Indians' Corey Kluber (8.1IP 1R 10K) tops players for Sunday, July 6, Angels' Richards rises to 10th in Box-Toppers rankings

Shawn Plank July 7, 2014

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Sunday’s Player of the Day. Kluber struck out 10 over 8 1/3 innings, allowing one run, in the 4-1 win over the Royals.

Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season and rising to 12th in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Diamondbacks pitcher Wade Miley is National League Player of the Day. Miley struck out eight over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run, in the 3-1 win over the Braves.

Jacoby Ellsbury of the Yankees is American League Batter of the Day. Ellsbury homered and went 2-for-5, driving in four runs, in the 9-7 win over the Twins.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis of the Mets is NL Batter of the Day. Nieuwenhuis homered and scored three times in the 8-4 win over the Rangers.

Notable: Angels pitcher Garrett Richards rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Richards (7.1IP 1R 11K W in the 6-1 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks fifth in Box-Toppers points among AL pitchers. His move up to 10th place bumps the only batter, Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies (10.6 Box-Toppers points), off the top 10 list.

There are now 14 players with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points—Richards and Kluber both joined that group Sunday.

Also, pitcher Jeff Samardzija, traded this weekend from the Cubs, earned Player of the Game honors in his debut with his new team, the Athletics. Samardzija (7IP 1R 5K W in the 4-2 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.0 for the season.

Kluber receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Miley receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Ellsbury and Nieuwenhuis each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Sunday’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 Sunday, click here.

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

  
    706
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.1
    Indians
    Corey Kluber (W, 8-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    4
    1
    1
    1
    10
  

    
    9.1
    Angels
    Garrett Richards (W, 10-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    6
    1
    1
    1
    11
  

    NL
    6.2
    Dbacks
    Wade Miley (W, 4-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    5
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    5.0
    Pirates
    Jeff Locke (W, 2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    2
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    5.0
    Athletics
    Jeff Samardzija (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    
    5.0
    Orioles
    Brad Brach (W, 4-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    4.2
    White Sox
    Hector Noesi (W, 3-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    5
    0
    0
    2
    5
  

    
    3.1
    Giants
    Tim Lincecum (W, 8-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    3
    1
    1
    4
    6
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Yankees
    Jacoby Ellsbury   CF
    5
    2
    2
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Mets
    Kirk Nieuwenhuis   LF
    2
    3
    1
    1
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `Nationals
    Jordan Zimmermann
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    7
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    2.0
    Dodgers
    Matt Kemp   LF
    5
    1
    4
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rays
    Ben Zobrist   SS
    5
    2
    4
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Reds
    Jay Bruce   RF
    4
    2
    1
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Marlins
    Henderson Alvarez (W, 6-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    3
  

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

Brewers' Matt Garza (CG 2H 0R 9K) tops players for Saturday, July 5

Shawn Plank July 6, 2014

Brewers pitcher Matt Garza is Saturday’s Player of the Day. Garza pitched a complete game, two-hit shutout, striking out nine, in the 1-0 win over the Reds.

Athletics pitcher Scott Kazmir is American League Player of the Day. Kazmir struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 5-1 win over the Blue Jays. Kazmir rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) He has 11.4 points for the season and moves up to ninth place among all players. He is in fourth place among AL pitchers. He becomes the 12th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Kazmir had a Box-Toppers game score of 8.0, the same as two other AL players (Felix Hernandez of the Mariners and Jon Lester of the Red Sox), but Kazmir won AL Player of the Day on a tie-breaker—he earned the win in his game, while the other two pitchers had no-decisions.

Nelson Cruz of the Orioles is AL Batter of the Day. Cruz homered and went 5-for-5 with two RBIs in the 7-4 win over the Red Sox.

Justin Upton of the Braves is National League Batter of the Day. Upton homered and tripled, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs, in the 10-4 win over the Diamondbacks.

Notable: Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Hernandez (8IP 2R 8K ND in the 3-2 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.8 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points.

Garza receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kazmir receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Cruz and Upton each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Saturday’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 Saturday, click here.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    705
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.0
    Brewers
    Matt Garza (W, 6-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    9
  

    
    10.0
    Nationals
    Gio Gonzalez (W, 6-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    AL
    8.0
    Athletics
    Scott Kazmir (W, 10-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    8
  

    
    8.0
    `Mariners
    Felix Hernandez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    
    8.0
    `Red Sox
    Jon Lester
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    2
    0
    0
    7
  

    
    5.0
    `Giants
    Tim Hudson
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    0
    4
  

    
    4.0
    Angels
    Michael Roth (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Orioles
    Nelson Cruz   LF
    5
    1
    5
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Rays
    Kevin Kiermaier   RF
    4
    1
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Braves
    Justin Upton   LF
    3
    1
    2
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Marlins
    Christian Yelich   LF
    5
    2
    2
    3
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rangers
    Robinson Chirinos   C
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rockies
    Drew Stubbs   CF
    4
    2
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Pirates
    Edinson Volquez (W, 7-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    4
    5
  

    
    2.0
    `Twins
    Yohan Pino
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    3
  

    
    1.0
    Indians
    Jason Kipnis   2B
    4
    2
    2
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Dodgers' Kershaw, Tigers' Scherzer rise to top of Box-Toppers weekly player rankings

Shawn Plank July 5, 2014

Last year’s Box-Toppers points leaders in both leagues gained the top spots in this year’s player rankings this week, through the games of Thursday, July 3.

Top players
Through Thursday, July 3





  
    

    OVERALL LEADERS
    POS
    TEAM
    BTP
  

    1
    Kershaw, Clayton 2494
    pi sp
    lad nl
    14.4
  

    2
    Scherzer, Max 2588
    pi sp
    det al
    14.4
  

    3
    Wainwright, Adam 2150
    pi sp
    stl nl
    14.0
  

    4
    Cueto, Johnny 2400
    pi sp
    cin nl
    12.7
  

    5
    Tanaka, Masahiro 3305
    pi sp
    nyy al
    12.7
  

    6
    Bumgarner, Madison 2753
    pi sp
    sf nl
    12.5
  

    7
    Teheran, Julio 3176
    pi sp
    atl nl
    11.4
  

    8
    Hernandez, Felix 2064
    pi sp
    sea al
    10.8
  

    9
    Tulowitzki, Troy 2308
    ss
    col nl
    10.6
  

    10
    Greinke, Zack 1871
    pi sp
    lad nl
    10.1
  

    
    
    
    
    
  

    
    AL PITCHERS
    POS
    TEAM
    BTP
  

    1
    Scherzer, Max 2588
    pi sp
    det al
    14.4
  

    2
    Tanaka, Masahiro 3305
    pi sp
    nyy al
    12.7
  

    3
    Hernandez, Felix 2064
    pi sp
    sea al
    10.8
  

    4
    Kazmir, Scott 1947
    pi sp
    oak al
    9.7
  

    5
    Richards, Garrett 3042
    pi sp
    ana al
    9.7
  

    6
    Darvish, Yu 3003
    pi sp
    tex al
    9.4
  

    7
    Price, David 2593
    pi sp
    tb al
    9.4
  

    8
    Hutchison, Drew 3038
    pi sp
    tor al
    9.0
  

    9
    Keuchel, Dallas 3050
    pi sp
    hou al
    8.7
  

    10
    Kluber, Corey 3200
    pi sp
    cle al
    8.4
  

    
    
    
    
    
  

    
    AL BATTERS
    POS
    TEAM
    BTP
  

    1
    Abreu, Jose 3308
    1b
    chi al
    9.5
  

    2
    Encarnacion, Edwin 2098
    1b dh lf
    tor al
    8.0
  

    3
    Cabrera, Miguel 1776
    1b
    det al
    7.5
  

    4
    Donaldson, Josh 3144
    3b
    oak al
    6.5
  

    5
    Cespedes, Yoenis 3008
    lf
    oak al
    6.5
  

    6
    Aybar, Erick 2416
    ss
    ana al
    6.0
  

    7
    Hunter, Torii 1190
    rf
    det al
    5.5
  

    8
    Ramirez, Alexei 2537
    ss
    chi al
    5.5
  

    9
    Colabello, Chris 3235
    1b dh rf
    min al
    5.2
  

    10
    Seager, Kyle 3031
    3b
    sea al
    5.0
  

    
    
