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
▪️ Wednesday’s sidelights sidebar
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Giants pitcher Logan Webb is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Padres pitcher Dylan Cease increases his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day
Webb pitched a complete-game, five-hit shutout, striking out six and allowing one walk, in the 1-0 win over the Athletics.
Webb earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, 52nd among all players and 22nd among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day
DJ LeMahieu of the Yankees hit a grand slam, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in six runs, in the 6-5 win over the Phillies.
LeMahieu earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is 72nd among AL batters.
This is LeMahieu’s first Player of the Game honor in nearly four years. He last earned Player of the Game honors Sept. 26, 2020, a season in which he had 3.5 Box-Toppers points, 13th among AL batters.
LeMahieu earned no points in 2021, 2022 or 2023, despite playing regularly over that time. He appeared in 150 games in 2021, 125 in 2022 and 136 in 2023. Wednesday was his 48th game of 2024.
National League Batter of the Day
Ian Happ of the Cubs doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 13-4 win over the Reds.
Happ earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 6.5 for the season, fifth among NL batters.
American League Batter of the Day
There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter DJ LeMahieu.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Wednesday, July 31:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Padres | 17.4 |
| 2 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 14.4 |
| 3 | Luis Gil | pi sp | Yankees | 14.4 |
| 4 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 13.7 |
| 5 | Shota Imanaga | pi sp | Cubs | 13.7 |
| 6 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 12.4 |
| 7 | Tanner Bibee | pi sp | Guardians | 12.0 |
| 8 | George Kirby | pi sp | Mariners | 11.7 |
| 9 | Tanner Houck | pi sp | Red Sox | 11.4 |
| 10 | Tyler Glasnow | pi sp | Dodgers | 10.7 |
Rankings
Padres pitcher Dylan Cease increased his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Cease (5.2IP 3H R 3BB 6K W in the 8-1 win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.4 for the season. He leads over second-place player, Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (14.4 points) and leads NL pitchers ahead of second-place Zack Wheeler of the Phillies (13.7 points).
Cease took the overall lead on July 20 and is now 3.0 points ahead of the nearest player in rankings, meaning it would take any starting pitcher at least two starts to catch up to his current point total, practically guaranteeing his lead for the next 10 to 14 days.
Notable
Tommy Pham of the Cardinals earns Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Wednesday, both in his first two games after returning to his original team.
Pham (2B 3-4 2R 2BI in the 10-1 win over the Rangers) was also NL Batter of the Day in Tuesday’s 8-1 win over the Rangers (GS 1-2 R 4BI).
Pham began his Major League career with the Cardinals, playing there from 2014 to 2018. Pham was traded from the White Sox to the Cardinals on Monday.
Wednesday’s sidelights sidebar
Top pitching matchup
▪️Chris Sale, Braves12.4 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 4th among NL pitchers
▪️Freddy Peralta, Brewers
9.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 6th among NL pitchers
Result—ATL 6, MIL 2
Neither starter was Player of the Game.
Sale had -1.8 B-T game score (5.2IP 6H 2R 3BB 6K ND).
Peralta had +4.0 B-T game score in loss (6IP 3H 2R 2BB 7K ND).
Player of the Game—Matt Olson, Braves (2HR 2-4 2R 2BI) with +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:▪️+4.0—Freddy Peralta, Brewers (6IP 3H 2R 2BB 7K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. ATL.
Player of the Game—Matt Olson, Braves (2HR 2-4 2R 2BI) with +2.0 game score.
▪️+3.0—Brendan Donovan, Cardinals (SF 2-3 R 3BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. TEX.
Player of the Game—Teammate Tommy Pham (2B 3-4 2R 2BI) with +3.0 game score. (Pham and Donovan both had +3.0 game scores, but Pham won Player of the Game because he had more at bats—four vs. three.)
▪️+3.0—Jake Woodford, Pirates (5IP 2H 3R 0ER 0BB 3K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. HOU.
Player of the Game—Mauricio Dubón, Astros (HR 1-1 R 2BI) with +3.0 game score.
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores
Out of 428 total players Wednesday, 119 pitchers-16.0—Drew Thorpe, White Sox (5IP 7H 6R 2BB 0K L vs. KC)
-15.8—Nick Lodolo, Reds
-15.0—Luis Severino, Mets
-13.9—Sammy Peralta, White Sox
-13.8—Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
Out of 309 total batters Wednesday-5.0—Marcell Ozuna, Braves 0-5 4K
-5.0—Mitch Garver, Mariners 0-5 2K
-5.0—Bryce Harper, Phillies 0-5 2K
-5.0—Gleyber Torres, Yankees 0-5 K
-5.0—Kyle Isbel, Royals 0-5 K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.
