Nationals' Scherzer tops players for Wednesday, May 27, rises to 2nd in player rankings, Mariners' Hernandez extends Box-Toppers points lead

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Wednesday’s Player of the Day and rises to second in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season.

Top 10 players

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


Player Pos Team BTP
1 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 11.4
2 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 9.0
3 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp pit nl 9.0
4 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 7.0
5 Miller, Shelby 3134 pi sp atl nl 7.0
6 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 6.7
7 Harvey, Matt 3075 pi sp nym nl 6.7
8 Fielder, Prince 2029 dh tex al 6.5
9 Harper, Bryce 3011 lf rf dc nl 6.5
10 Price, David 2593 pi sp det al 6.4
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez maintained his overall Box-Toppers points lead, earning American League Player of the Day honors and becoming the first player in 2015 with 10.0 Box-Toppers points. Plus, despite earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday, Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole actually fell from second to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Player of the Day—Scherzer pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 13 and allowing five hits, in the 3-0 win over the Cubs.

Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.0 for the season, rising to second in Box-Toppers player rankings and first among National League pitchers, passing Gerrit Cole of the Pirates. Both Scherzer and Cole have 9.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, but Scherzer holds the tiebreaker because he had more 2014 Box-Toppers points (22.1 vs. 5.7).

American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez pitched a complete game, four-hit shutout, striking out eight, in the 3-0 win over the Rays.

Hernandez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season, extending his lead among players in Box-Toppers points for the season. Hernandez is the first player with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season. It is the seventh straight season Hernandez has had 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points in a season.

Hernandez now has 154.7 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 13th among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 12th-place player Mike Mussina (155.6).

American League Batter of the Day—Chris Davis of the Orioles hit two home runs and went 2-for-4, driving in three runs, in the 5-4 win over the Astros. It is Davis’s first Box-Toppers points of the season and the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors since his drug-related suspension at the end of 2014.

National League Batter of the Day—Will Middlebrooks of the Padres homered, doubled and drove in three runs in the 5-4 win over the Angels. Middlebrooks had a Box-Toppers game score of 2.0, tied with Nolan Arenado of the Rockies, who was Player of the Game Wednesday in the 6-4 win over the Reds. But Middlebrooks won the tiebreaker to earn NL Batter of the Day because he had two extra base hits (home run and double) while Arenado had one (home run).

Rankings—Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole was Player of the Game Wednesday in the 5-2 win over the Marlins (7IP 2R 7K W) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.0 for the season.

Cole actually fell in Box-Toppers player rankings from second to third, despite earning Box-Toppers points Wednesday, because he was passed by overall Player of the Day, Max Scherzer of the Nationals.

Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hernandez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Davis and Middlebrooks each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/27 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 14.0 Nationals Max Scherzer (W, 6-3) - - - - - - 7.0 5 0 0 1 13
AL 12.0 Mariners Felix Hernandez (W, 8-1) - - - - - - 9.0 4 0 0 1 8
8.0 Indians Carlos Carrasco (W, 6-4) - - - - - - 8.0 5 1 1 1 8
7.1 Mets Noah Syndergaard (W, 2-2) - - - - - - 7.1 6 0 0 0 6
5.2 Yankees Michael Pineda (W, 6-2) - - - - - - 6.2 6 1 1 1 8
BAT 3.0 Orioles Chris Davis 1B 4 2 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Tigers Yoenis Cespedes LF 3 1 2 3 1 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Twins Aaron Hicks CF 2 2 1 2 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Pirates Gerrit Cole (W, 7-2) - - - - - - 7.0 7 2 2 0 7
3.0 Giants Ryan Vogelsong (W, 4-2) - - - - - - 6.0 6 1 1 0 5
BAT 2.0 Padres Will Middlebrooks 3B 4 1 2 3 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Rockies Nolan Arenado 3B 4 1 2 3 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Braves Alex Wood (W, 3-2) - - - - - - 7.0 7 1 1 2 6
2.0 `White Sox Jeff Samardzija - - - - - - 7.0 8 1 0 1 5
1.2 Cardinals Seth Maness (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 0.2 0 0 0 0 1
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Cardinals' Trevor Rosenthal tops players for 2nd straight World Series game

Box-Toppers Daily Postseason.png

Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for the second straight World Series game. 

Rosenthal is Box-Toppers top player in Saturday's Game 3, pitching the final five outs to lead the Cardinals to a 5-4 win over the Red Sox. The Cardinals now lead the World Series two games to one.

Rosenthal struck out two and gave up one hit over 1 2/3 innings and earned the win when the Cardinals scored the walk-off winning run on an obstruction call when Allen Craig got tangled in Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks' feet as he was trying to score from third on an overthrow. Craig was tagged out at the plate, but was ruled safe at home because of the obstruction call.  

Rosenthal had 6.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 147th overall. He was also Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Game 2. 

 Coming Sunday: The World Series resumes Sunday in St. Louis. Here is the pitching match-up:

World Series Game 4, Cardinals lead Red Sox 2-1

Red Sox: Clay Buchholz, 11.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked 41st overall. 

Cardinals: Lance Lynn, 16.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked 11th overall. 

Box-Toppers tracks players who most help 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. In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top player in each of the other games.

Related story:  Box-Toppers previews 2013 World Series in this post from Oct. 21.

