For second straight year, Boston Red Sox projected to be Box-Toppers' most improved team

Box-Toppers projects the Boston Red Sox to be the most improved team in baseball in 2016.

But Box-Toppers also projected the Red Sox to be the most improved team going into 2015, a prediction that didn’t quite pan out.

Projecting the Red Sox

For the second straight year, the Boston Red Sox are projected by Box-Toppers to be baseball’s most improved team. Their 2015 rise wasn’t as great as projected. Here are Box-Toppers’ preseason rankings for the Red Sox from 2014 to 2016, including their projected Box-Toppers point (BTP) total for the season and their rank among all 30 teams, followed by their actual Box-Toppers point total and rank at the end of each season.  

	Preseason projection			Actual result
	BTP	Rank		BTP	Rank
2014	121.7	4th		68.7	30th
2015	92.0	17th		77.6	23rd
2016	103.9	10th		?	?

Both years the prediction happened because the Red Sox had a previous lackluster season followed by an active offseason in which it picked up star players.

This year, the Red Sox picked up 26.3 Box-Toppers points in the offseason, mainly on the strength of signing free agent pitcher David Price, who had 21.1 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Tigers and the Blue Jays, second among American League pitchers.

At the end of 2015, the Red Sox ranked 23rd among the 30 teams in Box-Toppers points. They are now ranked 10th in preseason standings. Last year, they finished fifth in the AL East with 78 wins. This year, Box-Toppers projects them to finish in second (to the Toronto Blue Jays) with 95 wins and earn a wild-card spot.

But Box-Toppers also projected a big Red Sox jump going into 2015, which didn’t quite happen. At the end of 2014, the Red Sox ranked 30th in Box-Toppers team rankings. But in the offseason, they made winter moves and signings that gave them a net gain of 23.3 points. Among Red Sox additions going into 2015 were pitchers Rick Porcello, Justin Masterson and batters Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval. None of those players matched their Box-Toppers point totals from 2014 in 2015.

Those additions helped the Red Sox rise to 17th place in Box-Toppers preseason team rankings in 2015. However, they foundered and finished 2015 ranked 23rd—an improvement from 2014, but not as great as the projected improvement. Box-Toppers projected them having 85 wins in 2015—they fell seven wins short.

In addition to Price, the Red Sox picked up other notable players going into the 2016 season—outfielder Chris B. Young (who had 4.5 Box-Toppers points with the Yankees in 2015) and closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel (who had 6.0 points with the Padres in 2015).

About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers points are a measure of how much a player provides key contributions to his team’s wins. Specifically, 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.

Related posts

• Box-Toppers preseason rankings for 2016
• Box-Toppers preseason rankings for 2015

Cubs' Jason Hammel (8IP 0R 7K) tops players for Monday, April 27

Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel is Monday’s Player of the Day.

Hammel pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out seven in the 4-0 win over the Pirates.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of April 27.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	6.0
2	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	5.0
3	Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	4.5
4	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	4.0
5	Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	oak al	3.7
6	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	3.7
7	DeSclafani, Anthony 3441	pi sp	cin nl	3.7
8	Hechavarria, Adeiny 3445	ss	fla nl	3.5
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	cin nl	3.4
10	Harang, Aaron 1599	pi sp	phi nl	3.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Hammel has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 10 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2006 with the Rays. His best season was 2014 when he had 10.4 Box-Toppers points with the Cubs (8.7) and the Athletics (1.7). He has 38.5 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks him 44th among active pitchers currently in the National League.

American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Adam Warren struck out six over 5 2/3 innings and allowed one run in the 4-1 win over the Rays. Warren earned no decision because he left with the game tied, 1-1.

National League Batter of the Day—Jay Bruce of the Reds hit a two-run homer, scored twice and drove in three runs, in the 9-6 win over the Brewers.

American League Batter of the Day—Pablo Sandoval of the Red Sox homered, went 2-for-2 and drove in three runs, in the 6-5 win over the Blue Jays.

Streak—Justin Morneau of the Rockies has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 12 straight seasons. Morneau was Player of the Game in Monday’s 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks (3R HR 2-3 3BI) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.

Morneau earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2004 with the Twins. His best season was 2006 with the Twins when he had 12.2 Box-Toppers points, ranking seventh among AL batters. In 2014, he had 3.2 Box-Toppers points with the Rockies.

Morneau has 72.3 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 71st among all batters since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995, behind Ryan Braun (72.7) and ahead of Chase Utley (72.1). He ranks sixth among active batters currently in the NL.

Debut—Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Walker (7IP R 5K W in the 3-1 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut Aug. 30, 2013, and was playing in his 15th career game. He is the 3,453rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. 

