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
Rays pitcher Jeffrey Springs is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Player of the Day
Springs struck out nine over five scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, in the 3-2 win over the Mariners. Springs did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Springs earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, 195th among all players and 63rd among American League pitchers.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Tuesday, Aug. 27:| 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 | Bryce Miller | pi sp | Mariners | 12.7 |
| 9 | Aaron Nola | pi sp | Phillies | 12.4 |
| 10 | Bailey Ober | pi sp | Twins | 12.4 |
National League Player of the Day
Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola struck out six over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Astros.
Nola earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season, rising to ninth among all players and fifth among NL pitchers.
Nola now has 114.1 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 61st place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his 1.7 points Tuesday, Nola passes six players on the “all-time” career points list: Kevin Brown (112.8), Sammy Sosa (113.2), Dan Haren (113.2), Guardians pitcher Carlos Carrasco (113.2), Chris Carpenter (113.3) and Braves pitcher Charlie Morton (113.5). Nola now trails 60th-ranked player Ervin Santana (114.4).
Passing Carrasco and Morton, Nola now ranks 10th among active, signed players in career points. Passing Morton, Nola now ranks fifth among active NL pitchers in career points.
National League Batter of the Day
Dansby Swanson of the Cubs homered and went 1-for-2, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 9-5 win over the Pirates.
American League Batter of the Day
Max Schuemann of the Athletics homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 5-4 win over the Reds.
Notable
Mets pitcher Sean Manaea became the 35th player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2024 after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Manaea (6.2IP 4H 3R 0BB 11K W in the 8-3 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season, 27th among all players and 11th among NL pitchers.
This is Manaea’s second season with 10 or more points. He previously did it in 2021 with the Athletics, when he had 15.7 points, fourth among AL pitchers. In 2023, he had 3.7 points with the Giants.
Tuesday’s sidelights sidebar
Top pitching matchup
▪️Justin Verlander, Astros68.9 Box-Toppers points over 2019-24, 5th
▪️Aaron Nola, Phillies
66.8 Box-Toppers points over 2019-24, 6th
Result—PHI 5, HOU 0
Nola was Player of the Game (7IP 4H 0R BB 6K W) with +8.0 B-T game score.
Verlander had -8.0 B-T game score in loss (5IP 7H 4R BB 3K L).
Nola earns 1.7 B-T points as NL Player of the Day, giving him 68.5 over 2019-24, holding steady in 6th 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:▪️+12.0—Logan Gilbert, Mariners (6IP 4H 0R 0BB 10K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. TB, despite having the day’s highest game score.
Player of the Game—Jeffrey Springs, Rays (5IP H 0R 2BB 9K ND) with +11.0 game score.
▪️+7.0—Jakob Junis, Reds (4IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. OAK.
Player of the Game—Max Schuemann, Athletics (HR 2B 3-4 R 2BI) with +2.0 game score.
▪️+5.0—Ezequiel Tovar, Rockies (2HR 2B SF 3-4 2R BI)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. MIA.
Player of the Game—Calvin Faucher, Marlins (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K Sv) with +4.0 game score.
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores
Out of 420 total players Tuesday, 134 pitchers-18.9—Roddery Muñoz, Marlins (1.1IP 7H 6R BB 0K ND vs. COL)
-13.0—Yariel Rodríguez, Blue Jays
-12.8—Brandon Pfaadt, Diamondbacks
-12.8—Cal Quantrill, Rockies
-12.0—Tyler Kinley, Rockies
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
Out of 286 total batters Tuesday-6.0—Whit Merrifield, Braves 0-6 K
-5.0—Royce Lewis, Twins 0-5 3K
-5.0—Shea Langeliers, Athletics 0-5 2K
-5.0—Vinnie Pasquantino, Royals 0-5 K
-4.0—Taylor Walls, Rays 0-4 4K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.
Debut
Mason McCoy of the Padres made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
McCoy (2B 1-3 2R BI in the 7-5 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut Aug. 30, 2023, and was playing in his 13th career game.
Scoring
Springs earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Nola earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Swanson and Schuemann each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s 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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Career Box-Toppers points—Active NL pitchers
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 28, 2024
1—Clayton Kershaw #Dodgers 272.4
2—Chris Sale #Braves 167.7
3—Yu Darvish #Padres 137.7
4—Lance Lynn #Cardinals 122.5
5—Aaron Nola #Phillies 114.1*
6—Charlie Morton #Braves 113.5
*Earns 1.7 B-T pts as Tuesday’s NL Player of the Day
2024 Box-Toppers points leader Dylan Cease #Padres started Tuesday but was not Player of the Game in win vs. STL (4.1IP 7H 4R 4BB 4K ND).
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 28, 2024
He had TU’s 6th-lowest B-T game score (-10.9).
