Yankees’ Cole tops players Friday, Aug. 16; Brewers’ Civale tops NL players

Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

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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
▪️ Friday’s sidelights sidebar
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
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Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to 20th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” career points list.

Cole struck out eight over six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks, in the 3-0 win over the Tigers.

Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, 108th among all players and 44th among American League pitchers.

Cole also now has 160.3 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 20th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his 2.0 points Friday, he passes Miguel Cabrera (159.4) on the “all-time” career points list and now trails 19th-ranked John Smoltz (160.9). (It should be noted that Smoltz began his career before the advent of Box-Toppers in 1995. Box-Toppers projects he would have about 255 career points if his entire career from 1988 were tracked.)

Cole ranks fifth among active, signed players in career points, third among active AL pitchers, behind Max Scherzer of the Rangers (253.7) and Justin Verlander of the Astros (247.0).

National League Player of the Day is Brewers pitcher Aaron Civale.

National League Player of the Day

Brewers pitcher Aaron Civale struck out four over six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 5-3 win over the Guardians.

Civale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season, 73rd among NL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day is Masataka Yoshida of the Red Sox.

American League Batter of the Day

Masataka Yoshida of the Red Sox hit a three-run home run and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 12-10 win over the Orioles.

National League Batter of the Day is Kevin Kiermaier of the Dodgers.

National League Batter of the Day

Kevin Kiermaier of the Dodgers hit a three-run home run and went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 7-6 win over the Cardinals.

Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola earns Player of the Game honors Friday.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Friday, Aug. 16:
  Player Pos Team BTP
1 Dylan Cease pi sp Padres 17.4
2 Tarik Skubal pi sp Tigers 17.1
3 Zack Wheeler pi sp Phillies 16.7
4 Shota Imanaga pi sp Cubs 15.7
5 Luis Gil pi sp Yankees 15.4
6 Chris Sale pi sp Braves 14.4
7 Tanner Bibee pi sp Guardians 13.0
8 Bailey Ober pi sp Twins 12.4
9 Aaron Judge dh cf Yankees 12.0
10 George Kirby pi sp Mariners 11.7
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Notable

Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola becomes the 26th player this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points and also now has 112.4 career points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Nola (6.2IP 7H 0R 2BB 4K ND in the 3-2 win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season, 17th among all players and sixth among NL pitchers.

This is Nola’s sixth season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and his fourth straight. His best season was 2018 with the Phillies when he had 21.1 Box-Toppers points, fifth overall and second among NL pitchers. In 2023, he had 12.0 points with the Phillies, 12th among NL pitchers.

Nola now has 112.4 career Box-Toppers points, 67th-most among all players since player tracking began in 1995. He trails 66th-ranked player, Braves pitcher Charlie Morton (112.5). Nola ranks 12th among active, signed players in career points, sixth among active NL pitchers.

White Sox pitcher Garrett earns Player of the Game honors Friday.

All-time leaders

Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:
  Player Pos Team BTP
1 Randy Johnson pi sp Retired 282.5
2 Clayton Kershaw pi sp Dodgers 271.4
3 Max Scherzer pi sp Rangers 253.7
4 Justin Verlander pi sp Astros 247.0
5 Pedro Martinez pi sp Retired 244.8
6 Zack Greinke pi sp Free agent 224.5
7 Albert Pujols 1b Retired 207.8
8 CC Sabathia pi sp Retired 203.4
9 Curt Schilling pi sp Retired 194.1
10 Alex Rodriguez 3b Retired 187.0
11 Jon Lester pi sp Retired 179.3
12 Felix Hernandez pi sp Retired 175.1
13 Cole Hamels pi sp Retired 174.2
14 Roy Halladay pi sp Retired 170.7
15 Chris Sale pi sp Braves 167.7
16 Johan Santana pi sp Retired 166.6
17 Manny Ramirez lf dh Retired 166.2
18 Roger Clemens pi sp Retired 164.8
19 John Smoltz pi sp Retired 160.9
20 Gerrit Cole pi sp Yankees 160.3
BTP: Box-Toppers points

Also notable

White Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet becomes the 25th player this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Crochet (4IP 4H R 0BB 9K ND in the 5-4 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season, 19th among all players and 11th among AL pitchers.

