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
▪️ Friday’s sidelights sidebar
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Astros pitcher Framber Valdez is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to seventh place in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Friday, Aug. 30:| 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 | 16.7 |
| 5 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 15.4 |
| 6 | Luis Gil | pi sp | Yankees | 15.4 |
| 7 | Framber Valdez | pi sp | Astros | 13.4 |
| 8 | Tanner Bibee | pi sp | Guardians | 13.0 |
| 9 | Bryce Miller | pi sp | Mariners | 12.7 |
| 10 | Freddy Peralta | pi sp | Brewers | 12.4 |
Also Friday, Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga maintains his fourth place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day
Valdez struck out seven over seven scoreless and hitless innings, allowing three walks, in the 3-2 win over the Royals. Valdez did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Royals tied the game after he exited.
Valdez was pitching a no-hitter through seven innings, throwing 98 pitches. But Astros reliever Bryan Abreu gave up a single to Kyle Isbel of the Royals with two out in the eighth inning.
Valdez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.4 for the season, rising to seventh place, third among American League pitchers, behind Tarik Skubal of the Tigers (17.1) and Luis Gil of the Yankees (15.4).
National League Player of the Day
Giants pitcher Blake Snell struck out eight over seven innnings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, in the 3-1 win over the Marlins. Snell did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Marlins led, 1-0, when he exited.
Snell earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season, 29th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers.
Snell becomes the 38th player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2024. It is his sixth season with 10 or more points and his fourth straight. His best season was 2018 with the Rays when he had 27.2 Box-Toppers points, first overall. In 2023, Snell had 14.7 points with the Padres, sixth among NL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day
Manny Machado of the Padres hit a three-run home run and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 13-5 win over the Rays.
Machado earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, ninth among NL batters.
American League Batter of the Day
Austin Wells of the Yankees hit two home runs and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 6-3 win over the Cardinals.
This was Wells’ Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. Wells made his Major League debut Sept. 1, 2023 and was playing in his 112th career game.
Rankings
Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga maintains his fourth place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Imanaga (6IP 4H 3R BB 8K w in the 7-6 win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.7 for the season. He ranks third among NL pitchers behind Dylan Cease of the Padres (17.4) and Zack Wheeler of the Phillies (16.7). (Though Wheeler and Imanaga both have 16.7 points for the season, Wheeler ranks higher because he has more 2023 points—14.7 vs. 0.0.)
Imanaga leads all rookies in 2024 Box-Toppers points ahead of second-place rookie, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, whose 10.0 Box-Toppers points is 39th overall and 18th among NL pitchers.
Notable
Braves pitcher Reynaldo Lopez became the 39th player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2024 after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Lopez (6IP 4H R BB 6K W in the 7-2 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.8 for the season, 27th among all players and 11th among NL pitchers.
This is Lopez’s second season with 10 or more points. He also did it in 2019 with the White Sox when he had 13.1 points, 11th among AL pitchers. In 2023, Lopez earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point with the White Sox and also played with the Angels that season.
Also notable
Six Player of the Game winners from Friday have 10 or more Box-Toppers points for the season, including the previously mentioned Shota Imanaga, Framber Valdez, Reynaldo Lopez and Blake Snell. The other two are:
Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck (6IP 3H 0R 2BB 6K ND in the 7-5, 10-inning win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season, 13th overall and seventh among AL pitchers.
Twins pitcher Pablo Lopez (7.2IP 6H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 2-0 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season, 19th overall and 12th among AL pitchers.
Debut
Brewers pitcher DL Hall also made his Box-Toppers debut Friday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Hall (7IP 4H 0R BB 5K W in the 14-0 win over the Reds) made his Major League debut Aug. 13, 2022, and was playing in his sixth career game.
Scoring
Valdez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Snell earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Machado and Wells 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
▪️Seth Lugo, Royals12.1 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 6th among AL pitchers
▪️Framber Valdez, Astros
11.4 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 12th among AL pitchers
Result—HOU 3, KC 2
Valdez was Player of the Game (7IP 0H 0R 3BB 7K ND) with +11.0 B-T game score.