    
    
    
  

    
    NL PITCHERS
    POS
    TEAM
    BTP
  

    1
    Kershaw, Clayton 2494
    pi sp
    lad nl
    14.4
  

    2
    Wainwright, Adam 2150
    pi sp
    stl nl
    14.0
  

    3
    Cueto, Johnny 2400
    pi sp
    cin nl
    12.7
  

    4
    Bumgarner, Madison 2753
    pi sp
    sf nl
    12.5
  

    5
    Teheran, Julio 3176
    pi sp
    atl nl
    11.4
  

    6
    Greinke, Zack 1871
    pi sp
    lad nl
    10.1
  

    7
    Strasburg, Stephen 2736
    pi sp
    dc nl
    9.0
  

    8
    Colon, Bartolo
    pi sp
    nym nl
    8.7
  

    9
    Hammel, Jason 2235
    pi sp
    chi nl
    8.7
  

    10
    Lohse, Kyle 1487
    pi sp
    mil nl
    8.4
  

    
    
    
    
    
  

    
    NL BATTERS
    POS
    TEAM
    BTP
  

    1
    Tulowitzki, Troy 2308
    ss
    col nl
    10.6
  

    2
    Freeman, Freddie 2887
    1b
    atl nl
    7.7
  

    3
    Rizzo, Anthony 3063
    1b
    chi nl
    5.5
  

    4
    Morse, Michael 2020
    lf
    sf nl
    5.5
  

    5
    McCutchen, Andrew 2637
    cf
    pit nl
    5.0
  

    6
    Stanton, Giancarlo 2737
    rf
    fla nl
    4.7
  

    7
    Murphy, Daniel 2589
    2b
    nym nl
    4.5
  

    8
    Braun, Ryan J. 2300
    rf
    mil nl
    4.5
  

    9
    Howard, Ryan 2040
    1b
    phi nl
    4.2
  

    10
    Smith, Seth 2489
    lf rf
    sd nl
    4.0
  

BTP: Box-Toppers points 

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw took the overall points lead (and National League lead) with 14.4, passing previous overall leader, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright (14.0), who falls to third overall. Kershaw was last year’s overall leader with 21.7 points. (On Friday, Kershaw was NL Player of the Day and now has 16.1 Box-Toppers points.)

Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer rises to become the top American League player with 14.4 Box-Toppers points. He ranks second overall and passed last week’s AL leader, Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (12.7), who now ranks fifth overall. Scherzer was last year’s AL points leader with 18.1.

Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies remains the leader among NL batters with 10.6 Box-Toppers points. Jose Abreu of the White Sox still leads among AL batters with 9.5 Box-Toppers points.

What are those numbers after players' names?

Trade lifts Athletics to top of Box-Toppers team rankings, pushes Cubs to bottom

Shawn Plank July 5, 2014

The trade Friday sending Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija from the Chicago Cubs to the Oakland Athletics sends the Athletics to the top of Box-Toppers team rankings and the Cubs to the bottom.

These players were traded from the Cubs to the Athletics:

• Pitcher Jason Hammel, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, previously ranked ninth among National League pitchers, now ranked 10th among American League pitchers. (Hammel had been the Cubs leader in Box-Toppers points.)

• Pitcher Jeff Samardzija, 3.0 Box-Toppers points.

These players were reported to have been traded from the Athletics to the Cubs:

• Shortstop prospect Addison Russell, who has yet to make his Major League debut.

• Outfield prospect Billy McKinney, who has yet to make his Major League debut.

• Pitcher Dan Straily, who has 1.0 Box-Toppers point this season.

In the short term, the Athletics have a net gain of 10.7 Box-Toppers points—picking up the 11.7 points from the Cubs and losing Straily’s 1.0 point.

For Box-Toppers rankings, each team inherits the total points of players acquired and loses the points of players traded away. This provides the Athletics a huge boost. At the July 3 team rankings report, the Athletics were the second-ranked team with 59.9 Box-Toppers points, just behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (61.6). The trade would boost that total to 70.6, giving them a 9.0-point lead over the Dodgers.

Conversely, the trade puts the Cubs at the bottom of Box-Toppers rankings. As of July 3, the Cubs rank 20th among all teams with 45.9 Box-Toppers points. Their net loss of 10.7 points (nearly a quarter of their season total) gives them 35.2 for the season, below the current lowest-ranked team, the Arizona Diamondbacks (41.1 Box-Toppers points).

But of course, the Cubs are playing for the long term, hoping the prospects pan out to be stars, racking up huge Box-Toppers points in the coming seasons.

White Sox' Sale tops players for Friday, July 4, Dodgers' Kershaw increases Box-Toppers player ranking lead

Shawn Plank July 5, 2014

White Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Friday’s Player of the Day, while Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw increases his lead in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Sale pitched a complete game, allowing one run and striking out 12, in the 7-1 win over the Mariners. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season, putting him in 11th place in Box-Toppers player rankings. He is the 11th player this season to earn 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Kershaw, already leading in Box-Toppers player rankings, earns 1.7 points for being National League Player of the Day. Kershaw pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out eight, in the 9-0 win over the Rockies. Kershaw now has 16.1 Box-Toppers points for the season (see the updated top 10 player list on the home page).

Sale and Kershaw had identical Box-Toppers game scores of 13.0, but Sale was given the nod as Player of the Day because he had more innings pitched—nine vs. eight.

Albert Pujols of the Angels is American League Batter of the Day. Pujols homered, went 3-for-4, scored three times and drove in two runs in the 7-6 win over the Astros.

Lucas Duda of the Mets is NL Batter of the Day. Duda hit a two-run homer and scored twice in the 6-5 win over the Rangers.

Sale receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kershaw receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Pujols and Duda each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Friday’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 Friday, click here.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    704
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    13.0
    White Sox
    Chris Sale (W, 8-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    12
  

    NL
    13.0
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W, 10-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    
    8.0
    Pirates
    Gerrit Cole (W, 7-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    7.0
    Padres
    Eric Stults (W, 3-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    7.0
    `Athletics
    Tommy Milone
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    
    6.0
    Yankees
    David Huff (W, 2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.2
    Cardinals
    Lance Lynn (W, 9-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    5
    0
    0
    3
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Angels
    Albert Pujols   DH
    4
    3
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Royals
    Christian Colon   2B
    4
    3
    3
    1
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Rays
    Evan Longoria   3B
    2
    2
    2
    1
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Mets
    Lucas Duda   1B
    2
    2
    1
    2
    2
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.1
    Braves
    Ervin Santana (W, 7-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    6
    2
    2
    1
    6
  

    
    2.0
    Cubs
    Justin Ruggiano   CF
    5
    2
    3
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Reds
    Aroldis Chapman (S, 17)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    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.

Los Angeles Dodgers rise to top of Box-Toppers team rankings

Shawn Plank July 4, 2014

The Los Angeles Dodgers have risen to the top of Box-Toppers team rankings this week.

Dodgers players have accumulated 61.6 Box-Toppers points to rise from third place overall and pass last week’s leader, the San Francisco Giants. The Giants, scoring only 1.7 Box-Toppers points this past week, fell to fourth place with 58.6 points.

Top 10 teams
Here are Box-Toppers' Top 10 teams, through the games of Thursday, July 3. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players on the team have accumulated so far this season. The column BTP/wk shows have many points teams have accumulated during the past week.