Scoring—Hammel earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Warren earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Bruce and Sandoval each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’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

4/27	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	Cubs	Jason Hammel (W, 2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	4	0	0	0	7
	6.0	Phillies	Cole Hamels (W, 1-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	1	1	4	9
BAT	5.0	Reds	Jay Bruce RF	1	2	1	3	3	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
AL	4.2	`Yankees	Adam Warren	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	5	1	1	0	6
BAT	4.0	Red Sox	Pablo Sandoval 3B	2	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Dodgers	Justin Turner PH	1	1	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Mariners	Taijuan Walker (W, 1-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	1	0	1	5
	3.0	Braves	Kelly Johnson LF	4	1	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Rockies	Justin Morneau 1B	3	1	2	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.2	`Mets	Dillon Gee	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	6	1	1	0	3
	2.0	Royals	Mike Moustakas 3B	5	2	4	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Astros	Colby Rasmus LF	5	2	2	3	0	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Tigers	Yoenis Cespedes LF	4	1	2	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Madison Bumgarner earns Box-Toppers Player of the Game for third time in World Series, leading Giants to title in Game 7, Wednesday, Oct. 29

Madison Bumgarner won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Wednesday for the third time in this World Series and led the Giants to its third title in five years.

Bumgarner, who pitched five scoreless innings of relief, allowing two hits, striking out four and earning the save, is top player in the decisive Game 7. The Giants beat the Royals in the game 3-2 and won the series 4-3. The Giants previously won the World Series in 2010 and 2012.

Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0, highest of any Giants player. He had been Player of the Game in World Series Game 1 and Game 5—both games he started. In Game 7, pitching on two-days’ rest, the Giants ace entered the game in unfamiliar territory for him— in relief in the fifth inning with the Giants already leading 3-2.

In the Giants four wins in the World Series, Bumgarner—who won World Series Most Valuable Player—was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in three of them. The only game in which Bumgarner was not Player of the Game was in Game 4, the Giants’ second win of the series. The honor that game went to Hunter Pence.

Bumgarner also earned Player of the Game honors five times during the postseason. Previously, he was Player of the Game:

• Oct. 1 in the National League Wild Card win over the Pirates.

• Oct. 11 in the NL Championship Series Game 1 win over the Cardinals.

• Oct. 21 in the World Series Game 1 win over the Royals.

• Oct. 26 in the World Series Game 5 win over the Royals.

Bumgarner was top player in nearly half the games the Giants won this postseason—five of 12. No other player earned Player of the Game honors more than twice during the postseason. The players who won it twice:

• Travis Ishikawa of the Giants: In National League Championship Series Game 3 and Game 5.

• Yusmeiro Petit of the Giants: In NL Division Series Game 2 and NLCS Game 4.

• Wade Davis of the Royals: In American League Championship Series Game 1 and World Series Game 3.

• Lorenzo Cain of the Royals: In ALCS Game 2 and World Series Game 6.

During the regular season, Bumgarner earned 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranking third among all players and second among NL pitchers. He was the highest-ranked player remaining in the postseason and the only player in the World Series in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings.

Bumgarner had originally been credited with a win in the game, even though he entered the game with the Giants already leading. That was corrected by official scorers within an hour after the game, giving the win to Jeremy Affeldt and the save to Bumgarner who was a five-inning closer. Affeldt, who pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief, was the pitcher of record when the Giants took the lead.

Had Bumgarner been pulled in favor of a closer—possibly Santiago Casilla—in the ninth inning, he still likely would have won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors, even though Casilla would have been credited with the save and Bumgarner would have earned a no decision (no win or save). Under Box-Toppers rules, non-decision-earning pitchers are eligible to earn Player of the Game honors if they pitch three or more innings. After eight innings, Bumgarner pitched four innings and had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0.

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.

Previous Box-Toppers 2014 World Series previews:

Giants have clear Box-Toppers advantage over Royals in World Series, but since 2014 is underdog year, watch out for David slaying 'Giant'

Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is

Can a Royals diehard fan of the 1970s rekindle lapsed fandom with Kansas City's 2014 World Series team? A personal essay

Top 4 players in World Series Game 7 

Here are the top four Giants players in Wednesday’s World Series Game 7, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Madison Bumgarner, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Pablo Sandoval was the Giants’ batter with the highest Box-Toppers game score of +2.0. Only four Giants players had Box-Toppers game scores of 0.0 or above.