Top 6 players in World Series Game 3

Here are the top six Cardinals players in Saturday's World Series Game 3, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Trevor Rosenthal, who had a Box-Toppers game score of 2.2, was Player of the Game (POG). He narrowly edged out starter Joe Kelly, who had a game score of 2.1, for top player. Highest-ranking batter was Matt Holliday (game score of 1.0), who went 2-for-5 and drove in three runs.

1026ScoreTeamBATTERSABRHRBIBBSO--PITCHERSIPHRERBBSO
POG2.2Cardinals 000000000Trevor Rosenthal (W, 1-0)1.210002
 2.1Cardinals 000000000Joe Kelly 5.122236
 2.0Cardinals 000000000Kevin Siegrist 1.000001
 1.0Cardinals Matt Holliday LF5123000000.000000
 1.0Cardinals Allen Craig PH1110000000.000000
 0.0Cardinals Yadier Molina C4031110000.000000

ALCS Preview: Tigers, with 3 best AL players in Box-Toppers rankings, may have slight edge on Red Sox

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The American League Championship Series beginning Saturday features Box-Toppers' top-ranked AL teams and Box-Toppers' three best AL players—who all happen to be Detroit Tigers.

The Tigers may have a slight edge over the Boston Red Sox as they prepare to face off in the best-of-seven series beginning in Boston.

The Tigers were No. 1 in Box-Toppers Team Rankings at the close of the season with 123.4 Box-Toppers points. The Red Sox ranked fourth overall (second in the AL) with 121.7 points. However, the Red Sox had the better actual winning percentage (.599 vs. .574), giving them home-field advantage for the series. The Red Sox were tied for the best win-loss record in baseball. The Tigers had the sixth-best record—third in the AL, behind the Red Sox and Athletics.

The Tigers beat the Athletics in the American League Division series, three games to two. The Athletics had 115.3 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranked eighth overall. The Red Sox beat the Rays in their ALDS, three games to one. The Rays had 119.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fifth.

The Tigers have the top three AL players in Box-Toppers points for the season:

  • Pitcher Max Scherzer has 18.1 Box-Toppers points and is ranked fifth among all Major League players (see the Player Rankings Top 10 list on the home page).
  • Pitcher Anibal Sanchez has 17.1 Box-Toppers points and is ranked seventh among all players.
  • Third baseman Miguel Cabrera has 16.9 Box-Toppers points, leads among all Major League batters and is the only batter in the Player Rankings Top 10, in eighth place overall.

The Red Sox top player in Box-Toppers rankings is pitcher Jon Lester with 12.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 34th overall. Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz has 12.4 Box-Toppers points and is ranked 36th overall, fifth among all AL batters.

Below are position-by-position match-ups of each player likely in the starting line-up for both teams, along with the four most likely starting pitchers, the team's top closer and an extra pitcher. Also listed are each player's Box-Toppers points earned in 2013, along with their overall rank among players for the season.

If you simply add together the Box-Toppers points of these 15 key players from each team, the Tigers have 104 points and the Red Sox 97.2.

If you compare them position-by-position, the Tigers also have more players with higher Box-Toppers points totals. The Tigers have the edge in eight positions, the Red Sox in seven.

The Red Sox have more highly ranked batters than the Tigers. In a position-by-position match-up of the starting nine, the Red Sox have Box-Toppers-superior players in six positions, the Tigers in three (though one of the three is at third base, where Miguel Cabrera beats Will Middlebrooks 16.9 Box-Toppers points to 1.0).

The Tigers dominate pitching match-ups in each category except closer, where Red Sox pitcher Koji Uehara has 6.0 Box-Toppers point while Tigers pitcher Joaquin Benoit has 1.0.

Coming Saturday: Here is the pitching match-up for Game 1 of the AL Championship Series:

ALCS Game 1, Tigers at Red Sox

Tigers: Anibal Sanchez, 17.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked seventh overall (see the Top 10 Player ranking list on the home page)

Red Sox: Jon Lester, 12.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 34th overall

In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top player in each of the other games. However, no Box-Toppers points are awarded during the postseason.

AL Championship Series player comparisons 

Likely starting players for the Red Sox and Tigers listed by position with their Box-Toppers point total (BTP) for the 2013 regular season and their overall player rank among all players

Red SoxBTPRank TigersBTPRank
1BMike Napoli5.0170 Prince Fielder8.578
2BDustin Pedroia3.5286 Omar Infante4.5221
SSStephen Drew6.0143 Jhonny Peralta3.0347
3BWill Middlebrooks1.0573 Miguel Cabrera16.98
CAJarod Saltalamacchia4.5228 Alex Avila3.0334
CFJacob Ellsbury5.5161 Austin Jackson1.0576
LFJonny Gomes6.0156 Don Kelly0.0885
RFShane Victorino4.5224 Torii Hunter4.0248
DHDavid Ortiz12.436 Victor Martinez4.2235
SPJon Lester12.734 Max Scherzer18.15
SPClay Buchholz11.141 Anibal Sanchez17.17
SPJake Peavy8.084 Justin Verlander10.053
SPJohn Lackey6.0148 Doug Fister6.7113
CPKoji Uehara6.0149 Joaquin Benoit1.0628
PIFelix Doubront5.0179 Rick Porcello6.0139