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.
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Leaders
    • 2022
    • 2021-2022
    • 2017-2022
    • All-time (1995-2022)
    • Season leaders '95-'24
    • Detail leaders, ’95-’24
    • Archive
  • About
    • What?
    • How?
    • Why?
    • Who?
    • Contact
  • Home
  • Blog
    • 2022
    • 2021-2022
    • 2017-2022
    • All-time (1995-2022)
    • Season leaders '95-'24
    • Detail leaders, ’95-’24
    • Archive
    • What?
    • How?
    • Why?
    • Who?
    • Contact

Blog

  • All
  • image

Braves hold Box-Toppers points edge over Astros in 2021 World Series

Shawn Plank October 26, 2021

The Atlanta Braves hold the Box-Toppers points advantages over the Houston Astros in the 2021 World Series.

The Braves accumulated more total Box-Toppers points during the season than the Astros, their likely roster for the Fall Classic has more Box-Toppers points than the Astros and their starting batting lineup and probable top four starting pitchers also outdistance the Astros in points.

But the Astros narrowly have a stronger bullpen and they have already upset teams in two previous rounds of the playoffs.

The World Series this year does not feature the teams with the best overall records in each league—the San Francisco Giants and the Tampa Bay Rays. Nor does it feature Box-Toppers’ two top-ranked teams—the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox.

The Braves rank fifth in Box-Toppers team rankings with its players accumulating 122.4 Box-Toppers points during the regular season. That was fourth among the five NL teams that qualified for the postseason. Among NL playoff teams, only the St. Louis Cardinals ranked lower, in 13th place with 105.4 points.

The Astros rank 10th with 114.0 Box-Toppers points. They were the lowest ranked AL team that qualified for the postseason, finishing behind the eighth-ranked Toronto Blue Jays (116.0 points), who did not qualify for the playoffs.

Luis Garcia

The Astros top player, pitcher Luis Garcia, earned 10.0 Box-Toppers points in the regular season. The last time a World Series team had a leading player with fewer Box-Toppers points in a regular-length season was 1996, when starting pitcher Andy Pettitte led the New York Yankees with 9.4. It is the only time since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 that a player leading a World Series team had fewer Box-Toppers points in a regular-length season.

(This does not include the pandemic-shortened 2020 season’s World Series pitting the Tampa Bay Rays against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Top players on each team in that series, as expected, had fewer points, though not considerably fewer: Pitcher Tyler Glasnow led Rays players with 8.0 Box-Toppers points and pitcher Clayton Kershaw led Dodgers players with 7.7. However, Glasnow ranked eighth among all players and Kershaw ranked ninth for the season shortened to about one-third of normal length.)

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 team rankings

Eddie Rosario

Though the Braves rank higher than the Astros is team Box-Toppers points, the Astros actually won more games—95 vs. 88.

The Braves had a big boost in Box-Toppers points at the trade deadline at the end of July when they acquired four players, helping to give them a boost of 15.5 Box-Toppers points in the period from July 22 to July 30. It was the third-biggest point gain by a team at the trade deadline, behind the Dodgers (+20.1) and the Philadelphia Phillies (+16.7). The Braves acquired:

  • Outfielder Adam Duvall (7.0 points at the time) from the Marlins. (He finished with 8.0.)

  • Designated hitter Jorge Soler (2.5 points) from the Royals. (He finished with 6.0.)

  • Closer Richard Rodriguez (2.0 points) from the Pirates. (He finished with 2.0.)

  • Outfielder Eddie Rosario (1.5 points) from the Indians. (He finished with 1.5.)

Earlier in the season, the Braves acquired Joc Pederson (5.0 points) from the Cubs and Stephen Vogt (1.5) from the Diamondbacks. (Pederson finished with 6.0 points and Vogt finished with 3.2.)

Roster

While the Braves have more Box-Toppers points than the Astros, they also have more points among likely players on the roster. In the chart below are 24 players who have been most active recently and who are likely to be on the World Series rosters.

The roster list includes nine starting batters (including a designated hitter for both teams), four likely bench players or pinch hitters, four likely starting pitchers, a closing pitcher and six other relief, bullpen or opening pitchers.

The Braves’ likely 24 players have a combined Box-Toppers point total of 107.2, compared to 99.3 for the comparable set from the Astros.