1029	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
POG	7.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	2	0	0	0	4
	2.0	Giants	Pablo Sandoval 3B	3	2	3	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.1	Giants	Jeremy Affeldt (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.1	1	0	0	0	0
	0.0	Giants	Michael Morse DH	3	0	1	2	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-

Nationals' Gonzalez tops players for Thursday, Sept. 25; Yankees' Kuroda is AL's top player in Jeter's dramatic Bronx finale

Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez, Thursday’s Player of the Day, becomes the 57th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Gonzalez pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out 12, in the 3-0 win over the Mets. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season. He ranks 44th among all players and 18th among National League pitchers. 

In 2013, 54 players earned 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Yankees pitcher Hiroki Kuroda is American League Player of the Day. Kuroda struck out nine over eight innings in the 6-5 win over the Orioles. After Kuroda left the game, the Orioles tied it at 5-5, so he was not eligible for the win, picking up the no decision. 

Kuroda earned Player of the Game honors over teammate, the retiring Derek Jeter, who drove in the winning run on a dramatic, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth in his final game at Yankee Stadium. However, Jeter had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score among Yankees Thursday of +1 (he went 2-for-5 with a run and three RBIs) while Kuroda’s score was +10.

Christian Vazquez of the Red Sox is AL Batter of the Day. Vazquez homered and doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-1 win over the Rays.

Pablo Sandoval of the Giants is NL Batter of the Day. Sandoval went 3-for-3 and drove in four runs in the 9-8 win over the Padres.

Notable: Marlins pitcher Steve Cishek ranks 21st among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Cishek (1IP 0R 2K Sv in the 6-4 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season. He ranks 47th among all players.

Gonzalez receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kuroda receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Vazquez and Morrison each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed, click here.

NOTE: The usual weekly Friday reports of Box-Toppers team and player rankings will wait this week until the season's final games are completed Sunday. Look for Box-Toppers final team rankings and player rankings reports for the season on Monday—or thereabouts.

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

925	Score	Team	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	16.0	Nationals	Gio Gonzalez (W, 10-10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	1	0	0	2	12
	12.0	Pirates	Edinson Volquez (W, 13-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	1	10
AL	10.0	`Yankees	Hiroki Kuroda	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	2	2	0	9
BAT	5.0	Red Sox	Christian Vazquez C	4	2	4	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Mariners	Logan Morrison LF, 1B	4	2	2	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	4.0	Giants	Pablo Sandoval 3B	3	0	3	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Mets	Curtis Granderson RF	4	1	3	3	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Tigers	Joe Nathan (S, 34)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Marlins	Steve Cishek (S, 39)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Royals	Lorenzo Cain CF, RF	5	2	4	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Reds	Aroldis Chapman (S, 35)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	`Rangers	Colby Lewis	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	1	1	5	7

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Giants' Sandoval, Red Sox' Ortiz top players for Wednesday, Sept. 4

Pablo Sandoval of the Giants is Wednesday's Player of the Day. Sandoval hit three home runs, drove in six and went 4-for-5 in the 13-5 win over the Padres.

David Ortiz is American League Player of the Day. Ortiz hit two home runs, drove in four and went 3-for-5 in the 20-4 win over the Tigers.

Ortiz rises to 23rd place on the season's Box-Toppers player rankings. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season.

Wednesday was a rare occurrence in which batters earned both top player honors over pitchers. 

Notable: Yankees closer Mariano Rivera earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day. Rivera (1.1IP 0H 0R 1K Sv in 6-5 win vs. White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.0 for the season. 

Rivera now has 125.4 career Box-Toppers points and is in 26th place overall. However, he trails the all-time leader among closing pitchers, Trevor Hoffman, who earned 129.4 points and is in 21st place overall. Rivera, who has announced he is retiring after this season, would need to double his season total in Box-Toppers points over the next few weeks to catch Hoffman in career Box-Toppers points. 

Ortiz, who was AL Player of the Day Wednesday, has 126.4 career Box-Toppers points and is in 24th place. Box-Toppers record-keeping began in 1995.

Sandoval receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Ortiz receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. No pitchers received Box-Toppers bonus points since no pitchers had higher Box-Toppers game scores than the top batters.

