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 2025
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
▪️ Friday’s Sidelights Sidebar
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to second place in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2025 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Friday, April 18.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Pivetta | pi sp | Padres | 5.0 |
| 2 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | pi sp | Dodgers | 5.0 |
| 3 | Logan Gilbert | pi sp | Mariners | 4.7 |
| 4 | Tyler Mahle | pi sp | Rangers | 4.7 |
| 5 | Pete Alonso | 1b | Mets | 4.5 |
| 6 | Carson Kelly | ca | Cubs | 4.5 |
| 7 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 3.7 |
| 8 | Garrett Crochet | pi sp | Red Sox | 3.7 |
| 9 | Alex Bregman | 3b | Red Sox | 3.7 |
| 10 | Aaron Judge | rf dh | Yankees | 3.5 |
Also Friday, two other players rise into Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 after both earn Player of the Game honors—Carson Kelly of the Cubs rises to sixth place and Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler rises to seventh place.
Player of the Day
Yamamoto struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Rangers.
Yamamoto earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, second among all players, behind Padres pitcher Nick Pivetta. Though Pivetta and Yamamoto both have 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025, Pivetta ranks higher because he has more 2024 points—9.7 vs. 6.4.
Yamamoto also ranks second among National League pitchers behind Pivetta.
Yamamoto recorded a +12.0 Box-Toppers game score, same as another Player of the Game winner Friday, Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott (6IP 2H R BB 11K W in the 8-3 win over the Orioles). But Yamamoto beat Abbott for Player of the Day honors on a tiebreaker with more innings pitched—seven vs. six. So though both had the same game score, Yamamoto earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points while Abbott earns 1.0.
This is Yamamoto’s third Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of 2025. He also did it March 18 (as overall Player of the Day) and April 11.
American League Player of the Day
Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodón struck out nine over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and four walks, in the 1-0 win over the Rays.
Rodón earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, sixth among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day
Trevor Story of the Red Sox hit a pair of three-run home runs and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in six runs, in the 10-3 win over the White Sox.
National League Batter of the Day
Carson Kelly of the Cubs hit two home runs, including a three-run homer, in the 13-11 win over the Diamondbacks. Kelly went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs.
Kelly earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.5 for the season, sixth among all players and second among NL batters, behind Pete Alonso of the Mets. Though Alonso and Kelly both have 4.5 points for the season, Alonso ranks higher because he has more 2024 points—5.0 vs. 1.5.
This is Kelly’s third NL Batter of the Day honor of the season. He also did it March 31 and April 12.
Rankings
Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Wheeler (7IP 5H 2R 0BB 13K W in the 7-2 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.7 for the season. He ranks third among NL pitchers, behind Nick Pivetta of the Padres (5.0) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers (5.0).
It is Wheeler’s third Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of 2025. He also did it March 27 (when he was NL Player of the Day) and April 2.
Wheeler also has 108.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 71st place among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. With his 1.0 point Friday, he passes five players on the “all-time” career points list—Lance Berkman (108.1), Kevin Millwood (108.3), Gio Gonzalez (108.6), Carlos Beltran (108.6) and Billy Wagner (108.7). Wheeler now trails 70th-ranked player Jeff Kent (110.2).
Wheeler ranks 12th among active, signed players in career points, seventh among active NL pitchers.
Career Box-Toppers points—Active NL batters 1—Freddie Freeman #Dodgers 91.4 2—Shohei Ohtani #Dodgers 86.7 3—Andrew McCutchen #Pirates 81.9 4—Bryce Harper #Phillies 74.6 5—Christian Yelich #Brewers 67.9* 6—Mookie Betts #Dodgers 67.7 *Earns 1.0 B-T point Friday www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/4/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Apr 19, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Streak
Christian Yelich of the Brewers has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2025 Friday.
Yelich (2-3 0R 3BI in the 5-3 win over the Athletics) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2014 with the Marlins and now has 67.9 career points, fifth among active NL batters.
His best season was 2019 with the Brewers when he had 11.7 Box-Toppers points, second among NL batters. He led NL batters in 2018 with the Brewers when he had 11.5 points. In 2024, he had 3.5 points with the Brewers, 58th among NL batters.
Friday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Top pitching matchup
▪️Corbin Burnes, Diamondbacks11.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 38th overall
▪️Colin Rea, Cubs
10.4 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 52nd overall
Result—CHC 13, ARI 11
Neither starter was Player of the Game:
Burnes had a -1.0 B-T game score in loss (6IP 6H 2R 0BB 3K ND).
Rea had a +2.2 game score (4.2IP 5H R 0BB 4K ND).
Player of the Game—Carson Kelly, Cubs (2HR 2-4 3R 5BI) with +6.0 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:▪️+11.0—Logan Webb, Giants (6IP 4H 2R ER 0BB 12K L)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. LAA.
Player of the Game—Tyler Anderson, Angels (6IP 3H 0R 2BB 6K W) with +7.0 game score.
▪️+8.0—Jacob deGrom, Rangers (7IP 3H R BB 7K L)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. LAD.
Player of the Game—Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers (7IP 5H 0R 0BB 10K W) with +12.0 game score.
▪️+5.0—Chris Paddack, Twins (5IP 3H R BB 6K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. ATL.
Player of the Game—Drake Baldwin, Braves (1-1 0R 2BI vs. MIN) with +2.0 game score.
