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
▪️ Saturday’s sidelights sidebar
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Braves pitcher Reynaldo Lopez is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Saturday, Sept. 28:| 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 | George Kirby | pi sp | Mariners | 15.4 |
| 10 | Framber Valdez | pi sp | Astros | 15.4 |
Also, Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler secures 2024 Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors despite not winning Player of the Game honors in his start Saturday, finishing the season in first place with 21.4 Box-Toppers points.
Player of the Day
Lopez struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run, two hits and no walks, in the 2-1 win over the Royals. Lopez did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied when he exited.
Lopez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.8 for the season, 22nd among all players and 11th among National League pitchers.
Lopez had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +11.0, same as another Player of the Game winner Saturday, Nationals pitcher MacKenzie Gore (6IP 3H 0R BB 9K ND in the 6-3 win over the Phillies). Lopez won Player of the Day and 2.0 Box-Toppers points on a tiebreaker over Gore (who earned 1.0 point) because he allowed fewer hits—two vs. three. Both Lopez and Gore earned no-decisions in their games, both pitched six innings and both struck out nine.
American League Player of the Day
Emmanuel Rivera of the Orioles hit two homers, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 9-2 win over the Twins.
Rivera earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, 65th among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day
Yasmani Grandal of the Pirates homered and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 9-4 win over the Yankees.
American League Batter of the Day
There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Emmanuel Rivera.
Saturday’s sidelights sidebar
Top pitching matchup
▪️Paul Skenes, Pirates13.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 21st
▪️Luis Gil, Yankees
17.4 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 6th
Result—PIT 9, NYY 4
Neither starter was Player of the Game.
Skenes had +5.0 B-T game score (2IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K ND).
Gil had -8.8 B-T game score in loss (5.2IP 6H 6R BB 5K L).
Player of the Game—Yasmani Grandal, Pirates (HR 3-4 3R 2BI vs. NYY) with +4.0 B-T game score. (Though Skenes had a higher game score—+5.0—he did not qualify to be considered for Player of the Game because he did not pitch at least three innings or earn the win or save.)
High scores, no points
Highest Box-Toppers game scores for the day among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:▪️+8.1—Zack Wheeler, Phillies (6.1IP 3H 2R 2BB 11K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. WSH.
Player of the Game—MacKenzie Gore, Nationals (6IP 3H 0R BB 9K ND) with +11.0 game score.
▪️+8.0—Michael Soroka, White Sox (3IP 0H 0R 0BB 5K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. DET.
Player of the Game—Teammate Sean Burke (5IP 2H 0R 3BB 6K W) with +6.0 game score.
▪️+4.0—Dane Myers, Marlins (HR 2B 2-4 R 5BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. TOR.
Player of the Game—Teammate Darren McCaughan (4IP 2H 0R BB 4K Sv) with +5.0 game score.
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores
Out of 443 total players Saturday, 141 pitchers-17.0—Andrew Heaney, Rangers (4IP 10H 7R 0BB 3K ND vs. LAA)
-15.9—Justin Lawrence, Rockies
-15.9—Antonio Senzatela, Rockies
-14.0—Zebby Matthews, Twins
-10.9—Kutter Crawford, Red Sox
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
Out of 302 total batters Saturday-5.0—Aaron Judge, Yankees 0-5 5K
-5.0—Lawrence Butler, Athetlics 0-5 3K
-5.0—Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Pirates 0-5 3K
-5.0—Seth Brown, Athletics 0-5 2K
-5.0—Connor Norby, Marlins 0-5 2K
-5.0—Jeremy Peña, Astros 0-5 2K
-5.0—Josh Smith, Rangers 0-5 2K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.
Notable
Brewers pitcher Tobias Myers now has 10.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024 after earning 1.0 point as Player of the Game (4IP H 0R 0BB 5K W in the 6-0 win over the Mets). Myers’ 10.0 points ranks 58th among all players and 26th among NL pitchers.
Myers becomes the 58th player this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points. This is Myers first season with 10 or more points in his first season earning points.
Myers is the 53rd pitcher to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2024, which ties the record for most pitchers to reach 10 points in a season (since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995). There were also 53 pitchers to reach 10 points in 2014.
Debut
Three players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
White Sox pitcher Sean Burke (5IP 2H 0R 3BB 6K W in the 4-0 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut Sept. 10 and was playing in his fourth career game.
Marlins closing pitcher Darren McCaughan (4IP 2H 0R BB 4K Sv in the 8-1 win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut July 21, 2021, and was playing in his 17th career game.
Astros closing pitcher Shawn Dubin (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K Sv in the 4-3 win over the Guardians) made his Major League debut June 19, 2023, and was playing in his 34th career game.
Scoring
Lopez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Rivera earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Grandal earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day.
All of Saturday’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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With neither Shota Imanaga #Cubs nor Tarik Skubal #Tigers starting Sunday, Zack Wheeler #Phillies secures 2024 Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors, regardless of the outcome of his start Saturday.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) September 28, 2024
Wheeler has 21.4 B-T points to lead all players.https://t.co/enGBZt6p0s pic.twitter.com/MFEUxPGiYh
Zack Wheeler becomes the 1st #Phillies player to win Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors, winning the 2024 race with 21.4 B-T points. (B-T tracking began in 1995.)
