Tigers’ Skubal tops players Tuesday, Sept. 24, securing 2024 AL B-T Player of the Year

Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to second place in season player rankings.

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▪️ Players of the Game
▪️ B-T points of day’s top players
▪️ Top 10 players in 2024
▪️ Tuesday’s sidelights sidebar
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
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Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to second place in season player rankings and securing 2024 American League Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Tuesday, Sept. 24:
  Player Pos Team BTP
1 Zack Wheeler pi sp Phillies 21.4
2 Tarik Skubal pi sp Tigers 21.1
3 Dylan Cease pi sp Padres 21.1
4 Shota Imanaga pi sp Cubs 20.7
5 Chris Sale pi sp Braves 19.1
6 Luis Gil pi sp Yankees 17.4
7 Blake Snell pi sp Giants 15.7
8 Bryce Miller pi sp Mariners 15.7
9 Framber Valdez pi sp Astros 15.4
10 Sean Manaea pi sp Mets 15.4
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Skubal struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Rays.

Skubal earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 21.1 for the season, rising from fourth to second place among all players, behind only Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (21.4). (Though he has the same 21.1-point total as Padres pitcher Dylan Cease, Skubal ranks ahead because he has more 2023 points—10.7 vs. 10.0.)

Skubal increases his 2024 Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers ahead of second-place Luis Gil of the Yankees (17.4 points). With less than a week to go in the season and with Gil only scheduled for one more start Saturday, the most he can earn is 2.0 points as Player of the Day, which would give him 19.4 for the season, not enough to pass Skubal. As a result, with Tuesday’s Player of the Day honor, Skubal has now secured first place and is 2024 AL Box-Toppers Player of the Year.

Skubal becomes the fourth player to reach 20 Box-Toppers points in 2024. It is his first season with 20 or more points. His previous high was 10.7 points in a season in both 2022 and 2023 with the Tigers. In 2022, he ranked 23rd among AL pitchers. In 2023, he ranked 19th among AL pitchers.

Box-Toppers Player of the Year race

Skubal likely can’t rise any higher than second place in 2024 Box-Toppers player rankings because Tuesday was his last scheduled start of the season. (Is it possible Skubal pitches on short rest Sunday, the final day of the season, if the Tigers are still in contention for a playoff berth?)

The race for overall Box-Toppers Player of the Year likely comes down to three players, who are all within 0.7 Box-Toppers points of each other:

  • Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler, ranked first with 21.4 points, who starts Saturday, would secure Player of the Year by winning 1.7 points as NL Player of the Day or better. But he would also win Player of the Year if both of the other two contenders do not earn Player of the Game honors.

  • Padres pitcher Dylan Cease, ranked third with 21.1 points, who starts Wednesday against the Dodgers, could pass Wheeler by winning 1.0 point as Player of the Game. But Wheeler could subsequently pass Cease with his Saturday start.

  • Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga, ranked fourth with 20.7 points, could pass Wheeler when he makes his scheduled start Sunday, the final day of the season. However, Imanaga would be eliminated from contention if either Cease or Wheeler earn 1.7 points or better in their starts this week.

The race for Box-Toppers Player of the Year will not be decided until at least Saturday and could last until Imanaga’s start on Sunday.

National League Player of the Day is Braves pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach.

National League Player of the Day

Braves pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach struck out four over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 5-1 win over the Mets.

Schwellenbach earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, 39th among NL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day is Cody Bellinger of the Cubs.

National League Batter of the Day

Cody Bellinger of the Cubs tripled and went 3-for-5, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 10-4 win over the Phillies.

Bellinger earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 2.5 for the season, 84th among NL batters.

American League Batter of the Day is Vaughn Grissom of the Red Sox.

American League Batter of the Day

Vaughn Grissom of the Red Sox doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in one run, in the 6-5, 10-inning win over the Blue Jays.

This was Grissom’s Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. Grissom made his Major League debut Aug. 10, 2022, and was playing in his 91st career game.

Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee is Box-Toppers Player of the Game Tuesday.

Notable

In addition to Skubal, four players with 10 or more Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday:

  • Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee (7IP 4H R 2BB 7K W in the 6-1 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.0 for the season, 13th among all players and seventh among AL pitchers.