All of Wednesday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

904	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	8.0	Giants	Pablo Sandoval 3B	5	3	4	6	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
AL	5.0	Red Sox	David Ortiz DH	5	3	3	4	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	5.0	Mets	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Dillon Gee (W, 11-9)	7.0	4	1	1	1	5
	4.0	Rays	Wil Myers DH	4	2	3	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Athletics	Coco Crisp CF	4	2	2	4	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Brewers	Aramis Ramirez 3B	3	3	2	2	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Rockies	Josh Rutledge 2B	4	3	3	1	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	`Diamondbacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Randall Delgado	7.0	4	3	3	0	6
	2.1	Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Mariano Rivera (S, 41)	1.1	0	0	0	0	1
	2.0	Cubs	Dioner Navarro C	5	2	2	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Indians	Yan Gomes C	4	1	3	2	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Mariners	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Lucas Luetge (W, 1-2)	2.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Nationals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Rafael Soriano (S, 38)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Cardinals	Matt Adams 1B	5	2	2	2	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	0.0	Astros	Trevor Crowe LF	5	1	2	2	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Tigers' Miguel Cabrera, Reds' Brandon Phillips among leaders in All-Star voting and Box-Toppers standings

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers and Brandon Phillips of the Reds are among players who are leaders both in fan All-Star voting and Box-Toppers standings.

In fact, Box-Toppers standings roughly coincide with about half of the players currently leading in All-Star voting.

Major League Baseball released All-Star vote standings for the National League on June 9 and released American League standings on June 3. The current leaders by league and by position are listed in the far right columns in the chart below. Note that five of the players currently leading in All-Star voting also rank first in their position in the league in Box-Toppers points. Three others rank second.

Overall, it's either a very good showing by fans or a decent affirmation of Box-Toppers' worth as a measure of player performance. Or it could be that we're all wrong.

Fans and Box-Toppers generally agree on these players: 

• AL 1B: Chris Davis of the Orioles.
• AL 2B: Robinson Cano of the Yankees. 
• AL 3B: Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers. 
• AL CA: Joe Mauer of the Twins. (Mauer ranks second among AL catchers in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season, but leads among AL catchers when both the 2012 and 2013 seasons are combined.)  
• AL OF: Mike Trout of the Angels. (Trout ranks seventh among AL outfielders in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season, but leads among AL outfielders over the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons.) 
• AL DH: David Oritz of the Red Sox. 
• NL 1B: Brandon Phillips of the Reds. 
• NL CA: Buster Posey of the Giants. (Posey is second to Brian McCann of the Braves in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season and the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons, but it is a pretty close race.) 
• NL OF: Bryce Harper of the Nationals. (Harper is second among NL outfielders in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season.) 

There are a few instances in which Box-Toppers ranked a player lower than fans: 

• AL SS: Elvis Andrus of the Rangers ranks ninth in Box-Toppers points among AL shortstops for the 2013 season. He has 1.0 point this season and only 2.0 the past two seasons. 
• AL OF: Adam Jones of the Orioles ranks 13th in Box-Toppers points among AL outfielders.
• AL OF: Torii Hunter of the Angels ranks 55th in Box-Toppers among AL outfielders. Though Hunter has scored no Box-Toppers points this season, he ranks second among AL outfielders in Box-Toppers points over the period of 2008-2013.
• NL 1B: Joey Votto of the Reds ranks 10th in Box-Toppers points among NL first basemen. 
• NL SS: Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies ranks fifth among NL shortstops. 
• NL 3B: Pablo Sandoval of the Giants ranks seventh among NL third basemen. 
• NL OF: Justin Upton of the Braves ranks 20th among NL outfielders. 
• NL OF: Carlos Beltran of the Cardinals ranks 28th among NL outfielders.

There are only a few obvious snubs by Box-Toppers measures, but there are still a couple of weeks before All-Star voting closes to fix the problems:

• NL 1B: Should be Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks. Goldschmidt leads all NL batters in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season with 8.7. He leads NL first basemen in Box-Toppers points for 2013 and over the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons. He is second among NL first basemen in All-Star voting with over 900,000 votes, more than 600,000 behind Votto.
• NL SS: Should be Everth Cabrera of the Padres. Cabrera leads NL shortstops in Box-Toppers points for 2013 and over the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons. He's not in the top five among NL shortstops in All-Star voting.
• NL OF: Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies should be among the top three. He is currently seventh in All-Star voting with 955,000—Carlos Beltran of the Cardinals, currently third in voting among NL outfielders, has 1,550,000. Gonzalez leads all NL outfielders in Box-Toppers points for both the 2013 season and the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons.
• NL CA: Buster Posey leads in fan voting, but Brian McCann of the Braves has very narrow Box-Toppers points leads over Posey. But it hardly matters since Posey has nearly 2 million fan votes and McCann has barely 500,000.

The chart below shows Box-Toppers points leaders by position so far through the 2013 season. The middle columns look at players over the longer run, seeing who is leading in Box-Toppers points for the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons. And the far right columns show the current All-Star fan vote leaders, with their rank by position in Box-Toppers points in the 2013 season.

The chart also includes Box-Toppers points leaders among starting, middle and relief closing pitchers, even though fans don't get to vote on those.

