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While Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga is Box-Toppers’ most improved player in 2024, our choices for Comeback Players of the Year are Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes and Braves pitcher Reynaldo Lopez.
Meanwhile, one of the consensus choices for Comeback Player of the Year—Braves pitcher Chris Sale—ranks 13th among Box-Toppers’ most-improved players in 2024.
Read MoreWhile Marlins pitcher Jesus Luzardo is Box-Toppers’ most improved player in 2023, our choices for Comeback Players of the Year are Eduardo Rodriguez of the Tigers and Jason Heyward of the Dodgers.
Meanwhile, the consensus choices for Comeback Players of the Year—Cody Bellinger and Liam Hendriks—did not rank very highly among Box-Toppers most improved players in 2023.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Justin Verlander is the clear-cut choice for Comeback Player of the Year in the American League, but three different National League players have won 2022 comeback awards, none of whom were among Box-Toppers’ top NL resurgent players.
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Five Box-Toppers points category leaders also won Players Choice Awards for 2022 as voted by the players’ union: Justin Verlander, Aaron Judge, Sandy Alcantara, Spencer Strider and Julio Rodriguez.
Five Box-Toppers points category leaders also won Players Choice Awards for 2022 as voted by the players’ union: Justin Verlander, Aaron Judge, Sandy Alcantara, Spencer Strider and Julio Rodriguez.
Read MoreTrey Mancini of the Orioles and Buster Posey of the Giants were named Comeback Players of the Year for 2021 Monday.
Both ranked far outside Box-Toppers’ 25 most-improved players list for 2021 and neither were among Box-Toppers’ top candidate in either league for the player who had the biggest bounce back to a successful season this year.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Luis Severino had the biggest improvement in Box-Toppers point totals from 2016 to 2017, and is this season’s Box-Toppers’ Most Improved Player.
Severino had 19.1 more Box-Toppers points in 2017 than he did in 2016. In 2016, he had 2.0 Box-Toppers points and in 2017, he had 21.1 points, seventh among all players, fourth among American League pitchers.
Read MoreThe late Jose Fernandez had the biggest gain in Box-Toppers points from 2015 to 2016, 17.7, far outdistancing second-place player, Tigers rookie pitcher Michael Fulmer (12.7).
Read MoreComing back from injury, Matt Harvey had the biggest gain in Box-Toppers points from 2014 to 2015. Rangers' Prince Fielder had big comeback year in AL, but 2 AL players had bigger gains from 2014 to 2015.
Read MoreBox-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.