Debut
Jackson Holliday of the Orioles made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Holliday (GS 1-5 R 4BI in the 10-4 win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut April 10 and was playing in his 11th career game.
Scoring
Webb earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
LeMahieu earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Happ earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day.
All of Wednesday’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.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
For additional updates, follow Box-Toppers on Twitter.
2024 Box-Toppers points—NL batters
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 1, 2024
1—Brenton Doyle #Rockies 8.7
2—Francisco Lindor #Mets 8.4
3—Bryce Harper #Phillies 7.7
4—Ketel Marte #Dbacks 7.0
5—Ian Happ #Cubs 6.5*
6—Matt Chapman #Giants 6.5
7—Alec Burleson #Cardinals 6.5
*Earns 1.5 B-T points as WE’s NL Batter of the Day
A Box-Toppers look at the Rookies Jackson:
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 1, 2024
Chourio #Brewers, made B-T debut 4/10: 3.0 B-T points, T-45th among NL batters
Merrill #Padres, made B-T debut 4/15: 3.0 B-T points, T-45th among NL batters
Holliday #Orioles, made B-T debut 7/31: 1.0 B-T point, 143rd among AL batters
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).| 7/31 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +9.0 | SF 1, OAK 0 | Logan Webb (W, 8‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| AL | +5.0 | NYY 6, PHI 5 | DJ LeMahieu 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | COL 2, LAA 1 | Kyle Freeland (W, 3‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | CHC 13, CIN 4 | Ian Happ LF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.2 | SD 8, LAD 1 | Dylan Cease (W, 11‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| +3.0 | KC 10, CHW 3 | Freddy Fermin DH‑C | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | STL 10, TEX 1 | Tommy Pham LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | HOU 5, PIT 4 | Mauricio Dubón PH‑1B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | MIN 8, NYM 3 | Pablo López (W, 10‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | ||
| +3.0 | ARI 5, WSH 4 | Zac Gallen (W, 9‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +3.0 | MIA 6, TB 2 | Roddery Muñoz (W, 2‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +2.0 | ATL 6, MIL 2 | Matt Olson 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | `BOS 3, SEA 2 (F/10) | Josh Winckowski | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.0 | BAL 10, TOR 4 | Jackson Holliday 2B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | sd nl | 17.4 | 27.4 | 64.2 | 64.2 | +7.4 |
| Lopez, Pablo 4028 | pi sp | min al | 9.7 | 23.1 | 55.2 | 56.9 | -3.7 |
| Webb, Logan 4258 | pi sp | sf nl | 7.0 | 19.4 | 47.3 | 47.3 | -5.4 |
| Happ, Ian 3798 | lf | chi nl | 6.5 | 10.5 | 14.0 | 20.0 | +2.5 |
| Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.0 | 22.7 | 57.1 | 57.1 | -10.7 |
| Pham, Thomas 3596 | dh lf ph | stl nl | 2.5 | 5.0 | 12.0 | 23.5 | 0.0 |
| Olson, Matt 3836 | 1b | atl nl | 2.0 | 6.2 | 22.2 | 28.9 | -2.2 |
| Fermin, Freddy 4862 | dh ca | kc al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Winckowski, Josh 4784 | pi cp mr | bos al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Munoz, Roddery 4994 | pi sp | fla nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| LeMahieu, DJ 3091 | 1b 2b | nyy al | 1.7 | 1.7 | 8.7 | 37.7 | +1.7 |
| Freeland, Kyle 3763 | pi sp | col nl | 1.0 | 6.7 | 21.7 | 40.1 | -4.7 |
| Dubon, Mauricio 4243 | 1b 2b ph | hou al | 1.0 | 2.7 | 5.4 | 5.4 | -0.7 |
| Holliday, Jackson 5074 | 2b | bal 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 Thursday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAL | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CLE | Lively, Ben 3903 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 |
| KC | Lugo, Seth 3729 | 10.1 | 16.5 | 25.5 | 34.5 |
| DET | Montero, Keider 5057 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| MIA | Meyer, Max 4965 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| ATL | Morton, Charlie 2503 | 5.7 | 15.7 | 59.6 | 109.8 |
| STL | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 8.4 | 18.8 | 56.4 | 106.3 |
| CHC | Imanaga, Shota 4960 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 |
| COL | Feltner, Ryan 4635 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| LAA | Fulmer, Carson 3910 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 2.7 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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