  
    

703
    

Teams
    

BTP
    
BTP
/wk
    Last 
wk 
rank
  

    1
    Dodgers
    61.6
    5.4
    3
  

    2
    Athletics
    59.9
    4.0
    4
  

    3
    Blue Jays
    59.3
    3.0
    2
  

    4
    Giants
    58.6
    1.7
    1
  

    5
    Angels
    58.5
    4.0
    6
  

    6
    Mariners
    57.7
    6.7
    8
  

    7
    Brewers
    57.6
    2.0
    5
  

    8
    Cardinals
    54.5
    3.0
    7
  

    9
    Tigers
    54.4
    6.5
    12
  

    10
    Braves
    54.2
    8.2
    15
  

BTP: Box-Toppers points

The Dodgers are led by pitchers Clayton Kershaw (14.4 Box-Toppers points, who leads all players in Box-Toppers points) and Zack Greinke (10.1 Box-Toppers points, 10th place among all players, sixth among National League pitchers).

The Giants have the sixth-best winning percentage in baseball (.557), second best in the NL behind the Milwaukee Brewers (.593). The Brewers have 57.6 Box-Toppers points, ranked seventh among all teams.

The Oakland Athletics are the top American League team in Box-Toppers points with 59.9. They are ranked second overall, just behind the Dodgers. They pass last week’s AL leading team, the Toronto Blue Jays (59.3 Box-Toppers points). The Blue Jays fell from second overall to third in Box-Toppers team rankings.

The Athletics are led by pitchers Scott Kazmir (9.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among AL pitchers) and Jesse Chavez (6.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 15th among AL pitchers).

The Athletics have baseball’s best winning percentage (.612).

The Atlanta Braves are the hottest team of the week, picking up 8.2 points, giving them 54.2 for the season and rising from 15th to 10th in team rankings.

Along with the Braves, the Detroit Tigers rise into the top 10, rising from 12th to ninth place. Two teams fell out of the top 10—the Washington Nationals fell from ninth to 11th and the Cincinnati Reds fell from 10th to 12th.

The Arizona Diamondbacks remain the lowest-ranked team with 41.1 Box-Toppers points, however, they picked up 6.2 points over the past week.

Tigers' Scherzer tops players for Thursday, July 3, moves to 2nd in Box-Toppers rankings, 1st among AL pitchers

Shawn Plank July 4, 2014

Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer, Thursday’s Player of the Day, rises to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings and takes the lead among American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points.

Scherzer struck out seven over eight innings, allowing two hits and one run, in the 8-1 win over the Rays. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.4 for the season, moving from sixth to second in season player rankings (see the updated top 10 player list on the home page).

Scherzer passes Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees (12.7 points) to take the Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers. He trails only Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (14.4) in the rankings. (Scherzer and Kershaw both have 14.4 Box-Toppers points, but Kershaw ranks ahead because he has more points since the start of 2013—36.1 vs. 32.5.) In 2013, both Kershaw and Scherzer led their leagues in the final Box-Toppers points standings—Kershaw had 21.7, Scherzer had 18.1.

David Peralta of the Diamondbacks is National League Player of the Day. Peralta homered, went 3-for-5, scored twice and drove in four runs in the 10-2 win over the Pirates. This was Peralta’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,370th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. He made his Major League debut June 1 and was playing in his 27th game.

Steve Pearce of the Orioles is AL Batter of the Day. Pearce went 4-for-5 and drove in two runs in the 5-2 win over the Rangers.

Notable: Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Greinke (8IP 8K W in the 3-2 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.1 for the season.

Scherzer receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Peralta receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Pearce receives 1.5 for being AL 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 watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Thursday, click here.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    703
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    Tigers
    Max Scherzer (W, 10-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    NL
    4.0
    Dbacks
    David Peralta   LF
    5
    2
    3
    4
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Athletics
    Sonny Gray (W, 8-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    3
    5
  

    
    3.0
    Cardinals
    Carlos Martinez (W, 2-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    3.0
    Yankees
    David Robertson (S, 19)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Orioles
    Steve Pearce   LF
    5
    1
    4
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Angels
    David Freese   3B
    3
    1
    2
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Dodgers
    Zack Greinke (W, 11-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    9
    2
    1
    2
    8
  

    
    2.0
    Phillies
    Jonathan Papelbon (S, 19)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

Padres' Ross tops players for Wednesday, July 2; Wainwright, Teheran bolster spots in Box-Toppers top 10

Shawn Plank July 3, 2014

Padres pitcher Tyson Ross is Wednesday’s Player of the Day. Ross pitched a complete game shutout, allowing three hits and striking out nine in the 3-0 win over the Reds.

Mariners pitcher Chris Young is American League Player of the Day. Young struck out eight over seven innings, allowing two hits and two runs, in the 5-2 win over the Astros.

Justin Ruggiano of the Cubs is National League Batter of the Day. Ruggiano homered, went 3-for-6 and drove in five runs in the 16-9 win over the Red Sox.

Adam Jones of the Orioles is AL Batter of the Day. Jones homered and went 2-for-3, driving in three runs, in the 6-4 win over the Rangers.

Notables: Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday to maintain his spot in second place in Box-Toppers player rankings. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Wainwright (7.2IP 0R W in the 2-0 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.0 for the season. He trails overall Box-Toppers leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (14.4).

Braves pitcher Julio Teheran rose to seventh place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Teheran (7IP 1R 5K W in the 3-1 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season. He is in fifth place among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points.

Ross receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Young receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Ruggiano and Jones each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Wednesday’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 Wednesday, click here.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    702
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    15.0
    Padres
    Tyson Ross (W, 7-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    9
  

    
    9.0
    Marlins
    Tom Koehler (W, 6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    AL
    8.0
    Mariners
    Chris Young (W, 8-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    
    6.0
    Royals
    Jason Vargas (W, 8-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    5
  

    
    5.2
    `White Sox
    John Danks
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    7
    2
    2
    1
    10
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Cubs
    Justin Ruggiano   CF
    6
    1
    3
    5
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Orioles
    Adam Jones   CF
    3
    1
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Braves
    Julio Teheran (W, 8-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    3
    5
  

    
    3.0
    Rays
    Brad Boxberger (S, 1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.2
    Cardinals
    Adam Wainwright (W, 11-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    4
    0
    0
    2
    1
  

    
    2.0
    Tigers
    Torii Hunter   DH
    4
    0
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Blue Jays
    Edwin Encarnacion   LF, 1B
    4
    1
    2
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Pirates
    Gregory Polanco   RF
    4
    2
    2
    2
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Nationals
    Ian Desmond   SS
    3
    1
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Indians
    David Murphy   PH, RF
    1
    1
    1
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Blue Jays' Hutchison, Giants' Lincecum top players for Tuesday, July 1

Shawn Plank July 2, 2014

Blue Jays pitcher Drew Hutchison is Tuesday’s Player of the Day. Hutchison struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing only one run and three hits, in the 4-1 win over the Brewers.

Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum is National League Player of the Day. Lincecum pitched eight shutout innings and struck out six in the 5-0 win over the Cardinals.

Eduardo Nunez of the Twins is American League Batter of the Day. Nunez homered and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in two runs in the 10-2 win over the Royals.

Seth Smith of the Padres is NL Batter of the Day. Smith homered and went 3-for-4, scoring three runs, in the 8-2 win over the Reds.

Hutchison receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Lincecum receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Nunez and Smith each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Tuesday’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 Tuesday, click here.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    701
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    Blue Jays
    Drew Hutchison (W, 6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    10
  

    NL
    8.0
    Giants
    Tim Lincecum (W, 7-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    7.2
    Nationals
    Stephen Strasburg (W, 7-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    5
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    7.0
    Angels
    Garrett Richards (W, 9-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    3
    3
    2
    9
  

    
    7.0
    Rays
    David Price (W, 7-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    3
    9
  

    
    5.0
    Tigers
    Rick Porcello (W, 11-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    0
  

    
    4.0
    Mariners
    Hisashi Iwakuma (W, 6-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    7
    1
    1
    0
    7
  

    
    4.0
    Braves
    Craig Kimbrel (S, 26)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Twins
    Eduardo Nunez   SS
    5
    3
    3
    2
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Padres
    Seth Smith   RF, LF
    4
    3
    3
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Angels
    Howie Kendrick   2B
    3
    2
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Orioles
    Caleb Joseph   C
    3
    2
    1
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Marlins
    Bryan Morris (W, 6-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    Indians
    Yan Gomes   C
    4
    2
    2
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Pirates
    Ike Davis   PH
    1
    0
    1
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Cubs
    Pedro Strop (W, 1-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
  

Cubs' Jake Arrieta (7.2 IP 1H 0R 10K) tops players for Monday, June 30

Shawn Plank July 1, 2014

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Monday’s Player of the Day. Arrieta, who took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out 10 in the 2-0 win over the Red Sox.

Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season. He is in 25th place in Box-Toppers player rankings and 11th among National League pitchers.

Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is American League Player of the Day. Jimenez struck out seven over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 7-1 win over the Rangers.

Rajai Davis of the Tigers is AL Batter of the Day. Davis hit a walk-off grand slam and went 2-for-5 in the 5-4 win over the Athletics.

Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals is NL Batter of the Day. Zimmerman went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 7-3 win over the Rockies.

Arrieta receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Jimenez receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Davis and Zimmerman each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Monday’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 Monday, click here.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    630
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    15.2
    Cubs
    Jake Arrieta (W, 5-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    1
    0
    0
    1
    10
  

    
    10.0
    Dodgers
    Dan Haren (W, 8-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    AL
    9.0
    Orioles
    Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 3-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    9.0
    Padres
    Jesse Hahn (W, 4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    9
  

    
    3.0
    Rays
    Brad Boxberger (W, 1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Tigers
    Rajai Davis   LF
    5
    1
    2
    4
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Mariners
    Robinson Cano   2B
    5
    2
    2
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Nationals
    Ryan Zimmerman   3B
    4
    2
    3
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Royals
    Alcides Escobar   SS
    4
    0
    2
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Braves
    Craig Kimbrel (S, 25)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

Mariners' Hernandez tops players for Sunday, June 29; Dodgers' Kershaw takes overall Box-Toppers points lead

Shawn Plank June 30, 2014

Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez is Sunday’s Player of the Day, while Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw takes the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Hernandez pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and striking out nine in the 3-0 win over the Indians. Hernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.8 for the season, moving up to seventh place in Box-Toppers player rankings. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) He is in third place in Box-Toppers points among American League pitchers.

Kershaw rose to the top of Box-Toppers player rankings for the season after earning National League Player of the Day honors. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Kershaw pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out 13 in the 6-0 win over the Cardinals. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 14.4 for the season. He passes previous leader, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright (13.0 Box-Toppers points), who had led since June 21.

Kershaw was last year’s overall leader with 21.7 Box-Toppers points. Hernandez and Kershaw had identical Box-Toppers game scores of 13.0 on Sunday, but Hernandez was given the edge as Player of the Day because he had more innings pitched—eight vs. seven.

Matt Joyce of the Rays is AL Batter of the Day. Joyce homered twice and went 5-for-6, driving in four runs, in the 12-7 win over the Orioles.

Corey Dickerson of the Rockies is NL Batter of the Day. Dickerson went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs in the 10-4 win over the Brewers.

Hernandez receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kershaw receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Joyce and Dickerson each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Sunday’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 Sunday, click here.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    629
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    13.0
    Mariners
    Felix Hernandez (W, 10-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    1
    0
    0
    3
    9
  

    NL
    13.0
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W, 9-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    2
    13
  

    
    12.0
    Reds
    Homer Bailey (W, 8-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    9.0
    White Sox
    Jose Quintana (W, 5-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Rays
    Matt Joyce   LF, RF
    6
    3
    5
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Red Sox
    Dustin Pedroia   2B
    3
    1
    3
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Pirates
    Edinson Volquez (W, 6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    8
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    4.0
    Twins
    Glen Perkins (S, 20)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.1
    Astros
    Tony Sipp (S, 1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    Royals
    Greg Holland (W, 1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.1
    Athletics
    Ryan Cook (S, 1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Rockies
    Corey Dickerson   LF
    4
    2
    2
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Padres
    Huston Street (S, 21)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    0.0
    Braves
    Tommy LaStella   2B
    3
    2
    1
    0
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Indians' Josh Tomlin, with one-hit shutout, tops players for Saturday, June 28; Scherzer rises to 6th in Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank June 29, 2014

Indians pitcher Josh Tomlin, pitching a one-hit shutout, is Saturday’s Player of the Day, while Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Tomlin struck out 11 and allowed only one baserunner in the 5-0 win over the Mariners.

Scherzer rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Scherzer (7IP 2R 13K ND in the 4-3 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season. He has the second-most Box-Toppers points among American League pitchers for the season, behind Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees (12.7).

Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke is National League Player of the Day. Greinke struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing only one run, in the 9-1 win over the Cardinals.

Logan Forsythe of the Rays is AL Batter of the Day. Forsythe homered, went 3-for-3, scored twice and drove in two runs in the 5-4 win over the Orioles. This was Forysthe’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,364th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. Forsythe made his Major League debut May 4, 2011, and was playing in his 285th game.

Freddie Freeman of the Braves is NL Batter of the Day. Freeman went 0-for-2, but scored four runs and walked three times in the 10-3 win over the Phillies.

Tomlin receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Greinke receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Forsythe and Freeman each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Saturday’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 Saturday, click here.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    628
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    19.0
    Indians
    Josh Tomlin (W, 5-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    11
  

    
    13.0
    Rangers
    Yu Darvish (W, 8-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    10
  

    NL
    11.0
    Dodgers
    Zack Greinke (W, 10-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    10
  

    
    10.0
    Nationals
    Gio Gonzalez (W, 5-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    
    8.0
    `Tigers
    Max Scherzer
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    2
    2
    1
    13
  

    
    6.0
    Red Sox
    Jon Lester (W, 9-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    1
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    5.0
    `Reds
    Alfredo Simon
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    5.0
    Nationals
    Ross Detwiler (S, 1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Rays
    Logan Forsythe   2B
    3
    2
    3
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `Angels
    Hector Santiago
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    4.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    3.0
    `Athletics
    Dan Otero
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    Brewers
    Francisco Rodriguez (S, 27)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    White Sox
    Dayan Viciedo   RF
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Braves
    Freddie Freeman   1B
    2
    4
    0
    0
    3
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Mets
    Eric Campbell   3B
    4
    1
    3
    1
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Braves
    Chris Johnson   3B
    4
    1
    3
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.1
    Dbacks
    Josh Collmenter (W, 7-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    5
    1
    1
    2
    4
  

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

Rangers' Tepesch tops players for Friday, June 27; three players rise in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings

Shawn Plank June 28, 2014

Rangers pitcher Nick Tepesch is Friday’s Player of the Day. Tepesch pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing only three hits, in the 5-4 win over the Twins.

Braves pitcher Julio Teheran is National League Player of the Day. Teheran struck out nine over seven innings in the 4-2 win over the Phillies. Teheran earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season and rising to eight place in Box-Toppers player rankings. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.)

John Baker of the Cubs is NL Batter of the Day. Baker went 3-for-3 and drove in four runs in the 7-2 win over the Nationals.

Brandon Guyer of the Rays is American League Batter of the Day. Guyer went 3-for-3, scored twice and drove in a run in the 5-2 win over the Orioles. This was Guyer’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,363rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. Guyer made his Major League debut May 6, 2011, and was playing in his 55th game.

Notables: Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto rose to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Cueto (8.1IP 2R W in the 6-2 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.7 for the season. He is also the third-ranked NL pitcher.

Jose Abreu of the White Sox rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Abreu (2HR 2-3 in the 5-2 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.5 for the season. Abreu, already the leader in Box-Toppers points among AL batters, is now only the second batter in Box-Toppers overall top 10 player rankings—the other is Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies (10.6 Box-Toppers points, seventh place).