Player of the Game—Teammate Mason McCoy (2B 1-3 2R BI), +1.0 game scorehttps://t.co/9ZAXk26gj4 https://t.co/f1nSS9ciNk
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).| 8/27 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +11.0 | `TB 3, SEA 2 | Jeffrey Springs | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| NL | +8.0 | PHI 5, HOU 0 | Aaron Nola (W, 12‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| +8.0 | WSH 4, NYY 2 | Patrick Corbin (W, 4‑12) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| +7.2 | NYM 8, ARI 3 | Sean Manaea (W, 10‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 11 | ||
| +6.0 | KC 6, CLE 1 | James McArthur (W, 5‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +4.2 | `ATL 8, MIN 6 (F/10) | Spencer Schwellenbach | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | CHC 9, PIT 5 | Dansby Swanson SS | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | MIA 9, COL 8 | Calvin Faucher (S, 4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | OAK 5, CIN 4 | Max Schuemann 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.0 | SF 5, MIL 4 | Matt Chapman 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | DET 6, LAA 2 | Kerry Carpenter DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.2 | BAL 3, LAD 2 | Matt Bowman (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| +1.0 | BOS 6, TOR 3 | Triston Casas 1B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | SD 7, STL 5 | Mason McCoy SS | 3 | 2 | 1 | 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 12.4 | 24.4 | 68.5 | 114.1 | +0.4 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | nym nl | 10.7 | 14.4 | 41.8 | 64.6 | +7.0 |
| Chapman, Matt 3849 | 3b | sf nl | 7.5 | 11.0 | 29.0 | 36.0 | +4.0 |
| Schwellenbach, Spencer 5035 | pi sp | atl nl | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | +6.0 |
| Corbin, Patrick 3027 | pi sp | dc nl | 4.0 | 11.1 | 38.2 | 96.4 | -3.1 |
| Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | pi sp | tb al | 4.0 | 7.7 | 21.4 | 21.4 | +0.3 |
| Swanson, Dansby 3751 | ss | chi nl | 4.0 | 6.5 | 24.7 | 33.7 | +1.5 |
| Schuemann, Max 5014 | ss 3b | oak al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +4.0 |
| McArthur, James 4941 | pi cp mr | kc al | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -1.0 |
| Carpenter, Kerry 4711 | dh rf ph | det al | 2.0 | 3.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | +0.5 |
| Faucher, Calvin 4980 | pi mr cp | fla nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Casas, Triston 4752 | 1b | bos al | 1.0 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | -4.5 |
| Bowman, Matt 3699 | pi mr | bal al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | +1.0 |
| McCoy, Mason 5092 | ss | sd nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEX | Heaney, Andrew 3515 | 7.0 | 18.4 | 39.8 | 54.5 |
| CHW | Crochet, Garrett 4434 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| CHC | Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 36.1 | 76.6 |
| PIT | Skenes, Paul 5005 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| KC | Wacha, Michael 3276 | 7.7 | 18.7 | 38.2 | 68.9 |
| CLE | Bibee, Tanner 4792 | 13.0 | 21.7 | 21.7 | 21.7 |
| HOU | Arrighetti, Spencer 5022 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| PHI | Walker, Taijuan 3453 | 1.0 | 8.7 | 31.8 | 58.2 |
| TB | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 19.8 | 19.8 |
| SEA | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | 10.7 | 26.8 | 65.2 | 81.6 |
| LAA | Canning, Griffin 4134 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 19.7 | 19.7 |
| DET | Englert, Mason 4782 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| OAK | Bido, Osvaldo 4882 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| CIN | Cruz, Fernando 4768 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| NYY | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | 11.7 | 12.7 | 46.2 | 69.3 |
| WSH | Gore, MacKenzie 4582 | 4.0 | 11.0 | 15.7 | 15.7 |
| TOR | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 6.7 | 26.8 | 64.6 | 70.6 |
| BOS | Bello, Brayan 4727 | 5.7 | 7.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| ATL | Sale, Chris 2806 | 14.4 | 23.1 | 36.1 | 167.7 |
| MIN | Festa, David 5067 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| SD | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | 5.0 | 12.0 | 55.5 | 65.2 |
| STL | Pallante, Andre 4656 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| SF | Harrison, Kyle 4914 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| MIL | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | 10.7 | 28.4 | 58.5 | 67.2 |
| TEX | Leiter, Jack* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CHW | Flexen, Chris 4368 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| MIA | Meyer, Max 4965 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 1.0 | 6.7 | 21.7 | 40.1 |
| NYM | Severino, Luis 3567 | 6.7 | 11.4 | 21.1 | 64.9 |
| ARI | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | 0.0 | 13.0 | 34.4 | 67.2 |
| BAL | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | 8.7 | 20.4 | 61.6 | 64.6 |
| LAD | Buehler, Walker 3943 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 44.5 | 59.6 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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