  • Royals pitcher Cole Ragans (6IP 3H 0R 3BB 6K ND in the 1-0, 10-inning win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.0 for the season, 26th among all players and 14th among AL pitchers.

  • Giants pitcher Logan Webb (6IP 4H 0R BB 3K W in the 11-0 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season, 36th among all players and 18th among NL pitchers.

  • Astros closing pitcher Josh Hader (1.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K Sv in the 4-3 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season, 38th among all players, 18th among AL pitchers and first among AL closers, ahead of second-place Andres Munoz of the Mariners (6.0 points).

Astros closing pitcher Josh Hader is Box-Toppers Player of the Game Tuesday.

Debut

In addition to Grissom, Masyn Winn of the Cardinals also made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Winn (HR 2B 2-5 R 4BI in the 7-3 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut Aug. 18, 2023, and was playing in his 183rd career game.

Masyn Winn of the Cardinals also made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Tuesday’s sidelights sidebar

Top pitching matchup

▪️Logan Gilbert, Mariners
11.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 16th among AL pitchers
▪️Framber Valdez, Astros
15.4 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 4th among AL pitchers
Result—HOU 4, SEA 3
Neither starter was Player of the Game.
Gilbert had -2.0 B-T game score in loss (6IP 5H 4R BB 6K L).
Valdez had -6.8 B-T game score (5.2IP 8H 3R 2BB 4K W).
Player of the Game—Josh Hader, Astros (1.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K Sv) with +4.1 B-T game score.

High scores, no points

Highest Box-Toppers game scores for the day among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:
▪️+8.0—Jack Kochanowicz, Angels (7IP 3H 0R 0BB 4K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. CHW.
Player of the Game—Jonathan Cannon, White Sox (6IP 3H 0R BB 7K ND) with +9.0 game score.
▪️+5.0—Bowden Francis, Blue Jays (5IP 3H 0R BB 4K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. BOS.
Player of the Game—Vaughn Grissom, Red Sox (2B 3-4 R BI) with +1.0 game score.
▪️+3.0—Jorge Polanco, Mariners (HR 4-4 R 2BI)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. HOU.
Player of the Game—Josh Hader, Astros (1.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K Sv) with +4.1 game score.

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores

Out of 457 total players Tuesday, 134 pitchers
-10.8—Angel Chivilli, Rockies (0.2IP 3H 4R BB K L vs. STL)
-10.8—Taijuan Walker, Phillies (1.2IP 4H 3R 3BB K ND vs. CHC)
-10.8—Brandon Pfaadt, Diamondbacks (2.2IP 6H 5R 4ER 2BB 4K L vs. SF)
-8.9—Blake Walston, Diamondbacks
-8.9—Hunter Strickland, Angels
-8.9—Isaac Mattson, Pirates

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters

Out of 323 total batters Tuesday
-5.0—Gary Sánchez, Brewers 0-5 4K
-5.0—Jake Burger, Marlins 0-5 2K
-5.0—Victor Robles, Mariners 0-5 2K
-5.0—Freddy Fermin, Royals 0-5
-4.0—J.P. Crawford, Mariners 0-4 4K
-4.0—Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees 0-4 4K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.

