Mariners’ Castillo tops players Sunday, Aug. 11; Guardians’ Bibee rises to 6th place

Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

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▪️ Players of the Game
▪️ B-T points of day’s top players
▪️ Top 10 players in 2024
▪️ Sunday’s sidelights sidebar
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
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Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Sunday, Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. In addition, Giancarlo Stanton of the Yankees has now earned Box-Toppers points in 15 straight seasons after winning his first 2024 Player of the Game honor.

Player of the Day

Castillo struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run, four hits and two walks, in the 12-1 win over the Mets.

Castillo earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season, 15th among all players and ninth among American League pitchers.

Castillo becomes the 20th player this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points. It is his fourth season with 10 or more points and his third straight. His best season was 2023 with the Mariners when he had 16.1 points, ninth overall and fifth among AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day is Jake Burger of the Marlins.

National League Player of the Day

Jake Burger of the Marlins homered and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 7-6 win over the Padres.

Burger earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, 56th among NL batters.

American League Batter of the Day is Giancarlo Stanton of the Yankees.

Active season streaks

Here are the 13 players who have active streaks of earning Box-Toppers points for 13 or more consecutive seasons. Players are listed by the length of their streak and with their current team status. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total.

Streak Player Pos Team Duration BTP*
17 Zack Greinke pi sp Free agent 2007‑2023 224.5
16 Clayton Kershaw pi sp Dodgers 2008‑2023 270.4
16 Evan Longoria 3b Free agent 2008‑2023 62.7
16 Max Scherzer pi sp Rangers 2009‑2024 253.7
15 Andrew McCutchen dh lf Pirates 2009‑2023 80.9
15 Craig Kimbrel pi cp Orioles 2010‑2024 94.1
15 Giancarlo Stanton dh rf Yankees 2010‑2024 77.4
15 Aroldis Chapman pi mr cp Pirates 2010‑2024 67.1
14 Freddie Freeman 1b Dodgers 2011‑2024 89.9
14 Kenley Jansen pi cp Red Sox 2011‑2024 69.4
13 Mike Trout cf Angels 2011‑2023 84.2
13 Brandon Belt 1b dh Free agent 2011‑2023 46.2
13 Starling Marte rf Mets 2012‑2024 30.0
BTP*: Career Box-Toppers points

American League Batter of the Day

Giancarlo Stanton of the Yankees hit a three-run homer, a sacrifice fly and went 1-for-2, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 8-7 win over the Rangers.

Stanton has now earned Box-Toppers points in 15 straight seasons with his first Player of the Game honor of 2024, tied for the fifth-longest currently active streak of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points. Stanton earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2010 with the Marlins and now has 77.4 career points, third among active AL batters behind Joey Votto of the Blue Jays (85.4) and Mike Trout of the Angels (84.2). His best season was 2017 with the Marlins when he had 14.2 points, second among NL batters. In 2023, he had 2.5 Box-Toppers points with the Yankees.

National League Batter of the Day

There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Sunday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Jake Burger.

Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Saturday, Aug. 10:
  Player Pos Team BTP
1 Dylan Cease pi sp Padres 17.4
2 Tarik Skubal pi sp Tigers 16.1
3 Zack Wheeler pi sp Phillies 15.7
4 Shota Imanaga pi sp Cubs 15.7
5 Luis Gil pi sp Yankees 15.4
6 Tanner Bibee pi sp Guardians 13.0
7 Bailey Ober pi sp Twins 12.4
8 Chris Sale pi sp Braves 12.4
9 George Kirby pi sp Mariners 11.7
10 Tyler Glasnow pi sp Dodgers 11.7
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Rankings

Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee rises from eighth to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Bibee (5.2IP 6H R 0BB 5K W in the 5-3 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.0 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers, behind Tarik Skubal of the Tigers (16.1) and Luis Gil of the Yankees (15.4).

Notable

Astros pitcher Hunter Brown becomes the 21st player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2024 after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Brown (5.1IP 5H 2R 2BB 9K W in the 10-2 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season, 18th overall and 12th among AL pitchers.

This is Brown’s second season and second straight season with 10 or more points. In 2023, he had 10.1 points with the Astros, 24th among AL pitchers.

Astros pitcher Hunter Brown becomes the 21st player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2024 after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Sunday’s sidelights sidebar

Top pitching matchup

▪️Hunter Brown, Astros
19.1 Box-Toppers points over 2023-24, 14th among AL pitchers
▪️James Paxton, Red Sox
11.0 Box-Toppers points over 2023-24, 44th among AL pitchers
Result—HOU 10, BOS 2
Brown was Player of the Game (5.1IP 5H 2R 2BB 9K W) with +3.1 B-T game score.
Paxton had -1.8 B-T game score in loss (0.2IP 2H 0R 0BB 0K ND), exited game in 1st inning with calf injury.
Brown earns 1.0 B-T point as Player of the Game, giving him 20.1 over 2023-24, rising to 12th among AL pitchers 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:
▪️+6.2—Albert Suárez, Orioles (6.2IP 4H 0R BB 5K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. TB.
Player of the Game—Jeffrey Springs, Rays (5IP 6H R 0BB 8K ND) with +5.0 game score.
▪️+6.0—Cal Raleigh, Mariners (2HR 3-4 2R 5BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. NYM.
Player of the Game—Teammate Luis Castillo (6IP 4H R 2BB 9K W) with +7.0 game score.
▪️+4.0—Jorge Soler, Braves (2HR 2-4 2R 4BI)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. COL.
Player of the Game—Charlie Blackmon, Rockies (3-5 R 2BI) with +1.0 game score.