A key player missing from the Astros is Lance McCullers Jr., who suffered a forearm strain in the AL Division Series against the White Sox. McCullers, who earned 8.7 Box-Toppers points in 2021, 25th among AL pitchers and second among Astros pitchers, has said he will not be on the World Series roster.

Starting batters

The starting nine batters for the Braves have more Box-Toppers points than the starting nine batters for the Astros, 48.5-43.7.

The nine players include placing a designated hitter on the NL Braves—Joc Pederson, who earned 6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2021. We placed Pederson there because he was the batter with the most Box-Toppers points who most frequently came off the bench during the postseason.

The Braves top batter is Austin Riley with 8.5 Box-Toppers points, 72nd among all players and sixth among NL batters. Astros top batter is Kyle Tucker with 7.2 Box-Toppers points, 93rd among all players and 12th among AL batters.

Starting pitchers

Neither team has particularly highly ranked pitchers. Astros pitcher Charlie Morton with 12.7 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players and 16th among NL pitchers, is the highest-ranked player on either team.

The Astros starting four pitchers have 39.5 combined Box-Toppers points compared to 32.1 for the likely four starting Astros.

As previously mentioned, Luis Garcia of the Astros with 10.0 Box-Toppers points has the second-lowest Box-Toppers point total to lead a World Series team in a regular-length season since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. Garcia ranks 49th among all players and 18th among AL pitchers.

Will Smith

Relief pitchers

The Astros have a slight edge among relief pitchers with its group of seven relievers having 20.0 Box-Toppers points compared to the Braves with 16.7.

Will Smith, most often the Braves closer, has 6.0 Box-Toppers points. Ryan Pressly, most often the Astros closer, has 3.0 points.

Jose Altuve

Postseason performance

Jose Altuve of the Astros is one of three players who has earned Player of the Game honors twice this postseason. (The other two are on the now-eliminated Dodgers—pitchers Julio Urias and Kenley Jansen.)

Altuve was Player of the Game Oct. 12 in the AL Division Series Game 4 win over the White Sox and on Oct. 15 in the AL Championship Series Game 1 win over the Red Sox.

The best-of-seven game World Series begins Tuesday in Houston. 


World Series Game 1, Braves vs. Astros

The pitching matchup:

Charlie Morton

Braves—Charlie Morton, 12.7 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players, 16th among NL pitchers.

Morton has not earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in three appearances in the 2021 postseason: NLDS Game 1 loss on Oct. 8, NLDS Game 4 win on Oct. 12 and NLCS Game 3 loss on Oct. 19.

Framber Valdez

Astros—Framber Valdez, 5.0 Box-Toppers points, 175th among all players, 58th among AL pitchers.

Valdez won Player of the Game honors in the ALCS Game 5 win over the Red Sox on Oct. 20. He also made two other appearances, but did not win Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in either. He started Oct. 8 in the ALDS Game 2 win over the White Sox and Oct. 15 in the ALCS Game 1 win over the Red Sox.

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 NL Championship Series preview

Box-Toppers AL Championship Series preview

Box-Toppers 2021 final team rankings

Box-Toppers 2021 final top 10 player rankings

World Series player comparisons

Probable players for the Braves and Astros listed by position with their Box-Toppers point total (BTP) for the 2021 regular season and their overall rank among all players:

Pos Braves BTP Rank Pos Astros BTP Rank
1B Freddie Freeman 4.5 210 1B Yuli Gurriel 3.5 272
2B Ozzie Albies 7.0 103 2B Jose Altuve 6.5 126
SS Dansby Swanson 7.0 100 SS Carlos Correa 7.0 102
3B Austin Riley 8.5 72 3B Alex Bregman 3.5 277
CA Travis d’Arnaud 0.0 854 CA Martin Maldonado 4.0 250
CF Adam Duvall 8.0 76 CF Chas McCormick 2.0 496
LF Eddie Rosario 1.5 534 LF Michael Brantley 3.0 315
RF Jorge Soler 6.0 144 RF Kyle Tucker 7.2 93
DH Joc Pederson 6.0 137 DH Yordan Alvarez 7.0 104
PH Guillermo Heredia 1.5 551 PH Jose Siri 1.5 568
PH Ehire Adrianza 1.0 662 PH Aledmys Diaz 1.0 666
PH Orlando Arcia 0.0 816 PH Jake Meyers 1.0 766
PH Johan Camargo 0.0 1037 PH Jason Castro 0.0 1073
SP Charlie Morton 12.7 25 SP Luis Garcia 10.0 49
SP Max Fried 11.8 30 SP Zack Greinke 8.7 69
SP Drew Smyly 8.0 81 SP Jose Urquidy 8.4 74
SP Ian Anderson 7.0 99 SP Framber Valdez 5.0 175
CP Will Smith 6.0 147 CP Ryan Pressly 3.0 301
PI Huascar Ynoa 6.7 113 PI Cristian Javier 6.0 136
PI Jacob Webb 3.0 350 PI Jake Odorizzi 4.0 245
PI Luke Jackson 1.0 645 PI Yimi Garcia 3.0 335
PI Tyler Matzek 0.0 839 PI Brooks Raley 2.0 436
PI A.J. Minter 0.0 875 PI Kendall Graveman 2.0 475
PI Jesse Chavez 0.0 978 PI Phil Maton 0.0 845
Totals 107.2 Totals 99.3
Starting 9 (with DH) 48.5 Starting 9 (with DH) 43.7
Bench 2.5 Bench 3.5
Starters 39.5 Starters 32.1
Bullpen 16.7 Bullpen 20.0
• “Totals” shows the number of Box-Toppers points among all players listed here.
• “Starting batters” shows each team’s Box-Toppers points among the most likely starting nine batters (including designated hitters). • “Bench” is the combined Box-Toppers point totals of top four bench players, listed here as PH (pinch hitters), though some may serve as starters in certain games.
• “Starters” is the combined Box-Toppers point totals of the four likely starting pitchers.
• “Bullpen” is the combined Box-Toppers point totals of pitchers not listed as starters (SP) or closers (CP).
TagsWorld Series, Postseason, Playoff preview, Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Luis Garcia, Andy Pettitte, Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, Philadelphia Phillies, Adam Duvall, Jorge Soler, Richard Rodriguez, Eddie Rosario, Joc Pederson, Stephen Vogt, Lance McCullers, Austin Riley, Kyle Tucker, Charlie Morton, Will Smith, Ryan Pressly, Jose Altuve, Julio Urias, Kenley Jansen, Framber Valdez
  • Blog
  • Older
  • Newer

Quick links

▪️ Newsletter
Sign up for Box-Toppers’ email newsletter for post updates.
▪️ Contribute
Support Box-Toppers by contributing in $5 increments at Buy me a coffee.
▪️ Search
Search Box-Toppers website.

Past posts

Hover over dates to see that day's posts.
Advanced search

Recent posts

Featured
Jun 7, 2025
Nationals’ Soroka tops players for Friday, June 6; Skubal, Gray rise in top 10 rankings
Jun 7, 2025
Jun 7, 2025
Jun 6, 2025
Phillies’ Zack Wheeler leads Box-Toppers season player rankings for 4th straight week
Jun 6, 2025
Jun 6, 2025
Jun 6, 2025
Detroit Tigers narrowly edge New York Yankees to lead Box-Toppers team rankings
Jun 6, 2025
Jun 6, 2025
Jun 6, 2025
Yankees’ Fried tops players for Thursday, June 5, rising to 4th in season player rankings
Jun 6, 2025
Jun 6, 2025
Jun 5, 2025
D-backs’ Kelly tops players for Wednesday, June 4, rising to 8th in player rankings
Jun 5, 2025
Jun 5, 2025

Follow Box-Toppers

▪️ Subscribe RSS
▪️ Bluesky
▪️ Twitter/X
▪️ Facebook
▪️ Apple News
▪️ Substack

Box-Toppers tag cloud

Top 20 topics mentioned in Box-Toppers blog. For top 100 topics, click here.

  • Box-Toppers Daily Scorecard
  • Box-Toppers debut
  • Clayton Kershaw
  • Max Scherzer
  • Justin Verlander
  • Los Angeles Dodgers
  • Gerrit Cole
  • Chris Sale
  • Box-Toppers Player Rankings
  • Shohei Ohtani
  • Zack Greinke
  • Houston Astros
  • Postseason
  • Streak with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point in a season
  • Jacob deGrom
  • Aaron Judge
  • New York Yankees
  • MLB
  • Box-Toppers Team Power Rankings
  • Corey Kluber
twitter facebook

© 2013-2025 Shawn Plank

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.

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.

twitter facebook