Richardson, Simeon 4974 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| CLE | McKenzie, Triston 4303 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 35.1 | 35.1 |
| NYM | Scott, Christian* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIA | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | 0.0 | 17.8 | 33.9 | 33.9 |
| SD | Waldron, Matt 4946 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| ATL | Fried, Max 4011 | 4.0 | 13.0 | 56.5 | 57.5 |
| OAK | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| KC | Ragans, Cole 4889 | 2.0 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.4 |
| LAA | Anderson, Tyler 3656 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 26.4 | 39.4 |
| TEX | Heaney, Andrew 3515 | 0.0 | 11.4 | 32.8 | 47.5 |
| MIL | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | 6.0 | 23.7 | 53.8 | 62.5 |
| HOU | Brown, Hunter 4729 | 0.0 | 10.1 | 11.1 | 11.1 |
| BOS | Bello, Brayan 4727 | 2.7 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| STL | Gibson, Kyle 3312 | 2.7 | 11.4 | 38.5 | 64.9 |
| DET | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 4.7 | 15.4 | 34.8 | 34.8 |
| ARI | Nelson, Ryne 4728 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| CIN | Montas, Frankie 3803 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 33.5 | 36.5 |
| LAD | Paxton, James 3280 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 21.1 | 62.9 |
| COL | Feltner, Ryan 4635 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| SF | Harrison, Kyle 4914 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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