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
Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third place in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Tuesday, Aug. 6:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Padres | 17.4 |
| 2 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 15.7 |
| 3 | Shota Imanaga | pi sp | Cubs | 15.7 |
| 4 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 14.4 |
| 5 | Luis Gil | pi sp | Yankees | 14.4 |
| 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 | Tyler Glasnow | pi sp | Dodgers | 11.7 |
| 10 | Tanner Houck | pi sp | Red Sox | 11.4 |
Imanaga struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing two runs, two hits and one walk, in the 7-3 win over the Twins.
Imanaga earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 15.7 for the season, rising from fifth to third place overall and also third place among National League pitchers. He trails overall leader Dylan Cease of the Padres (17.4 points) and Zack Wheeler of the Phillies (15.7). (Though Wheeler and Imanaga both have 15.7 points in 2024, Wheeler ranks ahead because he has more 2023 points—14.7 vs. 0.0.)
Cease also pitched Tuesday but did not earn Player of the Game honors in the win over the Pirates, pitching only one inning before a lengthy rain delay and not returning.
Imanaga had a +10.0 Box-Toppers game score Tuesday, same as another Player of the Game winner, Brewers pitcher Colin Rea (7IP 5H 0R BB 9K W in the 10-0 win over the Braves). But Imanaga beat Rea for overall Player of the Day honors on a tiebreaker, picking up more strikeouts—10 vs. nine.
Imanaga is the overwhelming leader in 2024 Box-Toppers points among players who have made their Box-Toppers debut this season. His 15.7 Box-Toppers points is nearly twice the total of the second-place player to make his debut in 2024, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, whose 8.0 Box-Toppers points is 47th overall and 20th among NL pitchers.
American League Player of the Day
Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt struck out nine over seven innings, allowing two runs, three hits and two walks, in the 5-2 win over the Orioles.
Bassitt earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season, 27th among AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day
James Wood of the Nationals homered, tripled and went 2-for-3, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 11-5 win over the Giants.
This was Wood’s Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. Wood made his Major League debut July 1 and was playing in his 31st career game.
American League Batter of the Day
Andrew Benintendi of the White Sox homered, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 5-1 win over the White Sox.
The win ended the White Sox’ 21-game losing streak.
Notable
Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray now has 107.3 career Box-Toppers points—75th-most since 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Gray (7IP 4H 2R BB 6K W in the 4-3 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point to pass James Shields (106.4) on the “all-time” career Box-Toppers points list. (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.) Gray now trails 74th-ranked player Lance Berkman (108.1).
Gray ranks 13th among active, signed players in career points, seventh among active NL pitchers.
He now has 9.4 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 10th among NL pitchers.
Tuesday’s sidelights sidebar
Top pitching matchup
▪️Pablo López, Twins9.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 19th
▪️Shota Imanaga, Cubs
13.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 5th
Result—CHC 7, MIN 3
Imanaga was Player of the Game (7IP 2H 2R BB 10K W) with +10.0 B-T game score.
López had -9.0 B-T game score in loss (5IP 7H 4R BB 2K L).
Imanaga earns 2.0 B-T points as Player of the Day, giving him 15.7 for 2024, rising to 3rd among all players.
High scores, no points
Highest Box-Toppers game scores for the day among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:▪️+7.0—Albert Suárez, Orioles (5IP 2H 0R 2BB 6K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. TOR.
Player of the Game—Chris Bassitt, Blue Jays (7IP 3H 2R 2BB 9K W) with +7.0 game score.
▪️+5.0—Willy Adames, Brewers (2HR 4-5 2R 4BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. ATL.
Player of the Game—Teammate Colin Rea (7IP 5H 0R BB 9K W) with +10.0 game score.
▪️+5.0—William Contreras, Brewers (3B 2B 3-4 2R 4BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. ATL.
Player of the Game—Teammate Colin Rea (7IP 5H 0R BB 9K W) with +10.0 game score.
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores
Out of 357 total players Tuesday, 99 pitchers-19.0—Hayden Birdsong, Giants (2IP 5H 7R 3BB K L vs. WSH)
-17.0—Max Meyer, Marlins
-14.8—Bryce Elder, Braves
-11.9—Gregory Soto, Orioles
-10.9—Seth Lugo, Royals
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
Out of 258 total batters Tuesday-5.0—LaMonte Wade Jr., Giants 0-5 K
-5.0—Manny Machado, Padres 0-5
-4.0—Maikel Garcia, Royals 0-4 3K
-4.0—Gunnar Henderson, Orioles 0-4 3K
-4.0—Justyn-Henry Malloy, Tigers 0-4 3K
-4.0—Bryan Reynolds, Pirates 0-4 3K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.
Scoring
Imanaga earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Bassitt earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Wood and Benintendi 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.
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.