This is Crochet’s first season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. The only other season in which he earned Box-Toppers points was 2021 with the White Sox when he had 1.0 point.

Scoring

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

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

  • Yoshida and Kiermaier each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.

  • All of Friday’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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Friday’s sidelights sidebar

Top pitching matchup

▪️Logan Gilbert, Mariners
11.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 14th
▪️Paul Skenes, Pirates
8.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 57th
Result—PIT 5, SEA 3
Neither starter was Player of the Game.
Gilbert had -1.9 B-T game score in loss (6.1IP 5H 4R 3ER 2BB 6K L).
Skenes had +1.0 B-T game score (6IP 3H 2R 4BB 6K W).
Player of the Game—Michael Taylor, Pirates (1-2 2R 0BI) with +1.0 B-T game score. (Though Taylor and Skenes both had +1.0 B-T game scores, Taylor won Player of the Game honors because in cases of game score ties, batters rank ahead of pitchers.)

High scores, no points

Highest Box-Toppers game scores for the day among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:
▪️+6.0—Ramón Urías, Orioles (HR SF 3-3 R 5BI)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. BOS.
Player of the Game—Masataka Yoshida, Red Sox (HR 3-4 R 4BI) with +4.0 game score.
▪️+5.1—Ryne Nelson, Diamondbacks (6.1IP 5H R 0BB 6K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. TB.
Player of the Game—Ryan Pepiot, Rays (5.1IP 5H 2R 0ER BB 5K ND) with +2.1 game score.
▪️+5.0—Luis Robert Jr., White Sox (2HR 4-5 2R 4BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. HOU.
Player of the Game—Teammate Garrett Crochet (4IP 4H R 0BB 9K ND) with +7.0 game score.

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores

Out of 410 total players Friday, 128 pitchers
-20.9—Cooper Criswell, Red Sox (3.1IP 9H 6R 4BB K W vs. BAL)
-18.0—Corbin Burnes, Orioles
-12.8—Matt Waldron, Padres
-9.0—Gavin Williams, Guardians

