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
▪️ Tuesday’s sidelights sidebar
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Eovaldi struck out six over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no walks, in the 7-0 win over the Padres.
Eovaldi earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season, 24th among all players and 12th among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day
Trea Turner of the Phillies hit two home runs and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 6-4 win over the Cubs.
Turner earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, his first points of the season and ranks 70th among NL batters.
American League Batter of the Day
Lawrence Butler of the Athletics hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-5 win over the Angels.
This was Butler’s Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. Butler made his Major League debut Aug. 11, 2023, and was playing in his 94th career game.
National League Batter of the Day
There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Trea Turner.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Tuesday, July 2:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luis Gil | pi sp | Yankees | 13.4 |
| 2 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 11.4 |
| 3 | Tanner Bibee | pi sp | Guardians | 11.0 |
| 4 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 10.7 |
| 5 | George Kirby | pi sp | Mariners | 10.7 |
| 6 | Tyler Glasnow | pi sp | Dodgers | 10.7 |
| 7 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 10.7 |
| 8 | Shota Imanaga | pi sp | Cubs | 10.7 |
| 9 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Padres | 10.4 |
| 10 | Logan Gilbert | pi sp | Mariners | 10.0 |
Notable
Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers no longer qualifies to rank among pitchers in current Box-Toppers rankings after earning his third Player of the Game honor this season as a designated hitter Tuesday.
Ohtani (HR 2B 3-5 2R 2BI in the 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.0 for the season, 22nd among NL batters.
Tuesday’s sidelights sidebar
Top pitching matchup
▪️Dylan Cease, Padres20.4 Box-Toppers points over 2023-24, 18th
▪️Nathan Eovaldi, Rangers
15.7 Box-Toppers points over 2023-24, 33rd
Result—TEX 7, SD 0
Eovaldi was Player of the Game (7IP H 0R 0BB 6K W) with +12.0 B-T game score, also winning overall Player of the Day honors.
Cease had -13.8 B-T game score in loss (3.2IP 8H 6R 2BB 5K L), 2nd-lowest among all players Tuesday.
Eovaldi earns 2.0 B-T points, giving him 17.7 over 2023-24, rising to 27th over that span.
High scores, no points
Highest Box-Toppers game scores for the day among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:▪️+8.2—DJ Herz, Nationals (5.2IP 5H R 0BB 10K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. NYM.
Player of the Game—Brandon Nimmo, Mets (2B 2-3 R 2BI) with +2.0 game score.
▪️+4.0—Nathaniel Lowe, Rangers (2HR 2-4 2R 4BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. SD.
Player of the Game—Teammate Nathan Eovaldi (7IP H 0R 0BB 6K W) with +12.0 game score.
▪️+4.0—Jack Suwinski, Pirates (HR 3-3 R 3BI)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. STL.
Player of the Game—Nolan Gorman, Cardinals (HR 2-4 R 4BI) with +3.0 game score.
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores
Out of 431 total players Tuesday, 130 pitchers-14.0—Spencer Arrighetti, Astros (4IP 6H 7R 6ER 4BB 5K L vs. TOR)
-13.8—Dylan Cease, Padres
-11.0—Robert Garcia, Nationals
-11.0—José Berríos, Blue Jays
-10.0—Mitch Keller, Pirates
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
Out of 301 total batters Tuesday-5.0—Ezequiel Tovar, Rockies 0-5 2K
-5.0—Matt Chapman, Giants 0-5 K
-5.0—Anthony Volpe, Yankees 0-5
-4.0—David Dahl, Phillies 0-4 4K
-4.0—Ian Happ, Cubs 0-4 3K
-4.0—Heston Kjerstad, Orioles 0-4 3K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.
Ohtani has now earned all three of his 2024 Player of the Game honors as a designated hitter and so only qualifies to be ranked at that position. Last season with the Angels, he earned Player of the Game 16 times, eight as a starting pitcher and eight as a designated hitter and qualified to rank at both positions. Under Box-Toppers rules, a player must have more than 25 percent of their Player of the Game honors in a season at a certain position to qualify to rank at that position and must have at least three Player of the Game honors at that position.
Until earning his third Player of the Game honor as a designated hitter Tuesday, Ohtani still carried his 2023 status as a pitcher into 2024, even though he has not served as a pitcher this season and is not expected to pitch until 2025 when he recovers from elbow surgery.
Ohtani earned 19.4 Box-Toppers points in 2023 with the Angels, 9.7 as a pitcher and 9.7 as a batter.
Ohtani’s status change causes him to fall out of long-term pitching rankings, where he had been in the top 10 but now is completely unranked. For example, Ohtani was fifth among NL pitchers over 2023-24 with 21.4 points and second among NL pitchers over 2019-24 with 68.7 points.
Ohtani’s status has previously shifted from pitcher to designated hitter to both:
In his rookie season 2018, he finished the season ranking as both a DH and pitcher.
But in 2019, when he previously recovered from elbow surgery and did not pitch, he qualified to rank only as a designated hitter.
In 2020, he earned no points, carrying forward his 2019 status as a DH.
In 2021, he qualified to only rank among pitchers, earning nine of his 12 Player of the Game honors as a pitcher, only three (25 percent) as a DH. (He needed more than 25 percent of his Player of the Game honors as a DH to be ranked at that position.)
