| AL East | |||||||||
| Team | Top pitcher | Pos | BTP | Rank | Top batter | Pos | BTP | Rank | |
| Orioles | Means, John 4115 | pi sp | 7.0 | 120 | *Smith, Dwight Jr. 4112 | lf | 7.2 | 103 | |
| Red Sox | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | 11.4 | 32 | Devers, Rafael 4038 | 3b | 9.5 | 57 | |
| Yankees | Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | 14.1 | 19 | Torres, Gleyber 3972 | ss 2b | 12.0 | 30 | |
| Rays | Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | 18.8 | 5 | d’Arnaud, Travis 3384 | Ca | 6.2 | 134 | |
| Blue Jays | Thornton, Trent 4120 | pi sp | 8.7 | 75 | Guerrero, Vladimir Jr. 4142 | 3b | 6.2 | 136 | |
| AL Central | |||||||||
| Team | Top pitcher | Pos | BTP | Rank | Top batter | Pos | BTP | Rank | |
| White Sox | Giolito, Lucas 3900 | pi sp | 13.7 | 22 | Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b | 7.5 | 98 | |
| Indians | Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | 18.1 | 6 | Reyes, Franmil 4036 | rf | 5.0 | 182 | |
| Tigers | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | pi sp | 5.0 | 167 | Rodriguez, Ronny 4119 | ss 1b | 4.2 | 226 | |
| Royals | Keller, Brad 4008 | pi sp | 5.0 | 177 | *Soler, Jorge 3403 | dh | 10.2 | 44 | |
| Twins | Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | pi sp | 12.4 | 27 | *Cruz, Nelson 2224 | dh | 12.5 | 26 | |
| AL West | |||||||||
| Team | Top pitcher | Pos | BTP | Rank | Top batter | Pos | BTP | Rank | |
| Angels | Canning, Griffin 4134 | pi sp | 6.7 | 126 | *Pujols, Albert 1438 | 1b | 11.0 | 37 | |
| Astros | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | 32.2 | 1 | Bregman, Alex 3721 | 3b | 10.0 | 48 | |
| Athletics | Bailey, Homer 2324 | pi sp | 10.4 | 42 | Chapman, Matt 3849 | 3b | 9.0 | 63 | |
| Mariners | Gonzales, Marco 3408 | pi sp | 9.4 | 58 | Vogelbach, Daniel 4070 | dh | 7.0 | 116 | |
| Rangers | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | 15.0 | 16 | Santana, Danny 3350 | cf 1b | 6.5 | 131 | |
| NL East | |||||||||
| Team | Top pitcher | Pos | BTP | Rank | Top batter | Pos | BTP | Rank | |
| Braves | Soroka, Mike 3956 | pi sp | 11.4 | 34 | Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | 10.2 | 43 | |
| Marlins | Smith, Caleb 3952 | pi sp | 6.0 | 143 | Alfaro, Jorge 3920 | ca | 4.0 | 248 | |
| Nationals | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | 20.7 | 3 | Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362 | 3b 2b | 9.0 | 64 | |
| Mets | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | 19.1 | 4 | Conforto, Michael 3622 | rf | 8.7 | 71 | |
| Phillies | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | 9.7 | 51 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | 8.0 | 82 | |
| NL Central | |||||||||
| Team | Top pitcher | Pos | BTP | Rank | Top batter | Pos | BTP | Rank | |
| Cubs | Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | 13.4 | 23 | Bryant, Kris 3465 | 3b | 6.5 | 130 | |
| Reds | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | 14.4 | 17 | Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b | 6.0 | 140 | |
| Brewers | Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp | 17.7 | 8 | Yelich, Christian 3334 | rf | 11.7 | 31 | |
| Pirates | Vazquez, Felipe 3579 | pi cp | 8.7 | 72 | *Bell, Josh E. 3682 | 1b | 9.7 | 56 | |
| Cardinals | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | pi sp | 16.5 | 11 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf | 12.0 | 29 | |
| NL West | |||||||||
| Team | Top pitcher | Pos | BTP | Rank | Top batter | Pos | BTP | Rank | |
| Diamondbacks | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | 8.7 | 69 | Escobar, Eduardo 3135 | 3b 2b | 8.0 | 84 | |
| Rockies | Gray, Jon 3634 | pi sp | 10.0 | 46 | Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | 9.0 | 62 | |
| Dodgers | Ryu, Hyun‑Jin 3139 | pi sp | 17.4 | 10 | Bellinger, Cody 3781 | rf | 11.2 | 35 | |
| Padres | Paddack, Chris 4093 | pi sp | 15.8 | 14 | Renfroe, Hunter 3749 | lf rf | 5.5 | 162 | |
| Giants | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | 10.0 | 47 | Posey, Buster 2745 | ca | 5.0 | 189 | |
What are those numbers after players' names?
Pitchers led their team’s players in Box-Toppers points on 25 of 30 teams in 2019. Batters led all team’s players on the other five.
Pitchers generally earn more Box-Toppers points than batters as they earn Player of the Game honors more frequently as the player who contributed most to a team win. Pitchers earned 55.8 percent of all Box-Toppers points awarded in 2019 (1,664.2 of 2,890.2). They also occupied the top 25 spots in overall Box-Toppers rankings and 71 of the overall top 100.
That dominance has increased in the past decade. Prior to 2010, batters consistently earned half or more of all Box-Toppers points awarded but since 2010, batters’ share of points earned has consistently fallen to 45 percent or below—and as low as below 40 percent in two seasons.