Voting for the All-Star game is open until July 4.

Here is how the Box-Toppers All-Star teams stand as of today: 

	2013 SEASON				2012-13 SEASONS				ALL-STAR VOTE LEADERS
AL	PLAYER	TEAM	BTP		PLAYER	TEAM	BTP		PLAYER	TEAM	RANK BY POS.
First base	Davis, Chris 2478	bal al	4.5		Davis, Chris 2478	bal al	16.5		Chris Davis	bal al	1
Second base	Cano, Robinson 2092	nyy al	4.5		Kipnis, Jason 2933	cle al	9.5		Robinson Cano	nyy al	1
Shortstop	Drew, Stephen 2210	bos al	4.5		Escobar, Yunel 2331	tb al	10		Elvis Andrus	tex al	9
Third base	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	10.7		Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	22.4		Miguel Cabrera	det al	1
Catcher	Arencibia, J.P. 2781	tor al	5.5		Mauer, Joe 1869	min al	13		Joe Mauer	min al	2
Outfield 1	Johnson, Kelly 2018	tb al	4.5		Trout, Mike 2949	ana al	13.5		Mike Trout	ana al	7
Outfield 2	Nava, Daniel 2740	bos al	4.5		Hamilton, Josh 2332	ana al	11.5		Adam Jones	bal al	13
Outfield 3	Raburn, Ryan 2340	cle al	4.5		Rios, Alex 1989	chi al	9.9		Torii Hunter	det al	55
Designated hitter	Ortiz, David	bos al	5.2		Butler, Billy 2330	kc al	13.7		David Ortiz	bos al	1
Starting pitcher 1	Masterson, Justin 2462	cle al	10.7		Verlander, Justin 2112	det al	30.8
Starting pitcher 2	Buchholz, Clay 2363	bos al	10.1		Darvish, Yu 3003	tex al	25.8
Starting pitcher 3	Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	sea al	9.7		Scherzer, Max 2588	det al	25.7
Starting pitcher 4	Darvish, Yu 3003	tex al	9		Hernandez, Felix 2064	sea al	25.4
Middle reliever	Tazawa, Junichi 3151	bos al	4		Chen, Bruce 1170	kc al	8
Closing pitcher	Perkins, Glen 2506	min al	5		Rodney, Fernando 1803	tb al	10
NL
First base	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	ari nl	8.7		Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	ari nl	13.2		Joey Votto	cin nl	10
Second base	Phillips, Brandon 1691	cin nl	5		Phillips, Brandon 1691	cin nl	14.5		Brandon Phillips	cin nl	1
Shortstop	Cabrera, Everth 2625	sd nl	4.5		Cabrera, Everth 2625	sd nl	7.5		Troy Tulowitzki	col nl	5
Third base	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	dc nl	5.2		Freese, David 2710	stl nl	12.7		Pablo Sandoval	sf nl	7
Catcher	McCann, Brian 2179	atl nl	5		McCann, Brian 2179	atl nl	11		Buster Posey	sf nl	2
Outfield 1	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	col nl	8		Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	col nl	17.2		Justin Upton	atl nl	20
Outfield 2	Harper, Bryce 3011	dc nl	5.9		Braun, Ryan J. 2300	mil nl	16		Bryce Harper	dc nl	2
Outfield 3	Pollock, A.J. 3142	ari nl	4.7		Holliday, Matt 1836	stl nl	15.7		Carlos Beltran	stl nl	28
Starting pitcher 1	Miller, Shelby 3134	stl nl	9.7		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	28.8
Starting pitcher 2	Corbin, Patrick 3027	ari nl	9.4		Lynn, Lance 2992	stl nl	26.1
Starting pitcher 3	Harvey, Matt 3075	nym nl	9		Strasburg, Stephen 2736	dc nl	23.4
Starting pitcher 4	Wainwright, Adam 2150	stl nl	8.7		Gonzalez, Gio 2626	dc nl	22.7
Middle reliever	Collmenter, Josh 2863	ari nl	3		Casilla, Santiago 2301	sf nl	6
Closing pitcher	Grilli, Jason 2209	pit nl	4.7		Chapman, Aroldis 2826	cin nl	18
AL top player	Masterson, Justin 2462	cle al	10.7		Verlander, Justin 2112	det al	30.8
AL top batter	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	10.7		Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	22.4
NL top player	Miller, Shelby 3134	stl nl	9.7		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	28.8
NL top batter	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	ari nl	8.7		Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	col nl	17.2

BTP: Box-Toppers points

RANK BY POS: Where the player ranks by fielding position in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season. 

What are those numbers after players' names?