Tepesch receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Teheran receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Baker and Guyer each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Friday’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 Friday, click here.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    627
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    7.1
    Rangers
    Nick Tepesch (W, 3-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    3
    0
    0
    2
    5
  

    NL
    7.0
    Braves
    Julio Teheran (W, 7-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    1
    0
    9
  

    
    6.2
    Yankees
    Vidal Nuno (W, 2-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    2
    0
    0
    2
    5
  

    
    6.0
    Dbacks
    Brandon McCarthy (W, 2-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    7
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Cubs
    John Baker   C
    3
    1
    3
    4
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.2
    `Royals
    Kelvin Herrera (H, 6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    Pirates
    Jared Hughes (W, 4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    1
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.1
    Cardinals
    Seth Maness (W, 3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Rays
    Brandon Guyer   LF
    3
    2
    3
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    White Sox
    Jose Abreu   1B
    3
    2
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Orioles
    Chris Tillman (W, 7-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    2
  

    
    2.1
    Reds
    Johnny Cueto (W, 8-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    3
    2
    2
    2
    3
  

    
    2.0
    Astros
    Jose Altuve   2B
    5
    2
    4
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Athletics
    Yoenis Cespedes   LF
    4
    3
    2
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Mariners
    Chris Young (W, 7-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    4
  

    
    0.0
    `Brewers
    Kyle Lohse
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    1
    1
    2
    4
  

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

A look at how Box-Toppers might pick the 2014 All-Stars

Shawn Plank June 27, 2014

If Box-Toppers points rather than fan voting were used to determine Major League All-Star teams, you’d have very different teams, very pissed-off fans and one very stunned baseball blogger.

For example, if Box-Toppers points were used to determine All-Stars, there would be no Yasiel Puig, no Mike Trout, no Jose Bautista and no Derek Jeter in the game. And you would have players in the line-up, such as Daniel Murphy, Freddie Freeman and Erick Aybar, among others.

The All-Star Game is July 15. Online fan voting ends July 3, less than a week away.

Box-Toppers may have a different perspective on All-Stars because it tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Players only earn points if they are deemed to be Player of the Game, based on a simple box score formula.

So players such as Puig, Trout and Bautista, while they often put up impressive numbers, have not regularly been top player in games their teams have won recently. So while their fan All-Star vote may be high, their Box-Toppers point totals lately have been lower.

Another example of Box-Toppers not matching baseball’s conventional thinking is Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates. Last year, baseball writers voted him National League Most Valuable Player. But in Box-Toppers, he ranked 22nd among NL batters. However, this year, McCutchen has earned Player of the Game four times and picked up 5.0 Box-Toppers points and ranks fifth among NL batters and second among NL outfielders.

Box-Toppers looks at the All-Star team in two different ways. First, it considers players on their performance during the 2014 season. But since this season is still a small data sample, it looks at last season, too, and considers players on their performance since the start of 2013.

For example, if you look at Box-Toppers points for just this season, Chris Colabello of the Twins is the second-ranked outfielder based on his early season performance. But Colabello slumped and has been in the minors for more than a month—which does not speak well for his All-Star credentials.

But looking at player’s performance since 2013 can be misleading, too. For example, Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees leads AL outfielders since the start of 2013 with 13.9 Box-Toppers points. But 12.9 of those were earned in 2013. Despite his strong 2013, he probably would not be considered an All-Star in 2014.

But then there’s a player like Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks. He actually is leading currently in NL voting for first basemen. And in fact, in 2013, he led all NL batters in Box-Toppers points, with 13.7. But this year, while his numbers are generally good, he is playing for a bad team and has earned only 1.5 Box-Toppers points. Despite his great 2013 in Box-Toppers, he is overshadowed in the NL at first base by Freddie Freeman of the Braves. Freeman leads all NL first basemen in Box-Toppers points for both 2014 and 2013-14.

But enough prelude. Here is a look a the All-Star teams. First, it’s the Box-Toppers points leaders by position and league for 2014. Then, it’s Box-Toppers points leaders by position and league for 2013-14. And finally, a look at current All-Star vote leaders, showing their current Box-Toppers point total and their rank in Box-Toppers by position and league.

2014

Jose Abreu of the White Sox leads AL batters in Box-Toppers points. He is on the AL All-Star ballot as first baseman and not as a designated hitter, but since he has played DH this season, we will break the “rules” and put him at DH and put Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, last year’s Box-Toppers AL batting leader, at first.

In the American League, only four of the nine starters are even among the top vote-getters at their positions.

The National League is a little better—six of the eight Box-Toppers leaders for starting positions are among the All-Star voting leaders.

And though fan voters don’t get to pick pitchers, included here for both leagues are Box-Toppers leaders for starting pitchers (the top four starters) along with the top middle reliever and top closing pitcher.

Box-Toppers pick for All-Star starters based on 2014 stats? Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees for the AL and Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals for the NL.

All-Stars based on 2014 Box-Toppers points
Here are Box-Toppers points leaders by position for each league. Also shown is players' current ranking in All-Star fan voting by their position. A hyphen (-) indicates they are not among the league leaders in fan voting by their position. Also shown are pitching leaders. Fans don't get to vote on pitchers so their vote rank is marked with an asterisk (*).





  
    Pos
    AL players
    Team
    BTP
    Vote rank
  

    1B
    Cabrera, Miguel 1776
    det al
    7.5
    1
  

    2B
    Rodriguez, Sean 2729
    tb al
    5.0
    -
  

    SS
    Aybar, Erick 2416
    ana al
    6.0
    -
  

    3B
    Donaldson, Josh 3144
    oak al
    6.5
    1
  

    CA
    Perez, Salvador 2972
    kc al
    3.7
    -
  

    OF
    Cespedes, Yoenis 3008
    oak al
    5.5
    4
  

    OF
    Colabello, Chris 3235
    min al
    5.2
    -
  

    OF
    Hunter, Torii 1190
    det al
    4.5
    10
  

    DH
    Abreu, Jose 3308
    chi al
    8.5
    -
  

    SP
    Tanaka, Masahiro 3305
    nyy al
    12.7
    *
  

    SP
    Scherzer, Max 2588
    det al
    11.4
    *
  

    SP
    Kazmir, Scott 1947
    oak al
    9.7
    *
  

    SP
    Hernandez, Felix 2064
    sea al
    8.8
    *
  

    MR
    Duffy, Danny 2915
    kc al
    6.0
    *
  

    CP
    Uehara, Koji 2802
    bos al
    6.0
    *
  

    
    
    
    
    
  

    Pos
    NL players
    Team
    BTP
    Vote rank
  

    1B
    Freeman, Freddie 2887
    atl nl
    6.2
    3
  

    2B
    Murphy, Daniel 2589
    nym nl
    4.5
    -
  

    SS
    Tulowitzki, Troy 2308
    col nl
    10.6
    1
  

    3B
    Ramirez, Aramis 1364
    mil nl
    3.5
    1
  

    CA
    Lucroy, Jonathan 2744
    mil nl
    3.7
    2
  

    OF
    Morse, Michael 2020
    sf nl
    5.5
    -
  

    OF
    McCutchen, Andrew 2637
    pit nl
    5.0
    2
  

    OF
    Stanton, Giancarlo 2737
    fla nl
    4.7
    4
  

    SP
    Wainwright, Adam 2150
    stl nl
    13.0
    *
  

    SP
    Kershaw, Clayton 2494
    lad nl
    12.7
    *
  

    SP
    Bumgarner, Madison 2753
    sf nl
    12.5
    *
  

    SP
    Cueto, Johnny 2400
    cin nl
    11.7
    *
  

    MR
    Collmenter, Josh 2863
    ari nl
    4.0
    *
  

    CP
    Kimbrel, Craig 2825
    atl nl
    5.0
    *
  

BTP: Box-Toppers points

Vote rank: Where the player ranks by position in All-Star fan voting. A hyphen (-) indicates they are not among the leaders. An asterisk (*) indicates they are a pitcher and not eligible for fan voting.

What are those numbers after players' names?

2013-14

These are Box-Toppers points leaders by position since the start of 2013.