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores

Out of 387 total players Sunday, 117 pitchers
-19.8—Cristopher Sánchez, Phillies (4.2IP 12H 7R 2BB 4K L vs. ARI)
-15.0—Chris Bassitt, Blue Jays
-13.0—Luis Garcia, Red Sox
-12.0—Bailey Falter, Pirates
-11.9—Justin Lawrence, Rockies

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters

Out of 270 total batters Sunday
-5.0—Julio Rodriguez, Mariners 0-5 5K
-5.0—Colton Cowser, Orioles 0-5 2K
-5.0—Jonathan India, Reds 0-5 2K
-5.0—Abraham Toro, Athletics 0-5 2K
-5.0—Heliot Ramos, Giants 0-5 2K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.

Debut

Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Sunday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:

  • JJ Bleday of the Athletics (HR 3-4 R 3BI in the 8-4 win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut July 23, 2022, and was playing in his 264th career game.

  • Dillon Dingler of the Tigers (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 5-4 win over the Giants) made his Major League debut July 29 and was playing in his seventh career game.

Scoring

  • Castillo earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.

  • Burger earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.

  • Stanton earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day.

  • All of Sunday’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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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).
8/11 BTG Game Player AB R H BI   IP H R ER BB K
MLB +7.0 SEA 12, NYM 1 Luis Castillo (W, 10‑11) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.0 4 1 1 2 9
  +5.0 `TB 2, BAL 1 Jeffrey Springs ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   5.0 6 1 1 0 8
NL +4.0 MIA 7, SD 6 Jake Burger 3B 4 3 3 2   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
BAT +4.0 NYY 8, TEX 7 Giancarlo Stanton DH 2 1 1 4   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +3.1 HOU 10, BOS 2 Hunter Brown (W, 10‑7) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   5.1 5 2 2 2 9
  +3.0 ARI 12, PHI 5 Jake McCarthy RF‑LF 5 1 3 4   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +3.0 OAK 8, TOR 4 JJ Bleday CF 4 1 3 3   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +3.0 CIN 4, MIL 3 Alexis Díaz (S, 23) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   1.0 0 0 0 0 2
  +2.2 CLE 5, MIN 3 Tanner Bibee (W, 10‑4) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   5.2 6 1 1 0 5
  +2.0 DET 5, SF 4 Dillon Dingler C 4 2 2 2   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +1.0 COL 9, ATL 8 Charlie Blackmon RF 5 1 3 2   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +1.0 LAD 6, PIT 5 (F/10) Enrique Hernández 3B 5 2 3 1   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  0.0 LAA 6, WSH 4 Kevin Pillar DH 5 0 2 3   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
MLB—Overall Box‑Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box‑Toppers points.
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 (+/-).
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Player of the Game Pos Team ’24 ’23‑24 ’19‑24 Career +/‑
Bibee, Tanner 4792 pi sp cle al 13.0 21.7 21.7 21.7 +4.3
Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 pi sp sea al 10.7 26.8 65.2 81.6 -5.4
Brown, Hunter 4729 pi sp hou al 10.0 20.1 21.1 21.1 -0.1
Diaz, Alexis 4613 pi cp cin nl 4.0 11.0 14.0 14.0 -3.0
McCarthy, Jake 4621 lf rf ari nl 4.0 4.0 6.0 6.0 +4.0
Hernandez, Enrique 3541 3b lf ph lad nl 3.5 5.0 15.0 21.0 +2.0
Pillar, Kevin 3486 cf lf dh ana al 3.0 3.0 11.0 20.5 +3.0
Burger, Jake 4629 3b dh fla nl 2.7 7.7 8.7 8.7 -2.3
Blackmon, Charlie 2891 rf dh col nl 2.5 3.5 20.0 40.2 +1.5
Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 dh rf nyy al 1.5 4.0 17.5 77.4 -1.0
Springs, Jeffrey 4372 pi sp tb al 1.0 4.7 18.4 18.4 -2.7
Bleday, JJ 5081 cf oak al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 +1.0
Dingler, Dillon 5082 ca det al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 +1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?
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A Box-Toppers look at Monday’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.
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Game Starter ’24 ’23‑24 ’19‑24 Career
CHC Imanaga, Shota 4960 15.7 15.7 15.7 15.7
CLE Lively, Ben 3903 4.0 5.0 5.0 7.0
STL Gray, Sonny 3259 9.4 19.8 57.4 107.3
CIN Abbott, Andrew 4839 5.0 16.0 16.0 16.0
HOU Valdez, Framber 4048 8.4 18.4 47.8 49.8
TB Bradley, Taj 4780 10.4 15.4 15.4 15.4
TEX Mahle, Tyler 3929 0.0 2.7 26.4 32.4
BOS Bello, Brayan 4727 3.7 5.7 6.7 6.7
KC Singer, Brady 4337 9.0 14.0 32.7 32.7
MIN Lopez, Pablo 4028 9.7 23.1 55.2 56.9
LAD Kershaw, Clayton 2494 0.0 11.1 55.6 270.4
MIL Peralta, Freddy 3965 9.7 27.4 57.5 66.2
NYY Gil, Luis 4498 15.4 15.4 16.4 16.4
CHW Bush, Ky* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
TOR Francis, Bowden 5034 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
LAA Daniel, Davis 4953 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
COL Quantrill, Cal 4195 5.0 7.0 22.7 22.7
ARI Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 8.4 12.1 12.1 12.1
PIT Gonzales, Marco 3408 0.0 0.0 22.1 36.5
SD Musgrove, Joe 3705 2.0 9.0 52.5 62.2
ATL Sale, Chris 2806 12.4 21.1 34.1 165.7
SF Snell, Blake 3688 8.0 22.7 60.9 97.1
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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