Most 2024 Box-Toppers points among players making their B-T debut in 2024
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 7, 2024
1—Shota Imanga #Cubs 15.7*
2—Paul Skenes #Pirates 8.0
3—Ronel Blanco #Astros 7.7
4—Yoshinobu Yamamoto #Dodgers 6.4
5—Jared Jones #Pirates 6.0
*Earns 2.0 B-T points Tuesday—https://t.co/7N1y6HRThq pic.twitter.com/rRXGuznii2
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).| 8/6 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +10.0 | CHC 7, MIN 3 | Shota Imanaga (W, 9‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | |
| +10.0 | MIL 10, ATL 0 | Colin Rea (W, 10‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | ||
| AL | +7.0 | TOR 5, BAL 2 | Chris Bassitt (W, 9‑10) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | |
| +7.0 | DET 4, SEA 2 | Keider Montero (W, 2‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| +5.2 | HOU 4, TEX 2 | Framber Valdez (W, 11‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | WSH 11, SF 5 | James Wood LF | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.2 | SD 6, PIT 0 | Bryan Hoeing (W, 2‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +4.1 | BOS 6, KC 5 | Kenley Jansen (S, 21) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | STL 4, TB 3 | Sonny Gray (W, 11‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +4.0 | CIN 8, MIA 2 | Nick Lodolo (W, 9‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | ||
| +2.0 | PHI 6, LAD 2 | Edmundo Sosa 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | CHW 5, OAK 1 | Andrew Benintendi LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.0 | COL 6, NYM 3 | Brendan Rodgers 2B | 3 | 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.
Back to top
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 | 15.7 | 15.7 | 15.7 | 15.7 | +15.7 |
| Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | stl nl | 9.4 | 19.8 | 57.4 | 107.3 | -1.0 |
| Lodolo, Nick 4586 | pi sp | cin nl | 9.0 | 9.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | +9.0 |
| Rea, Colin 3582 | pi sp | mil nl | 8.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 17.4 | +3.7 |
| Valdez, Framber 4048 | pi sp | hou al | 8.4 | 18.4 | 47.8 | 49.8 | -1.6 |
| Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | tor al | 6.7 | 26.8 | 64.6 | 70.6 | -13.4 |
| Jansen, Kenley 2871 | pi cp | bos al | 5.0 | 8.0 | 24.0 | 69.4 | +2.0 |
| Montero, Keider 5057 | pi sp | det al | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | +2.7 |
| Benintendi, Andrew 3815 | lf | chi al | 2.5 | 3.5 | 13.2 | 24.9 | +1.5 |
| Wood, James 5078 | lf | dc nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +1.5 |
| Sosa, Edmundo 4495 | 2b 3b ss | phi nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | -1.0 |
| Hoeing, Bryan 4856 | pi mr sp | sd nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | -1.0 |
| Rodgers, Brendan 4529 | 2b | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default view.
Back to top
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARI | Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 | 7.4 | 11.1 | 11.1 | 11.1 |
| CLE | Lively, Ben 3903 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 9.7 | 18.4 | 35.8 | 35.8 |
| CHC | Assad, Javier 4899 | 5.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| HOU | Kikuchi, Yusei 4136 | 4.7 | 14.7 | 32.1 | 32.1 |
| TEX | Urena, Jose 3492 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 24.4 |
| CHW | Martin, Davis 4657 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| OAK | Estes, Joey 5000 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| LAA | Daniel, Davis 4953 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| NYY | Gil, Luis 4498 | 14.4 | 14.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| ARI | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | 0.0 | 13.0 | 34.4 | 67.2 |
| CLE | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | 1.7 | 3.4 | 25.8 | 113.2 |
| CIN | Abbott, Andrew 4839 | 5.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| MIA | Bellozo, Valente* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SD | King, Michael 4549 | 9.0 | 18.0 | 23.7 | 23.7 |
| PIT | Gonzales, Marco 3408 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 22.1 | 36.5 |
| SF | Snell, Blake 3688 | 7.0 | 21.7 | 59.9 | 96.1 |
| WSH | Irvin, Jake 4805 | 9.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| LAA | Fulmer, Carson 3910 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 2.7 |
| NYY | Warren, Will* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BAL | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| TOR | Francis, Bowden 5034 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| MIL | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | 9.7 | 27.4 | 57.5 | 66.2 |
| ATL | Sale, Chris 2806 | 12.4 | 21.1 | 34.1 | 165.7 |
| TB | Bradley, Taj 4780 | 10.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| STL | Fedde, Erick 4065 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 22.5 | 24.2 |
| BOS | Crawford, Kutter 4660 | 5.7 | 11.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| KC | Ragans, Cole 4889 | 8.0 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 |
| NYM | Blackburn, Paul 3869 | 4.0 | 8.7 | 12.7 | 15.7 |
| COL | Feltner, Ryan 4635 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| DET | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 14.4 | 25.1 | 44.5 | 44.5 |
| SEA | Kirby, George 4595 | 11.7 | 25.4 | 36.8 | 36.8 |
| PHI | Phillips, Tyler 5064 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| LAD | Stone, Gavin 4942 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default, game-by-game view.
Back to top