In the American League, the Box-Toppers leaders agree a little better with voters—seven of the nine Box-Toppers leaders are among the leaders in fan voting and three (Cabrera, Robinson Cano of the Mariners and Josh Donaldson of the Athletics) are vote leaders for their positions.

In the National League, five of the Box-Toppers position leaders are also among the vote leaders. However, Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies is the only player who leads his position in both Box-Toppers points and fan voting.

Box-Toppers pick for starters based on 2013-14 stats? Max Scherzer of the Tigers for the AL and Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers for the NL.

All-Stars based on 2013-14 Box-Toppers points
Here are Box-Toppers points leaders by position for each league. Also shown is players' current ranking in All-Star fan voting by their position. A hyphen (-) indicates they are not among the league leaders in fan voting by their position. Also shown are pitching leaders. Fans don't get to vote on pitchers so their vote rank is marked with an asterisk (*).





  
    Pos
    AL players
    Team
    BTP
    Vote rank
  

    1B
    Cabrera, Miguel 1776
    det al
    24.4
    1
  

    2B
    Cano, Robinson 2092
    sea al
    15.5
    1
  

    SS
    Aybar, Erick 2416
    ana al
    11.0
    -
  

    3B
    Donaldson, Josh 3144
    oak al
    16.0
    1
  

    CA
    McCann, Brian 2179
    nyy al
    9.5
    3
  

    OF
    Soriano, Alfonso 1445
    nyy al
    13.9
    -
  

    OF
    Cespedes, Yoenis 3008
    oak al
    12.5
    4
  

    OF
    Choo, Shin-Soo 2267
    tex al
    11.0
    14
  

    DH
    Ortiz, David
    bos al
    16.4
    2
  

    SP
    Scherzer, Max 2588
    det al
    29.5
    *
  

    SP
    Darvish, Yu 3003
    tex al
    24.4
    *
  

    SP
    Sale, Chris 2806
    chi al
    24.1
    *
  

    SP
    Hernandez, Felix 2064
    sea al
    23.6
    *
  

    MR
    Smyly, Drew 3009
    det al
    10.7
    *
  

    CP
    Holland, Greg 2906
    kc al
    14.0
    *
  

    
    
    
    
    
  

    Pos
    NL players
    Team
    BTP
    Vote rank
  

    1B
    Freeman, Freddie 2887
    atl nl
    17.7
    3
  

    2B
    Murphy, Daniel 2589
    nym nl
    13.0
    -
  

    SS
    Tulowitzki, Troy 2308
    col nl
    14.6
    1
  

    3B
    Alvarez, Pedro 2817
    pit nl
    10.2
    -
  

    CA
    Posey, Buster 2745
    sf nl
    10.0
    3
  

    OF
    Gonzalez, Carlos 2460
    col nl
    12.5
    -
  

    OF
    Cuddyer, Michael 1826
    col nl
    11.5
    14
  

    OF
    McCutchen, Andrew 2637
    pit nl
    11.0
    2
  

    SP
    Kershaw, Clayton 2494
    lad nl
    34.4
    *
  

    SP
    Wainwright, Adam 2150
    stl nl
    33.2
    *
  

    SP
    Bumgarner, Madison 2753
    sf nl
    28.2
    *
  

    SP
    Greinke, Zack 1871
    lad nl
    26.8
    *
  

    MR
    Collmenter, Josh 2863
    ari nl
    12.0
    *
  

    CP
    Kimbrel, Craig 2825
    atl nl
    17.7
    *
  

BTP: Box-Toppers points

Vote rank: Where the player ranks by position in All-Star fan voting. A hyphen (-) indicates they are not among the leaders. An asterisk (*) indicates they are a pitcher and not eligible for fan voting.

What are those numbers after players' names?

Voting leaders

A case can be made for any of these players to be on the All-Star team.

Numbers? Performance? Yes, players like Yadier Molina, Yasiel Puig and Mike Trout have that. Though they may not register very highly on Box-Toppers, it’s hard to argue that they’re not All-Star worthy.

And a case can even be made for a player like Derek Jeter of the Yankees—is he an All-Star? Well, technically, there ARE probably better and more deserving AL shortstops based on any metric you put forth for this season and last season. But then, this is Derek Jeter. The Captain. His final season. Even Yankee haters may be forced to put the numbers aside for a moment and vote with their heart on this one.

Here are the leaders as of June 22 and 23 in All-Star voting by position. Also included in the chart are each of the leaders’ Box-Toppers points total for 2014 and their current rank among their position in their league.

Only three players who lead for their position in All-Star voting also lead their position in Box-Toppers points:

• AL 3B Josh Donaldson of the Athletics.

• NL SS Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies.

• NL 3B Aramis Ramirez of the Pirates.

All-Stars voting leaders & their Box-Toppers rankings
Here are All-Star fan voting leaders as of June 22 and 23. For comparison, their Box-Toppers points totals for 2014 are included along with their rank at their position by league. (For example, Miguel Cabrera has 7.5 Box-Toppers points in 2014, second-most among AL first basemen.





  
    Pos
    AL players
    Team
    BTP
    BTP rank
  

    1B
    Miguel Cabrera
    det al
    7.5
    2
  

    2B
    Robinson Cano
    sea al
    3.0
    4
  

    SS
    Derek Jeter
    nyy al
    0.0
    22
  

    3B
    Josh Donaldson
    oak al
    6.5
    1
  

    CA
    Matt Wieters
    bal al
    1.5
    7
  

    OF
    Jose Bautista
    tor al
    2.5
    15
  

    OF
    Mike Trout
    ana al
    2.0
    23
  

    OF
    Melky Cabrera
    tor al
    3.0
    10
  

    DH
    Nelson Cruz
    bal al
    3.0
    10
  

    
    
    
    
    
  

    Pos
    NL players
    Team
    BTP
    BTP rank
  

    1B
    Paul Goldschmidt
    ari nl
    1.5
    13
  

    2B
    Chase Utley
    phi nl
    2.0
    10
  

    SS
    Troy Tulowitzki
    col nl
    10.6
    1
  

    3B
    Aramis Ramirez
    mil nl
    3.5
    1
  

    CA
    Yadier Molina
    stl nl
    0.0
    20
  

    OF
    Yasiel Puig
    lad nl
    1.0
    44
  

    OF
    Andrew McCutchen
    pit nl
    5.0
    2
  

    OF
    Carlos Gomez
    mil nl
    2.5
    14
  

BTP: Box-Toppers points

BTP rank: Where the player ranks by position in their league in Box-Toppers points.

Cards' pitcher Adam Wainwright regains lead in Box-Toppers weekly player rankings report

Shawn Plank June 27, 2014

Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright retakes the lead in Box-Toppers player rankings this week.

Top players
Through Thursday, June 26





  
    

    OVERALL LEADERS
    POS
    TEAM
    BTP
  

    1
    Wainwright, Adam 2150
    pi sp
    stl nl
    13.0
  

    2
    Kershaw, Clayton 2494
    pi sp
    lad nl
    12.7
  

    3
    Tanaka, Masahiro 3305
    pi sp
    nyy al
    12.7
  

    4
    Bumgarner, Madison 2753
    pi sp
    sf nl
    12.5
  

    5
    Cueto, Johnny 2400
    pi sp
    cin nl
    11.7
  

    6
    Scherzer, Max 2588
    pi sp
    det al
    11.4
  

    7
    Tulowitzki, Troy 2308
    ss
    col nl
    10.6
  

    8
    Kazmir, Scott 1947
    pi sp
    oak al
    9.7
  

    9
    Hernandez, Felix 2064
    pi sp
    sea al
    8.8
  

    10
    Teheran, Julio 3176
    pi sp
    atl nl
    8.7
  

    
    
    
    
    
  