In 2022, he again qualified to only rank among pitchers, earning 13 of his 17 Player of the Game honors as a pitcher, only four (22.2 percent) as a DH>
In 2023, as previously mentioned, Ohtani qualified to rank among both pitchers and designated hitters.
Scoring
Eovaldi earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Turner earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Butler earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day.
All of Tuesday’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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Johnny Cueto, 38, opts out of deal with @Rangers & is a free agent.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) July 3, 2024
His 118.2 career Box-Toppers points was 4th among active, signed AL pitchers. But he hasn’t earned B-T points since his last Player of the Game honor 9/1/22 with @WhiteSox. https://t.co/bA51vOGObY
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).| 7/2 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +12.0 | TEX 7, SD 0 | Nathan Eovaldi (W, 5‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| +8.1 | BAL 2, SEA 0 | Grayson Rodriguez (W, 10‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | ||
| +8.0 | BOS 8, MIA 3 | Kutter Crawford (W, 4‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| +5.0 | TB 5, KC 1 | Zack Littell (W, 3‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| NL | +4.0 | PHI 6, CHC 4 | Trea Turner SS | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | `TOR 7, HOU 6 | Nate Pearson (H, 6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | STL 7, PIT 4 | Nolan Gorman 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | OAK 7, LAA 5 | Lawrence Butler RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | SF 5, ATL 3 | Camilo Doval (S, 15) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.1 | MIN 5, DET 3 | Jorge Alcala (W, 2‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +2.0 | LAD 6, ARI 5 | Shohei Ohtani DH | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | CLE 7, CHW 6 | Tyler Freeman CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | NYM 7, WSH 2 (F/10) | Brandon Nimmo LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | MIL 4, COL 3 | Trevor Megill (S, 18) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | CIN 5, NYY 4 | Alexis Díaz (S, 18) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | pi sp | tex al | 8.0 | 17.7 | 42.8 | 77.3 | -1.7 |
| Megill, Trevor 4531 | pi cp | mil nl | 6.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | +6.0 |
| Doval, Camilo 4658 | pi cp | sf nl | 4.0 | 9.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | -1.0 |
| Nimmo, Brandon 3895 | lf cf pr | nym nl | 3.5 | 6.5 | 11.0 | 17.4 | +0.5 |
| Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | dh | lad nl | 3.0 | 22.4 | 69.7 | 77.7 | -16.4 |
| Rodriguez, Grayson 4790 | pi sp | bal al | 3.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | -5.0 |
| Diaz, Alexis 4613 | pi cp mr | cin nl | 3.0 | 10.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | -4.0 |
| Crawford, Kutter 4660 | pi sp | bos al | 3.0 | 8.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 | -2.7 |
| Littell, Zack 4533 | pi sp | tb al | 3.0 | 5.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | +1.0 |
| Gorman, Nolan 4633 | 2b | stl nl | 2.5 | 12.5 | 17.5 | 17.5 | -7.5 |
| Freeman, Tyler 5028 | cf | cle al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Turner, Trea 3730 | ss | phi nl | 1.7 | 6.7 | 15.2 | 23.4 | -3.3 |
| Butler, Lawrence 5052 | rf | oak al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +1.5 |
| Pearson, Nate 4834 | pi mr | tor al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | -1.0 |
| Alcala, Jorge 4493 | pi mr cp | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Wednesday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOS | Bello, Brayan 4727 | 2.7 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| MIA | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| CHW | Fedde, Erick 4065 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 21.5 | 23.2 |
| CLE | Williams, Gavin 4865 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| STL | Mikolas, Miles 3034 | 2.0 | 8.7 | 23.8 | 38.2 |
| PIT | Jones, Jared 4956 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| NYM | Scott, Christian* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| WSH | Parker, Mitchell 4982 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| CIN | Abbott, Andrew 4839 | 3.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 |
| NYY | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 40.5 | 63.6 |
| HOU | Blanco, Ronel 4959 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| TOR | Kikuchi, Yusei 4136 | 3.7 | 13.7 | 31.1 | 31.1 |
| SF | Hicks, Jordan 3991 | 4.4 | 7.4 | 11.4 | 13.4 |
| ATL | Sale, Chris 2806 | 10.7 | 19.4 | 32.4 | 164.0 |
| PHI | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | 10.7 | 25.4 | 70.9 | 94.3 |
| CHC | Imanaga, Shota 4960 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| SD | Mazur, Adam* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TEX | Gray, Jon 3634 | 5.0 | 12.7 | 34.7 | 58.1 |
| DET | Montero, Keider* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIN | Festa, David* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TB | Pepiot, Ryan 4714 | 5.7 | 10.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| KC | Wacha, Michael 3276 | 3.0 | 14.0 | 33.5 | 64.2 |
| MIL | Rea, Colin 3582 | 5.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 14.4 |
| COL | Hudson, Dakota 4035 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 16.4 | 17.4 |
| LAA | Daniel, Davis 4953 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| OAK | Estes, Joey 5000 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| ARI | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| LAD | Stone, Gavin 4942 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| BAL | Kremer, Dean 4330 | 4.0 | 13.7 | 25.1 | 25.1 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 10.0 | 23.4 | 44.5 | 44.5 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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