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Padres pitcher Dylan Cease is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Saturday’s spring training games.
Other Player of the Game winners Saturday include Kenny Piper of the Rays, Robert Moore of the Phillies, Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer, Willson Contreras of the Cardinals and Michael Toglia of the Rockies.
Player of the Day
Cease struck out nine over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two runs and no walks, in the 1-0 win over the Reds. Cease did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Cease had a +12.2 Box-Toppers game score, best among Padres players and highest among all Saturday Player of the Game winners.
This was Cease’s second Player of the Game win of the 2025 spring training season. He also did it March 16 in the 4-2 win over the Angels (4.1IP 3H 0R 3BB 8K W).
Cease earned 21.1 Box-Toppers points in 2024, most among Saturday’s Player of the Game winners. Cease ranked third overall in 2024 and second among NL pitchers, behind Zack Wheeler of the Phillies (21.4).
American League Player of the Day
Kenny Piper of the Rays tripled and went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 14-2 win over the Red Sox.
Piper has played four minor league seasons but has yet to make his Major League debut and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
National League Batter of the Day
Robert Moore of the Phillies hit a three-run homer and went 1-for-2, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 8-7 win over the Yankees.
Moore has played three minor league seasons but has yet to make his Major League debut and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
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 Kenny Piper.
Notable
Two players Saturday earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for a third time during the 2025 spring training season:
Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (4IP 2H 0R BB 4K W in the 2-1 win over the Twins) was also Player of the Game March 2 in the 5-4 win over the Phillies (3.2IP H R 0BB 4K ND) and March 8 in the 5-0 win over the Tigers (3.1IP H 0R 0BB 6K W). Scherzer was overall Player of the Day March 8.
Scherzer earned just 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024 with the Rangers. But he has the most career Box-Toppers points among Saturday’s Player of the Game winners—253.7—third among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and second among active players behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (272.4).
Also earning his third Player of the Game honor of the spring: Willson Contreras of the Cardinals (HR 1-1 R 2BI in the 8-2 win over the Marlins) was also Player of the Game March 1 in the 3-2 win over the Nationals (HR 1-3 R 2BI) and March 19 in the 7-1 win over the Nationals (2-2 R BI).
Two players Saturday earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for a second time during the 2025 spring training season.
One is Cease, the overall Player of the Day.
The other is Michael Toglia of the Rockies (2HR 2-4 2R 2BI) who was also Player of the Game Feb. 22 in the 9-3 win over the Diamondbacks (HR 1-2 R 3BI).
Saturday’s games
There were 16 completed spring training games between two Major League teams Saturday. In the 16 games, there were 10 Player of the Game winners who had previously earned Box-Toppers points in regular season games. In three of Saturday’s games, the Player of the Game winner was a player who has yet to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in the regular season and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
Three games ended in a tie (Braves vs. Tigers, Nationals vs. Mets and Diamondbacks vs. Giants). There are no Player of the Game designations in tie games.
Scoring
No Box-Toppers points are awarded in exhibition games. Were it a regular season day:
Cease would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Piper would have earned 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Moore would have earned 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day.
All of Saturday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart) would have earned 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).| 3/22 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +12.2 | `SD 1, CIN 0 | Dylan Cease | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| AL | +6.0 | TB 14, BOS 2 | Kenny Piper C | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | `BAL 4, PIT 0 | Zach Eflin | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +5.0 | CLE 12, SD 8 | Lane Thomas CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | `ATH 4, MIL 3 | Jeffrey Springs | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| +5.0 | TOR 2, MIN 1 | Max Scherzer (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +4.0 | SEA 14, CHW 1 | Julio Rodríguez CF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | KC 9, TEX 5 | Diego Hernandez PR‑RF | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | PHI 8, NYY 7 | Robert Moore 2B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | STL 8, MIA 2 | Willson Contreras DH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | COL 10, CHW 4 | Ezequiel Tovar SS | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | COL 7, CHC 3 | Michael Toglia 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | MIA 6, HOU 5 | Otto Lopez 2B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | ATL 0, DET 0 (F/10) | N/A | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | WSH 5, NYM 5 | N/A | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | ARI 7, SF 7 | N/A | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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.
N/A—Not applicable. No Player of the Game was chosen because the game ended in a tie.
All other players listed here would 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. No points are awarded during spring training games, so all players have 0.0 Box-Toppers points for 2025. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2024 (’24). Also shown is their point total for the period 2020-2024 (’20-24) and each players’ career point total. (Player of the Game winners not listed here have yet to earn Box-Toppers points during the regular season.)Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’25 | ’24 | ’20‑24 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | sd nl | 0.0 | 21.1 | 65.9 | 67.9 |
| Eflin, Zach 3679 | pi sp | bal al | 0.0 | 7.7 | 29.8 | 51.2 |
| Rodriguez, Julio 4590 | cf | sea al | 0.0 | 6.5 | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Tovar, Ezequiel 4801 | ss | col nl | 0.0 | 5.7 | 12.2 | 12.2 |
| Thomas, Lane 4623 | rf cf | cle al | 0.0 | 5.5 | 10.2 | 10.2 |
| Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | pi sp | oak al | 0.0 | 5.0 | 22.4 | 22.4 |
| Contreras, Willson 3776 | ca dh | stl nl | 0.0 | 3.5 | 19.0 | 31.5 |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | tor al | 0.0 | 2.0 | 56.5 | 253.7 |
| Lopez, Otto 5021 | 2b | fla nl | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Toglia, Michael 5038 | 1b | col nl | 0.0 | 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 2025 (’25)†, last year (’24), over a five-year period (’20-24) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’25† | ’24 | ’20‑24 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | Arrighetti, Spencer 5022 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| WSH | Williams, Trevor 3792 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 20.4 | 35.4 |
| DET | Olson, Reese 4861 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 10.4 | 10.4 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 0.0 | 13.4 | 59.8 | 115.1 |
| WSH | Rutledge, Jackson* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| STL | Fedde, Erick 4065 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 23.5 | 27.2 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 35.8 | 35.8 |
| BOS | Buehler, Walker 3943 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 28.1 | 59.6 |
| BAL | Morton, Charlie 2503 | 0.0 | 9.4 | 44.5 | 113.5 |
| ATL | Strider, Spencer 4626 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 35.5 | 35.5 |
| TB | Pepiot, Ryan 4714 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 16.7 | 16.7 |
| NYY | Fried, Max 4011 | 0.0 | 13.4 | 55.9 | 66.9 |
| PIT | Falter, Bailey 4473 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 13.4 | 13.4 |
| TOR | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 58.9 | 71.6 |
| MIA | Gillispie, Connor* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| NYM | Canning, Griffin 4134 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 15.7 | 22.4 |
| CLE | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 12.1 | 32.5 |
| CIN | Lodolo, Nick 4586 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| ATH | Bido, Osvaldo 4882 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| CHC | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 31.8 |
| ARI | Nelson, Ryne 4728 | 0.0 | 8.4 | 16.8 | 16.8 |
| CHW | Eisert, Brandon* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SD | Gillaspie, Logan* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ARI | Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 | 0.0 | 12.4 | 16.1 | 16.1 |
| COL | Dollander, Chase* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIL | Rodriguez, Elvin 4634 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| MIL | Thomas, Connor* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SEA | Miller, Bryce 4797 | 0.0 | 15.7 | 28.8 | 28.8 |
| LAA | Soriano, Jose 4884 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| LAD | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Games shown are spring training games between MLB teams. Doesn't include games vs. non-MLB teams.
† Players don’t earn Box-Toppers points in spring training games, only regular season games, so no pitcher has earned any points in 2025.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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