Lugo had +7.0 B-T game score in loss (7IP 6H R BB 9K ND).
Valdez earns 2.0 B-T point as B-T Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for 2024, rising to 3rd among AL pitchers.
High scores, no points
Highest Box-Toppers game scores for the day among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:▪️+10.0—Adam Oller, Marlins (6IP 2H 0R 2BB 8K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. SF.
Player of the Game—Blake Snell, Giants (7IP 4H R BB 8K ND) with +8.0 game score.
▪️+7.0—Seth Lugo, Royals (7IP 6H R BB 9K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. CIN.
Player of the Game—Framber Valdez, Astros (7IP 0H 0R 3BB 7K ND) with +11.0 game score.
▪️+3.0—Brent Rooker, Athletics (2HR 2-4 3R 2BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. TEX.
Player of the Game—Teammate JJ Bleday (HR 2B 2-5 2R 4BI) with +3.0 game score. (Though Bleday and Rooker both had +3.0 game scores, Bleday won Player of the Game honors because he had more at bats—five vs. four.)
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores
Out of 456 total players Friday, 138 pitchers-21.9—Taj Bradley, Rays (2.1IP 8H 8R 2BB 2K L vs. SD)
-17.8—Luke Maile, Reds
-14.9—Ben Lively, Guardians
-13.8—Jake Irvin, Nationals
-13.0—Dane Dunning, Rangers
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
Out of 318 total batters Friday-5.0—Mason McCoy, Padres 0-5 4K
-5.0—Seiya Suzuki, Cubs 0-5 3K
-5.0—Rafael Devers, Red Sox 0-5 2K
-5.0—Jace Jung, Tigers 0-5 2K
-5.0—Whit Merrifield, Braves 0-5 2K
-5.0—Junior Caminero, Rays 0-5 2K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.
2024 Box-Toppers points—NL pitchers
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 31, 2024
1—Dylan Cease #Padres 17.4
2—Zack Wheeler #Phillies 16.7
3—Shota Imanaga #Cubs 16.7*
4—Chris Sale #Braves 15.4
5—Freddy Peralta #Brewers 12.4
6—Aaron Nola #Phillies 12.4
7—Mitch Keller #Pirates 11.7
†Earns 1.0 pt as Player of the Game Friday
2024 Box-Toppers points—AL pitchers
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 31, 2024
1—Tarik Skubal #Tigers 17.1
2—Luis Gil #Yankees 15.4
3—Framber Valdez #Astros 13.4*
4—Tanner Bibee #Guardians 13.0
5—Bryce Miller #Mariners 12.7
6—Bailey Ober #Twins 12.4
*Earns 2.0 B-T points as Friday’s Player of the Day
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).| 8/30 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +11.0 | `HOU 3, KC 2 | Framber Valdez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| NL | +8.0 | `SF 3, MIA 1 | Blake Snell | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| +7.0 | MIL 14, CIN 0 | DL Hall (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +7.0 | `BOS 7, DET 5 (F/10) | Tanner Houck | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| +5.0 | ATL 7, PHI 2 | Reynaldo López (W, 8‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +4.2 | MIN 2, TOR 0 | Pablo López (W, 13‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | SD 13, TB 5 | Manny Machado DH | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +4.0 | NYY 6, STL 3 | Austin Wells C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | SEA 9, LAA 5 | Julio Rodríguez CF | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.1 | NYM 5, CHW 1 | Tylor Megill (W, 3‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +3.0 | CLE 10, PIT 8 | Josh Naylor 1B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | OAK 9, TEX 2 | JJ Bleday CF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | BAL 5, COL 3 | Emmanuel Rivera 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CHC 7, WSH 6 | Shota Imanaga (W, 11‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 8 | ||
| +1.0 | MIL 5, CIN 4 (F/10) | Willy Adames SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | LAD 10, ARI 9 | Shohei Ohtani DH | 4 | 2 | 2 | 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 | +/‑ |