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters

Out of 282 total batters Friday
-5.0—Willson Contreras, Cardinals 0-5 2K
-5.0—Michael Massey, Royals 0-5 2K
-5.0—Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers 0-5 2K
-5.0—Austin Riley, Braves 0-5 2K
-5.0—Alex Call, Nationals 0-5 K
-5.0—Manny Machado, Padres 0-5 K
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).
8/16 BTG Game Player AB R H BI   IP H R ER BB K
MLB +8.0 NYY 3, DET 0 Gerrit Cole (W, 4‑2) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.0 4 0 0 2 8
  +7.0 `CHW 5, HOU 4 Garrett Crochet ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   4.0 4 1 1 0 9
NL +5.0 MIL 5, CLE 3 Aaron Civale (W, 4‑8) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.0 4 0 0 1 4
BAT +4.0 BOS 12, BAL 10 Masataka Yoshida DH 4 1 3 4   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
BAT +3.0 LAD 7, STL 6 Kevin Kiermaier CF 4 1 2 4   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +2.1 `TB 5, ARI 4 Ryan Pepiot ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   5.1 5 2 0 1 5
  +2.0 KC 7, CIN 1 Vinnie Pasquantino 1B 5 2 2 3   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +2.0 NYM 7, MIA 3 Brandon Nimmo LF 5 2 2 3   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +2.0 CHC 6, TOR 5 (F/10) Ian Happ LF 4 3 2 1   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +2.0 COL 7, SD 3 Charlie Blackmon DH 3 1 2 2   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +2.0 MIN 4, TEX 3 Carlos Santana 1B 3 1 1 3   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +1.2 LAA 3, ATL 2 Brock Burke (W, 1‑0) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   1.2 0 0 0 2 2
  +1.2 `PHI 3, WSH 2 Aaron Nola ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.2 7 0 0 2 4
  +1.0 PIT 5, SEA 3 Michael Taylor CF 2 2 1 0   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
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 +/‑
Nola, Aaron 3569 pi sp phi nl 10.7 22.7 66.8 112.4 -1.3
Crochet, Garrett 4434 pi sp chi al 10.7 10.7 11.7 11.7 +10.7
Pepiot, Ryan 4714 pi sp tb al 8.7 13.7 15.7 15.7 +3.7
Happ, Ian 3798 lf chi nl 7.5 11.5 15.0 21.0 +3.5
Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp nyy al 5.0 22.0 99.4 160.3 -12.0
Nimmo, Brandon 3895 lf nym nl 4.5 7.5 12.0 18.4 +1.5
Civale, Aaron 4173 pi sp mil nl 3.7 9.7 32.1 32.1 -2.3
Santana, Carlos 2757 1b min al 3.5 6.2 17.7 44.9 +0.8
Blackmon, Charlie 2891 rf dh col nl 3.5 4.5 21.0 41.2 +2.5
Pasquantino, Vinnie 4766 1b dh kc al 3.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 +2.5
Taylor, Michael 3447 cf pit nl 3.0 4.0 7.0 17.2 +2.0
Yoshida, Masataka 4763 dh lf bos al 2.5 7.0 7.0 7.0 -2.0
Kiermaier, Kevin 3373 cf lad nl 2.5 2.5 12.5 18.0 +2.5
Burke, Brock 4661 pi mr ana al 1.0 2.0 5.0 5.0 0.0
What are those numbers after players' names?
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Saturday’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
SEA Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 10.7 26.8 65.2 81.6
PIT Falter, Bailey 4473 2.0 6.7 11.7 11.7
NYY Rodon, Carlos 3494 10.0 11.0 44.5 67.6
DET Montero, Keider 5057 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7
TOR Bassitt, Chris 3413 6.7 26.8 64.6 70.6
CHC Steele, Justin 4415 6.0 17.1 25.1 25.1
ARI Gallen, Zac 4171 6.0 22.7 57.1 57.1
TB Springs, Jeffrey 4372 1.0 4.7 18.4 18.4
MIA Meyer, Max 4965 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
NYM Severino, Luis 3567 4.7 9.4 19.1 62.9
WSH Gore, MacKenzie 4582 4.0 11.0 15.7 15.7
PHI Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 7.4 11.4 11.4 11.4
KC Wacha, Michael 3276 6.0 17.0 36.5 67.2
CIN Lodolo, Nick 4586 9.0 9.0 16.0 16.0
BOS Bello, Brayan 4727 4.7 6.7 7.7 7.7
BAL Povich, Cade 5029 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
MIN Festa, David 5067 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7
TEX Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 10.0 19.7 44.8 79.3
SF Birdsong, Hayden 5063 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
OAK Bido, Osvaldo 4882 3.0 4.0 4.0 4.0
CHW Flexen, Chris 4368 1.7 1.7 15.4 15.4
HOU Brown, Hunter 4729 10.0 20.1 21.1 21.1
CLE Bibee, Tanner 4792 13.0 21.7 21.7 21.7
MIL Peralta, Freddy 3965 9.7 27.4 57.5 66.2
LAD Miller, Bobby 4820 2.0 10.7 10.7 10.7
STL Pallante, Andre 4656 4.7 4.7 6.7 6.7
SD Cease, Dylan 4231 17.4 27.4 64.2 64.2
COL Freeland, Kyle 3763 1.0 6.7 21.7 40.1
ATL Sale, Chris 2806 14.4 23.1 36.1 167.7
LAA Canning, Griffin 4134 2.0 8.0 19.7 19.7
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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