    
    AL PITCHERS
    POS
    TEAM
    BTP
  

    1
    Tanaka, Masahiro 3305
    pi sp
    nyy al
    12.7
  

    2
    Scherzer, Max 2588
    pi sp
    det al
    11.4
  

    3
    Kazmir, Scott 1947
    pi sp
    oak al
    9.7
  

    4
    Hernandez, Felix 2064
    pi sp
    sea al
    8.8
  

    5
    Richards, Garrett 3042
    pi sp
    ana al
    8.7
  

    6
    Keuchel, Dallas 3050
    pi sp
    hou al
    8.7
  

    7
    Darvish, Yu 3003
    pi sp
    tex al
    8.4
  

    8
    Price, David 2593
    pi sp
    tb al
    8.4
  

    9
    Kluber, Corey 3200
    pi sp
    cle al
    8.4
  

    10
    Sale, Chris 2806
    pi sp
    chi al
    8.0
  

    
    
    
    
    
  

    
    AL BATTERS
    POS
    TEAM
    BTP
  

    1
    Abreu, Jose 3308
    1b dh
    chi al
    8.5
  

    2
    Cabrera, Miguel 1776
    1b
    det al
    7.5
  

    3
    Encarnacion, Edwin 2098
    1b
    tor al
    7.0
  

    4
    Donaldson, Josh 3144
    3b
    oak al
    6.5
  

    5
    Aybar, Erick 2416
    ss
    ana al
    6.0
  

    6
    Cespedes, Yoenis 3008
    lf
    oak al
    5.5
  

    7
    Ramirez, Alexei 2537
    ss
    chi al
    5.5
  

    8
    Colabello, Chris 3235
    1b dh rf
    min al
    5.2
  

    9
    Seager, Kyle 3031
    3b
    sea al
    5.0
  

    10
    Rodriguez, Sean 2729
    lf 1b 2b dh ph
    tb al
    5.0
  

    
    
    
    
    
  

    
    NL PITCHERS
    POS
    TEAM
    BTP
  

    1
    Wainwright, Adam 2150
    pi sp
    stl nl
    13.0
  

    2
    Kershaw, Clayton 2494
    pi sp
    lad nl
    12.7
  

    3
    Bumgarner, Madison 2753
    pi sp
    sf nl
    12.5
  

    4
    Cueto, Johnny 2400
    pi sp
    cin nl
    11.7
  

    5
    Teheran, Julio 3176
    pi sp
    atl nl
    8.7
  

    6
    Colon, Bartolo
    pi sp
    nym nl
    8.7
  

    7
    Hammel, Jason 2235
    pi sp
    chi nl
    8.7
  

    8
    Strasburg, Stephen 2736
    pi sp
    dc nl
    8.0
  

    9
    Alvarez, Henderson 2951
    pi sp
    fla nl
    7.7
  

    10
    Beckett, Josh 1544
    pi sp
    lad nl
    7.7
  

    
    
    
    
    
  

    
    NL BATTERS
    POS
    TEAM
    BTP
  

    1
    Tulowitzki, Troy 2308
    ss
    col nl
    10.6
  

    2
    Freeman, Freddie 2887
    1b
    atl nl
    6.2
  

    3
    Rizzo, Anthony 3063
    1b
    chi nl
    5.5
  

    4
    Morse, Michael 2020
    lf
    sf nl
    5.5
  

    5
    McCutchen, Andrew 2637
    cf
    pit nl
    5.0
  

    6
    Stanton, Giancarlo 2737
    rf
    fla nl
    4.7
  

    7
    Murphy, Daniel 2589
    2b
    nym nl
    4.5
  

    8
    Braun, Ryan J. 2300
    rf
    mil nl
    4.5
  

    9
    Howard, Ryan 2040
    1b
    phi nl
    4.2
  

    10
    Upton, Justin 2411
    lf
    atl nl
    3.7
  

BTP: Box-Toppers points 

Wainwright has 13.0 Box-Toppers points and moves from second place last week, passing previous leader, Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (12.7). Wainwright led Box-Toppers player rankings the previous three weeks.

Tanaka falls from first to third place overall, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (12.7 Box-Toppers points) now in second place overall. Tanaka still leads all American League players. (Kershaw and Tanaka are tied at 12.7 Box-Toppers points but Kershaw is ahead on a tie-breaker. He has more combined Box-Toppers points over the 2013 and 2014 seasons—34.4 vs. 12.7.)

Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies remains the leader among NL batters with 10.6 Box-Toppers points. However, he falls from fifth to seventh place among all players.

Jose Abreu of the White Sox still leads among AL batters with 8.5 Box-Toppers points. He is in 15th place among all players, falling from 13th place last week.

What are those numbers after players' names?

San Francisco Giants retake top spot in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings

Shawn Plank June 27, 2014

The San Francisco Giants have retaken the top spot in Box-Toppers team rankings this week.

Top 10 teams
Here are Box-Toppers' Top 10 teams, through the games of Thursday, June 26. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players on the team have accumulated so far this season. The column BTP/wk shows have many points teams have accumulated during the past week.





  
    

626
    

Teams
    

BTP
    
BTP
/wk
    Last 
wk 
rank
  

    1
    Giants
    56.9
    5.0
    2
  

    2
    Blue Jays
    56.3
    6.9
    5
  

    3
    Dodgers
    56.2
    6.7
    4
  

    4
    Athletics
    55.9
    3.0
    1
  

    5
    Brewers
    55.6
    6.0
    3
  

    6
    Angels
    54.5
    6.5
    6
  

    7
    Cardinals
    51.5
    5.0
    7
  

    8
    Mariners
    51.0
    6.0
    9
  

    9
    Nationals
    48.2
    4.0
    11
  

    10
    Reds
    48.1
    6.5
    19
  

BTP: Box-Toppers points

Giants players have accumulated 56.9 Box-Toppers points. They pass last week’s top team, the Oakland Athletics, now in fourth place in team rankings with 55.9 Box-Toppers points. The Giants have been the top team in Box-Toppers rankings five of the past seven weeks and have been the top National League team for five straight weeks.

The Giants are led by pitchers Madison Bumgarner (12.5 Box-Toppers points, fourth place among all players, third among NL pitchers), Tim Hudson (6.7 Box-Toppers points, 15th among NL pitchers) and Tim Lincecum (6.0 Box-Toppers points, 20th among NL pitchers). Lincecum pitched a no-hitter this week. Nineteen different Giants players have earned Player of the Game honors and picked up at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point this season.

The Giants have the third-best winning percentage in baseball (.582), behind the Athletics (.615—55.9 Box-Toppers points, fourth place overall) and the Milwaukee Brewers (.605—55.6 Box-Toppers points, fifth place overall).

The Toronto Blue Jays, the hottest team of the week, are the top American League team in Box-Toppers rankings. The Blue Jays moved from fifth place to second among all teams and passed last week’s AL and overall leader, the Athletics. They regain their spot atop the AL after losing it last week to the Athletics—previously, they were top AL team for three straight weeks.

Blue Jays players have accumulated 56.3 Box-Toppers points, including 6.9 during the past week—more than any other team.

The Blue Jays are led by first baseman Edwin Encarnacion (7.0 Box-Toppers points, third place among AL batters) and pitcher Drew Hutchison (7.0 Box-Toppers points, 12th place among AL pitchers). Twenty-one different Blue Jays players have earned Player of the Game honors and picked up at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point this season.

The Blue Jays have the fourth-best winning percentage in the AL (.556), behind the Athletics, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels.

Two teams rose into the top 10 this week: The Washington Nationals rose from 11th to ninth place and the Cincinnati Reds rose from 19th to 10th place. Two teams fell out of the top 10: The Miami Marlins fell from eighth to 11th place and the Kansas City Royals fell from 10th to 14th place.

The Arizona Diamondbacks remain the lowest-rated team with 34.9 Box-Toppers points, picking up only 1.0 point during the past week.

Reds' Mike Leake (8IP 1R 12K) tops players for Thursday, June 26

Shawn Plank June 27, 2014

Reds pitcher Mike Leake is Thursday’s Player of the Day. Leake struck out 12 over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 3-1 win over the Giants.

Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ is American League Player of the Day. Happ pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out eight, in the 7-0 win over the White Sox.

Gregory Polanco of the Pirates is National League Batter of the Day. Polanco homered, went 2-for-3 and drove in four runs in the 5-0 win over the Mets. This was Polanco’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors—he is the 3,361st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. Polanco made his Major League debut June 10 and was playing in his 15th game.

Albert Pujols of the Angels is AL Batter of the Day. Pujols went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs in the 6-4 win over the Twins.

Pujols earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points, giving him 3.0 for the season. He is in 10th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” leaderboard (Box-Toppers began record keeping in 1995) with 162.8 points, just ahead of John Smoltz (160.9) and just behind Roger Clemens (164.8). So far in 2014, only 4.0 Box-Toppers points have been earned by players in the all-time top 10 list—3.0 by Pujols and 1.0 by Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia (in fifth place with 173.3 Box-Toppers points). They are the only two players on the top 10 list who have seen playing time this season.

Leake receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Happ receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Polanco and Pujols 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 Thursday, click here.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    626
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    13.0
    Reds
    Mike Leake (W, 6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    12
  

    AL
    9.2
    Blue Jays
    J.A. Happ (W, 7-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    4
    0
    0
    2
    8
  

    
    9.0
    Tigers
    Rick Porcello (W, 10-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    3
    6
  

    
    5.0
    `Dodgers
    Josh Beckett
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Pirates
    Gregory Polanco   RF
    3
    1
    2
    4
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Angels
    Albert Pujols   DH
    4
    2
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Astros
    Matt Dominguez   3B
    3
    2
    1
    3
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Brewers
    Scooter Gennett   PH, 2B
    1
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    `Phillies
    Cole Hamels
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    3
    3
    0
    7
  

    
    2.0
    Cubs
    Hector Rondon (S, 9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    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.

Giants' Tim Lincecum, pitching a no-hitter, tops players for Wednesday, June 25

Shawn Plank June 26, 2014

Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum, pitching his second career no-hitter, is Wednesday’s Player of the Day.

Lincecum allowed only one walk and struck out six in the complete game, shutout no-hitter, a 4-0 win over the Padres.

Rays pitcher David Price is American League Player of the Day. Price struck out 11 over 8 1/3 innings, allowing one run, in the 5-1 win over the Pirates. Price rises to 17th place in Box-Toppers player rankings. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 8.4 for the season. He ranks eighth among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points.

Scooter Gennett of the Brewers is National League Batter of the Day. Gennett hit a grand slam and went 2-for-5, driving in five runs, in the 9-2 win over the Nationals.

David Ortiz of the Red Sox is AL Batter of the Day. Ortiz homered, went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs in the 5-4 win over the Mariners.

Lincecum receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Price receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Gennett and Ortiz each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Wednesday’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 Wednesday, click here.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    625
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.0
    Giants
    Tim Lincecum (W, 6-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    AL
    11.1
    Rays
    David Price (W, 6-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    5
    1
    1
    1
    11
  

    
    10.0
    Indians
    Corey Kluber (W, 7-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    
    7.0
    Braves
    Alex Wood (W, 6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    5.0
    Reds
    Mat Latos (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    
    4.2
    Dodgers
    Jamey Wright (W, 3-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.2
    2
    0
    0
    0
    4
  

    
    4.2
    Yankees
    David Robertson (S, 18)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Brewers
    Scooter Gennett   2B
    5
    2
    2
    5
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Marlins
    Steve Cishek (S, 18)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    4.0
    Athletics
    Sean Doolittle (S, 11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    2.1
    `Orioles
    Ryan Webb
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Red Sox
    David Ortiz   DH
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Angels
    Erick Aybar   SS
    3
    2
    2
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Cardinals
    Daniel Descalso   PH
    1
    1
    1
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Tigers
    Victor Martinez   DH
    5
    2
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw (8IP 0R 8K) tops players for Tuesday, June 24, rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers points

Shawn Plank June 25, 2014

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Tuesday’s Player of the Day, rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Kershaw pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out eight in the 2-0 win over the Royals. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season, rising from sixth to second among all players (see the updated top 10 player list on the home page). He is also in second place among National League pitchers, behind overall Box-Toppers points leader Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals (13.0 points).

Kershaw and Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon had identical Box-Toppers game scores Tuesday of 9.0. However, Kershaw won Player of the Day honors on a tie-breaker—he allowed no runs, while Colon allowed one.

White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana is American League Player of the Day. Quintana struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run, in the 4-2 win over the Orioles.

Justin Morneau of the Rockies is NL Batter of the Day. Morneau drove in six runs, while going 3-for-5 with a homer, in the 10-5 win over the Cardinals.

Dioner Navarro of the Blue Jays is AL Batter of the Day. Navarro hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4 in the 7-6 win over the Yankees.

Kershaw receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Quintana receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Morneau and Navarro each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Tuesday’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 Tuesday, click here.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    624
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    9.0
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W, 8-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    6
    0
    0
    1
    8
  

    
    9.0
    Mets
    Bartolo Colon (W, 8-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    9.0
    Cubs
    Jake Arrieta (W, 4-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    2
    2
    0
    9
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Rockies
    Justin Morneau   1B
    5
    2
    3
    6
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Padres
    Jesse Hahn (W, 3-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    AL
    4.0
    White Sox
    Jose Quintana (W, 4-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    3
    8
  

    
    4.0
    Tigers
    Drew Smyly (W, 4-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    0
    1
    5
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Blue Jays
    Dioner Navarro   C
    4
    1
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Mariners
    Kyle Seager   3B
    4
    1
    2
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Angels
    Mike Trout   CF
    2
    2
    1
    2
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `Nationals
    Jordan Zimmermann
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    2
    2
    2
    9
  

    
    2.0
    Braves
    Craig Kimbrel (S, 22)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Dbacks
    Ender Inciarte   CF
    7
    2
    4
    2
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Phillies
    Marlon Byrd   RF
    4
    2
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    0.0
    Pirates
    Russell Martin   C
    4
    1
    2
    1
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Cardinals' Lance Lynn (8IP 3H 0R 7K) tops players for Monday, June 23

Shawn Plank June 24, 2014

Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn is Monday’s Player of the Day. Lynn pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing only three hits and striking out seven in the 8-0 win over the Rockies

Lynn receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season. He is in 38th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and ranks 16th among National League pitchers.

Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman is American League Player of the Day. Stroman struck out seven over eight innings, allowing only one run, in the 8-3 win over the Yankees.

Logan Morrison of the Mariners is AL Batter of the Day. Morrison hit two home runs, went 4-for-4 with two runs and drove in four in the 12-3 win over the Red Sox.

Devin Mesoraco of the Reds is NL Batter of the Day. Mesoraco hit a grand slam in the 6-1 win over the Cubs.

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

All of Monday’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 Monday, click here.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    623
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Cardinals
    Lance Lynn (W, 8-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    AL
    9.0
    Blue Jays
    Marcus Stroman (W, 4-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    7.0
    Mariners
    Logan Morrison   1B
    4
    3
    4
    4
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Reds
    Devin Mesoraco   C
    1
    1
    1
    4
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Orioles
    Chris Davis   PH, DH
    1
    1
    1
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Padres
    Odrisamer Despaigne (W, 1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    4.0
    Nationals
    Gio Gonzalez (W, 4-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    4
    5
  

    
    3.0
    Royals
    Jarrod Dyson   CF
    3
    1
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Pirates
    Andrew McCutchen   CF
    5
    2
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.1
    Marlins
    Nathan Eovaldi (W, 5-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.1
    6
    0
    0
    1
    2
  

Top player from each game

Top player from each game

Top players

Top player from each game

Top 10 teams

Top player from each game

Top player from each game

Top player from each game

Top player from each game

Top player from each game

Top player from each game

Top player from each game

2014

All-Stars based on 2014 Box-Toppers points

2013-14

All-Stars based on 2013-14 Box-Toppers points

Voting leaders

All-Stars voting leaders & their Box-Toppers rankings

Top players

Top 10 teams

Top player from each game

Top player from each game

Top player from each game

Top player from each game

Box-Toppers

Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.