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores
Out of 411 total players Friday, 124 pitchers-17.9—Cade Povich, Orioles (3.1IP 6H 7R 5BB 4K L vs. CIN)
-17.0—Carmen Mlodzinski, Pirates
-16.8—Porter Hodge, Cubs
-15.0—Sandy Alcantara, Marlins
-13.9—Kyle Nicolas, Pirates
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
Out of 287 total batters Friday-5.0—Jack Suwinski, Pirates 0-5 4K
-5.0—Alex Verdugo, Braves 0-5 K
-5.0—Noelvi Marte, Reds 0-5 K
-5.0—Shea Langeliers, Athletics 0-5
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.
Debut
Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Friday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Cam Smith of the Astros (2HR 2-4 2R 4BI in the 6-4 win over the Padres) made his Major League debut March 27 and was playing in his 15th career game.
Drake Baldwin of the Braves (1-1 0R 2BI in the 6-4 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut March 27 and was playing in his 11th career game.
Scoring
Yamamoto earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Ródon earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Story and Kelly 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.
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.
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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).| 4/18 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +12.0 | LAD 3, TEX 0 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto (W, 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| +12.0 | CIN 8, BAL 3 | Andrew Abbott (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | ||
| +11.0 | PHI 7, MIA 2 | Zack Wheeler (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13 | ||
| AL | +9.0 | NYY 1, TB 0 | Carlos Rodón (W, 2‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | |
| BAT | +8.0 | BOS 10, CHW 3 | Trevor Story SS | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +7.0 | LAA 2, SF 0 | Tyler Anderson (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | +6.0 | CHC 13, ARI 11 | Carson Kelly C | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | HOU 6, SD 4 | Cam Smith RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | TOR 3, SEA 1 | Bowden Francis (W, 2‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +2.0 | CLE 10, PIT 7 | Bo Naylor C | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | MIL 5, ATH 3 | Christian Yelich DH | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | DET 7, KC 3 | Riley Greene CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | ATL 6, MIN 4 | Drake Baldwin PH‑C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.1 | `NYM 5, STL 4 | David Peterson | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
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 2025 (’25). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’24-’25), the period 2020-2025 (’20-25) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2025 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2024 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’25 | ’24‑25 | ’20‑25 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | pi sp | lad nl | 5.0 | 11.4 | 11.4 | 11.4 | -1.4 |
| Kelly, Carson 4098 | ca | chi nl | 4.5 | 6.0 | 10.0 | 12.0 | +3.0 |
| Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 3.7 | 25.1 | 76.3 | 108.7 | -17.7 |
| Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | nyy al | 2.7 | 15.4 | 47.9 | 73.0 | -10.0 |
| Anderson, Tyler 3656 | pi sp | ana al | 2.0 | 10.0 | 34.4 | 47.4 | -6.0 |
| Abbott, Andrew 4839 | pi sp | cin nl | 2.0 | 7.0 | 18.0 | 18.0 | -3.0 |
| Story, Trevor 3607 | ss | bos al | 1.5 | 2.5 | 17.2 | 39.2 | +0.5 |
| Francis, Bowden 5034 | pi sp | tor al | 1.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | -5.7 |
| Greene, Riley 4675 | cf dh lf | det al | 1.0 | 6.2 | 8.7 | 8.7 | -4.2 |
| Peterson, David 4347 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 5.7 | 18.7 | 18.7 | -3.7 |
| Yelich, Christian 3334 | dh lf | mil nl | 1.0 | 4.5 | 24.2 | 67.9 | -2.5 |
| Naylor, Bo 4885 | ca dh ph | cle al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | -2.0 |
| Baldwin, Drake 5149 | ca ph | atl nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Smith, Cam 5148 | rf | hou al | 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 2025 (’25), this year and last year (’24-25), over a six-year period (’20-25) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’25 | ’24‑25 | ’20‑25 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIA | Quantrill, Cal 4195 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 21.7 | 23.7 |
| PHI | Walker, Taijuan 3453 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 33.8 | 60.2 |
| KC | Lugo, Seth 3729 | 0.0 | 14.1 | 25.5 | 38.5 |
| DET | Mize, Casey 4377 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| ARI | Gallen, Zac 4171 | 2.0 | 14.4 | 59.8 | 65.5 |
| CHC | Brown, Ben 4967 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 4.7 | 17.7 | 52.2 | 52.2 |
| TOR | Berrios, Jose 3791 | 1.0 | 10.7 | 42.5 | 80.0 |
| CIN | Greene, Hunter 4651 | 3.0 | 12.7 | 24.4 | 24.4 |
| BAL | Young, Brandon* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CLE | Lively, Ben 3903 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 9.0 |
| PIT | Skenes, Paul 5005 | 2.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| STL | Liberatore, Matthew 4662 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| NYM | Senga, Kodai 4762 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 15.7 | 15.7 |
| LAD | Sasaki, Roki* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TEX | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | 2.0 | 15.0 | 48.8 | 84.3 |
| CHW | Smith, Shane* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BOS | Crochet, Garrett 4434 | 3.7 | 14.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| NYY | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 19.1 | 114.2 |
| TB | Baz, Shane 4560 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| WSH | Gore, MacKenzie 4582 | 1.0 | 9.0 | 20.7 | 20.7 |
| COL | Dollander, Chase* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ATH | Severino, Luis 3567 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 19.1 | 64.9 |
| MIL | Patrick, Chad 5131 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| SD | King, Michael 4549 | 3.4 | 16.1 | 30.8 | 30.8 |
| HOU | Wesneski, Hayden 4731 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| MIN | Woods Richardson, Simeon 4974 | 1.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| ATL | Sale, Chris 2806 | 0.0 | 19.1 | 29.8 | 172.4 |
| SF | Roupp, Landen 5079 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| LAA | Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | 1.0 | 6.7 | 26.4 | 80.3 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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