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) September 28, 2024
A look at all B-T Player of the Year winners, 1995-2024—https://t.co/zGvIVcqiiE
53 pitchers with 10+ Box-Toppers points in 2024 ties the record for most pitchers with pitchers to reach 10 points in a season (since B-T tracking began in 1995):
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) September 29, 2024
53—2014, 2024
50—2022
47—2018, 2023
45—2013
44—2016, 2021
43—2011
41—2010, 2012
40—2001https://t.co/A7V5dBJVpx
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).| 9/28 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +11.0 | `ATL 2, KC 1 | Reynaldo López | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |
| +11.0 | `WSH 6, PHI 3 | MacKenzie Gore | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | ||
| +8.0 | MIL 6, NYM 0 | Tobias Myers (W, 9‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| +8.0 | `SD 5, ARI 0 | Randy Vásquez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| AL | +7.0 | BAL 9, MIN 2 | Emmanuel Rivera 3B | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | CHW 4, DET 0 | Sean Burke (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| +5.1 | `CHC 3, CIN 0 | Kyle Hendricks | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| +5.0 | TEX 9, LAA 8 | Nathaniel Lowe 1B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | TB 7, BOS 2 | Shane Baz (W, 4‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +5.0 | MIA 8, TOR 1 | Darren McCaughan (S, 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | PIT 9, NYY 4 | Yasmani Grandal C | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | SEA 7, OAK 6 (F/10) | Luke Raley 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | LAD 13, COL 2 | Justin Wrobleski (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| +3.0 | HOU 4, CLE 3 | Shawn Dubin (S, 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | SF 6, STL 5 | Spencer Bivens (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lopez, Reynaldo 3712 | pi sp | atl nl | 12.8 | 13.8 | 34.3 | 42.0 | +11.8 |
| Myers, Tobias 5026 | pi sp | mil nl | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | +10.0 |
| Gore, MacKenzie 4582 | pi sp | dc nl | 8.0 | 15.0 | 19.7 | 19.7 | +1.0 |
| Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 5.7 | 10.7 | 38.8 | 79.3 | +0.7 |
| Baz, Shane 4560 | pi sp | tb al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 | +4.0 |
| Raley, Luke 4868 | lf 1b | sea al | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +1.0 |
| Bivens, Spencer 5090 | pi mr sp cp | sf nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Rivera, Emmanuel 4526 | 3b | bal al | 2.7 | 2.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | +2.7 |
| Grandal, Yasmani 3058 | ca | pit nl | 2.5 | 3.5 | 10.0 | 33.2 | +1.5 |
| Lowe, Nathaniel 4340 | 1b | tex al | 2.0 | 6.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | -2.0 |
| Vasquez, Randy 4841 | pi sp | sd nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +1.0 |
| Wrobleski, Justin 5062 | pi sp cp | lad nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Burke, Sean 5124 | pi sp | chi al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Dubin, Shawn 5126 | pi cp | hou al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| McCaughan, Darren 5125 | pi cp | fla 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 Sunday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 13.4 | 25.4 | 69.5 | 115.1 |
| WSH | Irvin, Jake 4805 | 10.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| PIT | Falter, Bailey 4473 | 3.7 | 8.4 | 13.4 | 13.4 |
| NYY | Schmidt, Clarke 4581 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 10.4 | 10.4 |
| STL | McGreevy, Michael 5113 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| SF | Birdsong, Hayden 5063 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| TB | Pepiot, Ryan 4714 | 9.7 | 14.7 | 16.7 | 16.7 |
| BOS | Priester Quinn 5059 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| MIA | Weathers, Ryan 4388 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| TOR | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TEX | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | 12.0 | 21.7 | 46.8 | 81.3 |
| LAA | Kochanowicz, Jack 5094 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| BAL | Suarez, Albert 3870 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 |
| MIN | Ober, Bailey 4441 | 13.4 | 22.1 | 31.8 | 31.8 |
| CHW | Cannon, Jonathan 5036 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| DET | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| HOU | Gusto, Ryan* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CLE | Sandlin, Nick 4440 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| LAD | Banda, Anthony 3867 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 3.7 |
| COL | Feltner, Ryan 4635 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| NYM | Peterson, David 4347 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| MIL | Rea, Colin 3582 | 10.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 | 19.1 |
| OAK | Spence, Mitch 4986 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 11.0 | 24.4 | 45.5 | 45.5 |
| SD | Perez, Martin 3213 | 5.7 | 10.4 | 23.2 | 40.2 |
| ARI | Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 | 11.4 | 15.1 | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| CIN | Greene, Hunter 4651 | 8.7 | 14.4 | 20.4 | 20.4 |
| CHC | Kilian, Caleb* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| KC | Ragans, Cole 4889 | 12.0 | 16.4 | 16.4 | 16.4 |
| ATL | Morton, Charlie 2503 | 9.4 | 19.4 | 63.3 | 113.5 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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