Scoring

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

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

  • Bellinger and Grissom 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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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).
9/24 BTG Game Player AB R H BI   IP H R ER BB K
MLB +11.0 DET 2, TB 1 Tarik Skubal (W, 18‑4) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   7.0 2 0 0 1 7
+9.0 `CHW 3, LAA 2 Jonathan Cannon ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.0 3 0 0 1 7
  +6.0 CLE 6, CIN 1 Tanner Bibee (W, 12‑8) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   7.0 4 1 1 2 7
  +6.0 `KC 1, WSH 0 (F/10) Cole Ragans ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.0 3 0 0 3 6
NL +5.0 ATL 5, NYM 1 Spencer Schwellenbach (W, 8‑7) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   7.0 3 1 1 1 4
  +4.1 HOU 4, SEA 3 Josh Hader (S, 34) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   1.1 0 0 0 0 3
  +4.0 SF 11, ARI 0 Logan Webb (W, 13‑10) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.0 4 0 0 1 3
BAT +3.0 CHC 10, PHI 4 Cody Bellinger RF‑1B 5 1 3 4   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +2.2 MIA 4, MIN 1 Jesus Tinoco (S, 3) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   1.2 0 0 0 0 1
  +2.0 STL 7, COL 3 Masyn Winn SS 5 1 2 4   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +2.0 SD 4, LAD 2 Jake Cronenworth 2B 4 1 2 3   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +2.0 MIL 7, PIT 2 Rhys Hoskins 1B 0 1 0 1   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
BAT +1.0 BOS 6, TOR 5 (F/10) Vaughn Grissom 2B 4 1 3 1   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +1.0 BAL 5, NYY 3 Anthony Santander RF 3 2 1 1   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +1.0 OAK 5, TEX 4 Shea Langeliers C 3 2 1 1   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
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 +/‑
Skubal, Tarik 4414 pi sp det al 21.1 31.8 51.2 51.2 +10.4
Bibee, Tanner 4792 pi sp cle al 14.0 22.7 22.7 22.7 +5.3
Ragans, Cole 4889 pi sp kc al 12.0 16.4 16.4 16.4 +7.6
Webb, Logan 4258 pi sp sf nl 11.0 23.4 51.3 51.3 -1.4
Hader, Josh 3881 pi cp hou al 11.0 15.0 42.7 57.4 +7.0
Schwellenbach, Spencer 5035 pi sp atl nl 7.7 7.7 7.7 7.7 +7.7
Langeliers, Shea 4715 ca oak al 7.5 8.5 9.5 9.5 +6.5
Santander, Anthony 3935 rf bal al 6.5 9.5 21.5 23.0 +3.5
Hoskins, Rhys 3909 1b mil nl 5.0 5.0 19.0 23.0 +5.0
Cronenworth, Jake 4380 2b 1b sd nl 4.5 5.5 15.0 15.0 +3.5
Tinoco, Jesus 5095 pi cp mr fla nl 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 +3.0
Bellinger, Cody 3781 dh rf 1b chi nl 2.5 8.0 23.9 32.6 -3.0
Cannon, Jonathan 5036 pi sp chi al 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 +2.0
Grissom, Vaughn 5118 2b bos al 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 +1.5
Winn, Masyn 5117 ss stl nl 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 +1.0
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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.
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Game Starter ’24 ’23‑24 ’19‑24 Career
SEA Kirby, George 4595 13.7 27.4 38.8 38.8
HOU Kikuchi, Yusei 4136 10.7 20.7 38.1 38.1
CHC Assad, Javier 4899 6.0 10.7 10.7 10.7
PHI Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 11.4 15.4 15.4 15.4
CIN Junis, Jakob 3857 0.0 5.7 12.7 21.7
CLE Cantillo, Joey 5106 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
MIL Peralta, Freddy 3965 13.4 31.1 61.2 69.9
PIT Ortiz, Luis 4738 8.0 8.0 9.0 9.0
TB Littell, Zack 4533 8.4 10.4 14.4 14.4
DET Montero, Keider 5057 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7
KC Lorenzen, Michael 3479 4.0 12.7 19.7 27.2
WSH Herz, DJ 5032 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7
BAL Eflin, Zach 3679 7.7 19.7 38.5 51.2
NYY Cortes, Nestor 4160 15.4 17.4 39.8 39.8
BOS Fitts, Richard* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
TOR Gausman, Kevin 3191 10.0 28.7 59.1 98.1
NYM Peterson, David 4347 3.0 6.0 16.0 16.0
ATL Sale, Chris 2806 19.1 27.8 40.8 172.4
LAA Suarez, Jose 4425 1.0 2.0 17.4 17.4
CHW Martin, Davis 4657 0.0 0.0 5.0 5.0
MIA Cabrera, Edward 4641 2.0 5.7 12.1 12.1
MIN Woods Richardson, Simeon 4974 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7
STL Fedde, Erick 4065 7.7 7.7 24.5 26.2
COL Gomber, Austin 3985 6.0 7.0 20.0 24.7
SF Black, Mason 5115 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
ARI Gallen, Zac 4171 10.4 27.1 61.5 61.5
TEX Bradford, Cody 4938 8.4 9.4 9.4 9.4
OAK Basso, Brady* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
SD Cease, Dylan 4231 21.1 31.1 67.9 67.9
LAD Flaherty, Jack 3971 12.0 16.0 44.2 57.3
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
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