| Imanaga, Shota 4960 | pi sp | chi nl | 16.7 | 16.7 | 16.7 | 16.7 | +16.7 |
| Valdez, Framber 4048 | pi sp | hou al | 13.4 | 23.4 | 52.8 | 54.8 | +3.4 |
| Houck, Tanner 4342 | pi sp | bos al | 12.4 | 14.4 | 26.1 | 26.1 | +10.4 |
| Lopez, Pablo 4028 | pi sp | min al | 11.7 | 25.1 | 57.2 | 58.9 | -1.7 |
| Lopez, Reynaldo 3712 | pi sp | atl nl | 10.8 | 11.8 | 32.3 | 40.0 | +9.8 |
| Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | sf nl | 10.7 | 25.4 | 63.6 | 99.8 | -4.0 |
| Naylor, Josh 4154 | 1b | cle al | 7.5 | 14.5 | 19.5 | 19.5 | +0.5 |
| Adames, Willy 4041 | ss | mil nl | 7.5 | 14.2 | 25.6 | 26.6 | +0.8 |
| Machado, Manny 3087 | 3b dh | sd nl | 7.0 | 10.0 | 24.4 | 60.8 | +4.0 |
| Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | dh | lad nl | 5.0 | 24.4 | 71.7 | 79.7 | -14.4 |
| Bleday, JJ 5080 | cf | oak al | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | +3.5 |
| Rodriguez, Julio 4590 | cf | sea al | 2.0 | 6.0 | 13.5 | 13.5 | -2.0 |
| Wells, Austin 5098 | ca | nyy al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +1.5 |
| Megill, Tylor 4464 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 16.7 | 16.7 | -3.0 |
| Rivera, Emmanuel 4526 | 3b | bal al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | +1.0 |
| Hall, DL 5097 | pi sp | mil 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 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.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’24 | ’23‑24 | ’19‑24 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | Gibson, Kyle 3312 | 5.4 | 14.1 | 41.2 | 67.6 |
| NYY | Warren, Will* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CHC | Assad, Javier 4899 | 6.0 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| WSH | Herz, DJ 5032 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| SD | Vasquez, Randy 4841 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| TB | Baz, Shane 4560 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| BOS | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 6.7 | 15.7 | 31.4 | 51.1 |
| DET | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 17.1 | 27.8 | 47.2 | 47.2 |
| PIT | Ortiz, Luis 4738 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| CLE | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 11.0 | 30.8 |
| OAK | Estes, Joey 5000 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| TEX | Bradford, Cody 4938 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| KC | Ragans, Cole 4889 | 10.0 | 14.4 | 14.4 | 14.4 |
| HOU | Kikuchi, Yusei 4136 | 7.7 | 17.7 | 35.1 | 35.1 |
| NYM | Quintana, Jose 3040 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 29.8 | 90.1 |
| CHW | Martin, Davis 4657 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| TOR | Berrios, Jose 3791 | 7.7 | 18.1 | 50.2 | 77.0 |
| MIN | Matthews, Zebby* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ATL | Fried, Max 4011 | 8.7 | 17.7 | 61.2 | 62.2 |
| PHI | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | 16.7 | 31.4 | 76.9 | 100.3 |
| MIL | Montas, Frankie 3803 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 36.5 | 39.5 |
| CIN | Cruz, Fernando 4768 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| BAL | Kremer, Dean 4330 | 7.7 | 17.4 | 28.8 | 28.8 |
| COL | Feltner, Ryan 4635 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| LAD | Stone, Gavin 4942 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 1.0 | 14.0 | 40.0 | 40.0 |
| MIA | Cabrera, Edward 4641 | 1.0 | 4.7 | 11.1 | 11.1 |
| SF | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SEA | Woo, Bryan 4842 | 9.7 | 18.4 | 18.4 | 18.4 |
| LAA | Anderson, Tyler 3656 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 32.4 | 45.4 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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