Athletics' Sonny Gray tops players for Wednesday, May 24; Rockies' Chatwood tops NL players

Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of May 24:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	10.7
2	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	9.4
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	8.4
4	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	6.7
5	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	6.0
6	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	6.0
7	Harper, Bryce 3011	rf	dc nl	6.0
8	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	6.0
9	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	6.0
10	Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	col nl	6.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Gray struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 4-1 win over the Marlins.

National League Player of the Day—Rockies pitcher Tyler Chatwood pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing one hit, in the 7-2 win over the Phillies.

National League Batter of the Day—Adam Frazier of the Pirates hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-2, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 12-5, 10-inning win over the Braves.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Iglesias of the Tigers homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 6-3 win over the Astros.

Notable—Yankees pitcher Luis Severino has the most season Box-Toppers points of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Severino (8IP 4H 0R BB 7K W in the 3-0 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.7 for the season, ranked 20th among all players this season. He ranks 11th among AL pitchers.

Scoring—Gray earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Chatwood earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Frazier and Iglesias each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 

5/24	Score	Game	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	12.0	OAK 4, MIA 1	Sonny Gray (W,2-1)	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	1	11
	10.0	NYY 3, KC 0	Luis Severino (W,3-2)	-	-	-	-		8.0	4	0	0	1	7
NL	10.0	COL 7, PHI 2	Tyler Chatwood (W,4-6)	-	-	-	-		7.0	1	0	0	4	8
	7.0	STL 6, LAD 1	Mike Leake (W,5-2)	-	-	-	-		8.0	4	1	1	0	5
BAT	6.0	PIT 12, ATL 5 (F/10)	Adam Frazier, LF-CF	2	3	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	WSH 5, SEA 1	Tanner Roark (W,4-2)	-	-	-	-		7.0	8	1	1	0	8
BAT	4.0	DET 6, HOU 3	Jose Iglesias, SS	4	3	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	CHC 5, SF 4	Anthony Rizzo, 1B	3	2	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	TB 5, LAA 2	Steven Souza Jr., RF	3	2	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.1	`ARI 8, CHW 6	J.J. Hoover (H,6)	-	-	-	-		1.1	2	0	0	0	4
	3.0	TOR 8, MIL 4	Ryan Goins, SS	4	1	2	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	BOS 9, TEX 4	Mitch Moreland, PH-1B	2	2	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	SD 6, NYM 5	Matt Szczur, CF	1	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.1	MIN 4, BAL 3	Jose Berrios (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-		6.1	4	3	3	2	7
	1.0	CIN 4, CLE 3	Arismendy Alcantara, PR	0	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

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.
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.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).  

Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Severino, Luis 3567	pi sp	nyy al	4.7	6.7	9.7	9.7	2.7
Chatwood, Tyler 2856	pi sp	col nl	4.4	11.4	18.1	21.1	-2.6
Frazier, Adam 3771	lf cf	pit nl	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5
Leake, Mike 2709	pi sp	stl nl	3.0	8.0	38.4	47.6	-2.0
Goins, Ryan 3478	ss	tor al	3.0	4.5	9.0	9.0	1.5
Berrios, Jose 3791	pi sp	min al	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Rizzo, Anthony 3063	1b	chi nl	2.5	5.5	29.5	29.5	-0.5
Iglesias, Jose 3532	ss	det al	2.5	2.5	3.5	3.5	2.5
Roark, Tanner 3261	pi sp	dc nl	2.0	14.7	30.7	30.7	-10.7
Souza, Steven Jr. 3461	rf	tb al	2.0	7.7	13.2	13.2	-3.7
Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	2.0	3.0	34.8	34.8	1.0
Moreland, Mitch 2799	1b ph	bos al	1.0	4.5	17.7	19.7	-2.5
Szczur, Matt 3704	cf	sd nl	1.0	2.5	2.5	2.5	-0.5
Hoover, J.J. 3163	pi mr	ari nl	1.0	1.0	10.0	10.0	1.0
Alcantara, Arismendy 3378	2b pr	cin nl	1.0	1.0	2.5	2.5	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cardinals' Lance Lynn (7IP R 3H 9K) tops players for Friday, July 17

Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson became the 14th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Lynn struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run on three hits, in the 3-2 win over the Mets.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 17.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	15.0
2	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	14.4
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	13.4
4	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	13.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	13.1
6	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	12.0
7	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	12.0
8	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	11.7
9	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	hou al	11.1
10	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out four, in the 1-0 win over the Red Sox.

Wilson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 10.1 for the season. He ranks 13th among all players and seventh among AL pitchers. He is the 14th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

National League Batter of the Day—Jeff Francoeur of the Phillies hit a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the 6-3 win over the Marlins.

American League Batter of the Day—Justin Smoak of the Blue Jays hit a three-run homer, doubled and scored two runs in the 6-2 win over the Rays.

Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:

• Jose Iglesias of the Tigers (HR 1-3 2R 3BI in the 7-3 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut May 8, 2011, and was playing in his 222nd career game. He is the 3,532nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
• Braves pitcher Arodys Vizcaino (1IP 0R 0H K W in the 4-2 win over the Cubs) made his Major League debut Aug. 10, 2011, and was playing in his 27th career game. He is the 3,533rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Lynn earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wilson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Francoeur and Smoak each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

7/17	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	10.0	Cardinals	Lance Lynn (W,7-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	1	9
	8.0	Brewers	Mike Fiers (W,5-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	1	7
BAT	4.0	Phillies	Jeff Francoeur, PH	1	1	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
AL	4.0	Angels	C.J. Wilson	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	0	0	3	4
	3.0	Reds	Marlon Byrd, LF	4	2	4	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	Blue Jays	Justin Smoak, 1B	4	2	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Twins	Trevor Plouffe, 3B	4	1	2	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Tigers	Jose Iglesias, SS	3	2	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	White Sox	David Robertson (S,20)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	`Padres	Joaquin Benoit (H,12)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Braves	Arodys Vizcaino (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Giants	Hunter Pence, RF	6	2	3	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Yankees	Chris Young, RF	4	2	2	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Astros	Luke Gregerson (S,19)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	1
	0.0	Royals	Alex Rios, RF	3	1	1	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers top rookie Jose Fernandez wins NL newcomer award

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez led the way in voting and in Box-Toppers points on the way to earning National League Rookie of the Year Monday.

But the player voted American League Rookie of the Year ranked fourth among AL rookies in Box-Toppers points, behind a teammate. Wil Myers of the Rays, who served as designated hitter and right fielder, was voted top AL rookie, though his teammate, pitcher Chris Archer, had the most Box-Toppers points among AL rookie vote-getters.

Fernandez, who ranked fourth among all players, briefly led in Box-Toppers overall player rankings in September. He finished with 19.0 Box-Toppers points, in fourth place among all NL players and more than any other AL player.

Dodgers rightfielder Yasiel Puig finished second in voting, though he only earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points during the season.

The National League featured strong rookie pitchers among the top vote-getters. Shelby Miller of the Cardinals (third in voting) had the second-most Box-Toppers points among rookies with 15.4. Julio Teheran of the Braves (fifth in voting) had the third-most Box-Toppers points among rookies with 13.7. Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Dodgers (fourth in voting) had 9.7 Box-Toppers points.

Archer far outdistanced all other AL rookies in Box-Toppers points, though he was only voted in third place. Archer had 11.7 Box-Toppers points. Myers, who finished first, had 3.5 Box-Toppers points, tied for the most among AL batters in rookie voting.

Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias (who earlier in the season played for the Red Sox) finished in second in voting, though he earned no Box-Toppers points. In fact, two rookie vote-getters, Iglesias and Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado, have yet to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors and so neither have any Box-Toppers points.

One other notable rookie, Athletics pitcher Dan Straily finished fourth in AL rookie voting. He had 7.7 Box-Toppers points, the second-most among AL rookie vote-getters.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. The player on the winning team with the highest Box-Toppers game score is Player of the Game and receives 1.0 Box-Toppers point. The Player of the Game with the highest overall Box-Toppers game score for all the games played that day is Player of the Day and earns a total of 2.0 Box-Toppers points. The top player in the opposite league receives a total of 1.7 Box-Toppers points. If both the day’s top overall player and top player in the opposite league are pitchers, then the top American League and top National League batter of the day receive a total of 1.5 Box-Toppers points each.

Jose Fernandez

Here is how Fernandez scored his 19.0 Box-Toppers points this season:

April 13: Player of the Game, 1.0 Box-Toppers point

May 4: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

June 1: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

June 14: Player of the Game, 1.0 BTP.

July 1: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

July 23: Player of the Game, 1.0 BTP.

July 28: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

Aug. 2: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

Aug. 13: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

Aug. 19: Player of the Game, 1.0 BTP.

Aug. 24: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

Sept. 6: Player of the Game, 1.0 BTP.

Chris Archer

Here is how Archer scored his 11.7 Box-Toppers points:

June 7: Player of the Game, 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

July 9: Player of the Game, 1.0 BTP.

July 14: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

July 27: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

Aug. 18: American League Player of the Day, 1.7 BTP.

Aug. 28: Player of the Day, 1.0 BTP.

Sept. 13: Player of the Day, 2.0 BTP.

Sept. 18: Player of the Game, 1.0 BTP

Wil Myers

Here is how Myers scored his 3.5 Box-Toppers points:

July 19: Player of the Game, 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Aug. 15: American League Batter of the Day, 1.5 BTP.

Sept. 4: Player of the Game, 1.0 BTP

How top rookies fared in Box-Toppers points 

Here are the results of Rookie of the Year voting in both leagues. Players are listed in order of their vote total. The far right column shows how many Box-Toppers points (BTP) they earned during the 2013 season. For more: MLB.com’s coverage of the vote.

Top rookies
AL
Player	Pos	Club	1st	2nd	3rd	Points	BTP
Wil Myers	dh rf	Rays	23	5	1	131	3.5
Jose Iglesias	ss	Tigers*	5	17	4	80	0
Chris Archer	pi sp	Rays	1	5	15	35	11.7
Dan Straily	pi sp	Athletics	1	2	4	15	7.7
J.B. Shuck	lf	Angels		1	1	4	3.0
Cody Allen	pi mr	Indians			2	2	1.0
Martin Perez	pi sp	Rangers			2	2	5.0
David Lough	rf	Royals			1	1	3.5
NL
Player		Club	1st	2nd	3rd	Points	BTP
Jose Fernandez	pi sp	Marlins	26	4		142	19.0
Yasiel Puig	rf	Dodgers	4	25		95	1.5
Shelby Miller	pi sp	Cardinals		1	9	12	15.4
Hyun-Jin Ryu	pi sp	Dodgers			10	10	9.7
Julio Teheran	pi sp	Braves			7	7	13.7
Jedd Gyorko	2b	Padres			2	2	2.0
Nolan Arenado	3b	Rockies			1	1	0.0
Evan Gattis	ca	Braves			1	1	1.0

* Jose Iglesias began the season playing for the Red Sox.