So though pitchers should be leading this roundup of top players by team because of their dominance, the sheer rarity of batters leading a team in Box-Toppers points makes their situation somehow more noteworthy. The five batters who led their team in Box-Toppers points in 2019 are:
Nelson Cruz of the Twins with 12.5 points, ranked 26th overall and first among American League batters. He ranked just ahead of the Twins’ top pitcher Jake Odorizzi (12.4 points, 27th overall). Cruz ranked first in Box-Toppers points among all batters in 2019.
Albert Pujols of the Angels with 11.0 points, ranked 37th overall and third among AL batters. He ranked ahead of Angels’ top pitcher Griffin Canning (6.7 points, 126th overall).
Jorge Soler of the Royals with 10.2 points, ranked 44th overall and fourth among AL batters. He ranked ahead of Royals’ top pitcher Brad Keller (5.0 points, 177th overall).
Josh Bell of the Pirates with 9.7 points, ranked 56th overall and fifth among National League batters. He ranked ahead of Pirates’ top pitcher Felipe Vazquez (8.7 points, 72nd overall).
Dwight Smith of the Orioles with 7.2 points, ranked 103rd overall and 18th among AL batters. He ranked ahead of Orioles’ top pitcher John Means (7.0 points, 120th overall).
In four of five instances in which a batter led a team in Box-Toppers points, the team’s leading pitcher had fewer than 10.0 Box-Toppers points. So generally, when a batter led a team in Box-Toppers points it was not because he was overly dominant but because the team’s top pitcher did not fare all that well during the season.
The chart elsewhere on this page shows the top pitcher and batter on each of the 30 teams, their 2019 Box-Toppers point total and their overall season rank among all players.
Obviously, Box-Toppers’ top-ranked pitcher and batter in both leagues led their team’s players or team’s batters in Box-Toppers points:
Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole led all players with 32.2 Box-Toppers points and led all Astros players.
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg led all NL pitchers with 20.7 points (third overall) and led all Nationals players.
Nelson Cruz of the Twins led all AL batters with 12.5 points (26th overall) and also led all Twins players.
Marcell Ozuna of the Cardinals led all NL batters with 12.0 points (29th overall) and also led all Cardinals batters. He ranked second among all Cardinals players, behind pitcher Jack Flaherty, whose 16.5 points ranked 11th overall.
Other notable facts:
Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom, winner of the 2019 NL Cy Young Award, led his team in Box-Toppers points (19.1). He ranked second among NL pitchers, behind Stephen Strasburg of the Nationals (20.7) and fourth overall.
Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers, winner of the 2019 NL Most Valuable Player Award, led his team’s batters in Box-Toppers points (11.2). He ranked third among NL batters and fourth among all Dodgers players, behind three pitchers, including overall team leader Hyun-Jin Ryu (17.4).
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander, winner of the 2019 AL Cy Young Award, did not lead his team in Box-Toppers points, even though he ranked second in points overall. Verlander’s 27.5 Box-Toppers points trailed overall leader and teammate Gerrit Cole’s 32.2 points.
Mike Trout of the Angels, winner of the 2019 AL Most Valuable Player Award, did not lead his team in Box-Toppers points. Trout’s 8.7 points was second among all Angels players, behind Albert Pujols (11.0). Trout ranked ninth among AL batters. He did rank ahead of the Angels’ top pitcher Griffin Canning (6.7 points).
There were two closers who led their team’s pitchers in Box-Toppers points—Josh Hader of the Brewers and Felipe Vazquez of the Pirates. On the other 28 teams, the top pitcher was a starter. Hader led all Brewers in Box-Toppers points (17.7), which was eighth overall and third among all NL pitchers. Hader’s 17.7 points is the third-highest single-season point total for a closing pitcher since Box-Toppers tracking began. Vazquez led all Pirates pitchers in Box-Toppers points (8.7). But the Pirates were one of the five teams in which a batter led all players—first baseman Josh Bell had 9.7 Box-Toppers points.
The lowest-ranked player to lead a team in Box-Toppers points was Marlins pitcher Caleb Smith, whose 6.0 Box-Toppers points ranked 143rd among all players. He was also the lowest-ranked player to lead a team’s pitchers in Box-Toppers points.
The lowest-ranked batter to lead a team in Box-Toppers points was Jorge Alfaro of the Marlins, whose 4.0 Box-Toppers points ranked 248th among all players.
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander is the highest-ranking player who does not lead his team or his team’s pitchers in Box-Toppers points. Verlander, though he ranks second overall with 27.5 points, trails teammate, pitcher Gerrit Cole (32.2). The next-highest ranked player who does not lead his team or his team’s pitchers in Box-Toppers points is another Astros pitcher, Zack Greinke, whose 17.9 points ranked seventh among all players.
Blue Jays top batter is listed in the chart as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with 6.2 Box-Toppers points. However, another Blue Jays batter, second baseman Cavan Biggio, also had 6.2 points. Both players made their Major League and Box-Toppers debuts in 2019. Usually Box-Toppers point total ties are broken by giving the advantage to the player who had the higher Box-Toppers point total in the previous season. In this case, neither of the son-of-Hall-of-Famer Blue Jays had previous season Box-Toppers points. We gave Guerrero the advantage simply because he made his Box-Toppers debut earlier—May 14 vs. June 29. However, there is no official Box-Toppers rule that provides that advantage and in overall Box-Toppers rankings, Biggio ranks ahead—135th vs. 136th—simply based on alphabetical sorting.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
Related:
Box-Toppers Top 10 players by category (AL and NL pitching and batting) for 2019
Box-Toppers Top 100 players for 2019
Box-Toppers top pitchers and batters by team for the season at the 2019 All-Star break