Both National League Division Series begin Tuesday.
The Miami Marlins face the Atlanta Braves in one best-of-five game series and the San Diego Padres take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the other series.
Read MoreHow earned run average leaders fared in Box-Toppers points: ERA leader Ryu ranked 10th in player rankings
Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Dodgers had the lowest earned run average of any pitcher in 2019 and ranked 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings.
The overall Box-Toppers points leader, Gerrit Cole of the Astros (32.2), ranked third in ERA (2.50).
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Yankees top Box-Toppers 2020 preseason team rankings; champion Nationals rank 2nd
The New York Yankees are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2020 preseason rankings, rising from fifth place at the end of the 2019 season.
The 2019 World Series-champion Washington Nationals, ranked second at the end of 2019, maintain second place in the 2020 preseason rankings.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Houston Astros—2019’s top-ranked team and American League champion—had the biggest decline.
Read MoreA look at players who made biggest gains in Box-Toppers points from 2018 to 2019
Padres rookie pitcher Chris Paddack had the biggest gain in Box-Toppers point totals from 2018 to 2019.
Paddack earned 15.8 Box-Toppers points in his first season in 2019 after obviously earning no points in 2018, making his 15.8-point gain the largest among all players this season.
Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole had the biggest gain in Box-Toppers points among returning players and among American League pitchers. His 14.2-point gain from 2018 to 2019 was the second-biggest of the season.
Read MorePadres’ Chris Paddack, Box-Toppers’ dominant rookie for 2019, receives no Rookie of the Year votes; Alonso, Alvarez receive rookie honors
Box-Toppers’ top-ranked 2019 rookie—far and away the top-ranked rookie—did not even receive a single vote in baseball writers’ Rookie of the Year voting.
Padres pitcher Chris Paddack had nearly twice as many 2019 Box-Toppers points as any other player who made their Box-Toppers debut during the season. His 15.8 Box-Toppers points, in fact, ranked 14th among all players and eighth among all National League pitchers, just ahead of NL Cy Young Award finalist Max Scherzer of the Nationals (15.4 points, ninth among NL pitchers).
Read MoreA look at 2019 baseball awards finalists and how they fared in Box-Toppers rankings
The players who played the most key roles in helping their teams win the most games in 2019, for the most part, are not among the finalists for baseball’s postseason awards.
Gerrit Cole of the Astros, who led American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 32.2, is one of three finalists for the AL Cy Young Award. He is the only Box-Toppers point leader in any of the six categories to even be named as a finalist.
Read MoreBraves’ Mike Soroka, Dodgers’ Russell Martin top players in Sunday's pair of NLDS games
Braves pitcher Mike Soroka and Russell Martin of the Dodgers are Sunday’s Box-Toppers top players in a pair of National League Division Series games.
Read MoreAstros’ Gerrit Cole, Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka top players in Saturday's pair of ALDS games
Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole and Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka are Saturday’s Box-Toppers top players in a pair of American League Division Series games.
Read MoreBox-Toppers’ NL Division Series previews: Cardinals vs. Braves, Nationals vs. Dodgers
Both National League Division Series begin Thursday.
The NL Central champion St. Louis Cardinals face the NL East champion Atlanta Braves in one best-of-five game series and the NL Wild Card champion Washington Nationals take on the Los Angeles Dodgers, champions of the NL West in the other series.
Read MoreAstros’ Gerrit Cole tops players for Friday, Sept. 13, extends lead in Box-Toppers player rankings
Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole, Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, extends his lead in season player rankings and now has the 11th-best single-season Box-Toppers point total in 25 seasons.
Cole struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing one run, four hits and two walks, in the 4-1 win over the Royals.
Read MoreAstros’ Gerrit Cole tops players for Thursday, Aug. 22, becoming 2nd player in 2019 with 20 points
Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, becoming the second player this season to reach 20 Box-Toppers points.
Cole struck out 12 over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 6-3 win over the Tigers.
Read MoreBraves’ Mike Soroka tops players for Sunday, July 14; Rays’ Yarbrough tops AL players
Braves pitcher Mike Soroka is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Soroka struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing six hits and one walk, in the 4-1 win over the Padres.
Read MoreIndians’ Shane Bieber is Box-Toppers’ most deserving player not selected to 2019 All-Star Game
Indians pitcher Shane Bieber is the most deserving player not selected to the 2019 Major League Baseball All-Star teams.
Bieber has 11.1 Box-Toppers points in 2019, eighth among all players and fourth among American League pitchers. Other key players not chosen for the All-Star Game who rank among Box-Toppers top players this season include Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, Marcell Ozuna of the Cardinals and Eloy Jimenez of the White Sox.
Read MoreAstros’ Brad Peacock tops players for Monday, May 20; Padres’ Paddack rises to 3rd in player rankings
Astros pitcher Brad Peacock is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Game.
Also Monday, Padres pitcher Chris Paddack rises to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreTwins’ Jake Odorizzi tops players for Monday, April 29; Braves’ Soroka tops NL players
Twins pitcher Jake Odorizzi is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Odorizzi struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 1-0 win over the Astros.
Read MoreBraves’ Mike Soroka tops players for Wednesday, June 13; Red Sox’ Sale tops AL players
Braves pitcher Mike Soroka is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Soroka pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, striking out four, in the 2-0 win over the Mets.
Read MoreAngels' Nick Tropeano tops players for Tuesday, May 1; Scherzer regains player rankings lead
Angels pitcher Nick Tropeano is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer regains the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
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