Nationals' offseason net gain in Box-Toppers points pushes them to top of preseason team rankings. Meanwhile, the Yankees and Athletics plummet in rankings and the Cubs and Red Sox make big leaps upward.
Read MoreAngels' Richards, Cubs' Rizzo lead in Box-Toppers points among All-Star Final Vote candidates
Angels pitcher Garrett Richards and Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo are the most deserving players to be chosen in the All-Star Game Final Vote, according to their Box-Toppers point total.
All-Star Final Vote
Here are the candidates for the 2014 All-Star Final Vote. There are five candidates from each league. One from each league will be chosen by fans in online voting for the final All-Star roster spots. Voting ends Thursday. Players are shown here in order of their Box-Toppers points total this season.| AL players | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garrett Richards | pi sp | ana al | 10.7 |
| 2 | Corey Kluber | pi sp | cle al | 10.4 |
| 3 | Chris Sale | pi sp | chi al | 10.0 |
| 4 | Dallas Keuchel | pi sp | hou nl | 8.7 |
| 5 | Rick Porcello | pi sp | det al | 5.0 |
| NL players | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Anthony Rizzo | 1b | chi nl | 5.5 |
| 2 | Justin Upton | lf | atl nl | 5.2 |
| 3 | Casey McGehee | 3b | fla nl | 3.5 |
| 4 | Anthony Rendon | 2b | dc nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | Justin Morneau | 1b | col nl | 1.5 |
Richards has the most points among the five American League players on the ballot and Rizzo has the most among the five National League players on the ballot in which fans vote for the 34th and final roster spots for both teams in the July 15 All-Star Game. Voting ends Thursday.
Richards has 10.7 Box-Toppers points, 10th among all players and fifth among AL pitchers, narrowly ahead of Indians pitcher Corey Kluber (10.4 Box-Toppers points, 12th among all players).
Richards is also the top-ranked AL player in Box-Toppers points who was not selected to the All-Star team.
Rizzo is the top player among the five NL players on the Final Vote ballot, but is far from the top-ranked NL player in Box-Toppers points who was not selected to the All-Star team. That honor would go to non-All-Star Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who has 9.0 Box-Toppers points and ranks eighth among NL players.
Rizzo, by comparison, with 5.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks 29th among NL players. However, he ranks third among NL batters and is the top-ranked NL batter not selected to the All-Star team.
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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.
Cubs' Jason Hammel (6.2IP 1R 2H) tops players for Thursday, April 3
Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel is Thursday’s Player of the Day. Hammel gave up one run on two hits over 6 2/3 innings in the 3-2 win over the Pirates.
Chris Colabello of the Twins is American League Player of the Day. Colabello drove in six runs in the 10-9 win over the White Sox.
Casey McGehee of the Marlins is National League Batter of the Day. McGehee went 2-3 with a triple and drove in three runs in the 8-5 win over the Rockies.
Hammel receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Colabello receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. McGehee receives 1.5 for being NL Batter of the Day.
All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 403 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 6.2 | Cubs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jason Hammel (W, 1-0) | 6.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| AL | 3.0 | Twins | Chris Colabello 1B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3.0 | Yankees | Yangervis Solarte 3B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| BAT | 3.0 | Marlins | Casey McGehee 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3.0 | Rays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Chris Archer (W, 1-0) | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | |
| 2.1 | Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Trevor Rosenthal (S, 2) | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2.0 | Nationals | Ryan Zimmerman 3B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2.0 | Giants | Angel Pagan CF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2.0 | Red Sox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Koji Uehara (S, 1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1.0 | Athletics | Coco Crisp CF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |