The Wild Card round of Major League Baseball’s postseason begins Tuesday with four best-of-three series.
All series take place at the higher-seed’s home ballpark. The winners of each series will face one of their league’s top-two seeded teams in league divisional series beginning Saturday.
Team rankings
Here are Box-Toppers 2023 final team rankings through games of Sunday, Oct. 1. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players on the team accumulated this season. The column BTP/wk shows have many points teams accumulated from Sept. 22 to Oct. 1. The column Wk ago shows the team's rank as of Sept. 21.| Teams | BTP | BTP/wk | Wk ago | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rangers | 128.1 | 6.0 | 1 |
| 2 | Braves | 125.4 | 6.0 | 2 |
| 3 | Dodgers | 123.8 | 6.5 | 4 |
| 4 | Rays | 123.6 | 6.0 | 3 |
| 5 | Orioles | 119.5 | 5.0 | 5 |
| 6 | Astros | 118.9 | 6.7 | 6 |
| 7 | Brewers | 115.8 | 4.9 | 7 |
| 8 | Blue Jays | 114.2 | 4.0 | 8 |
| 9 | Phillies | 112.2 | 5.3 | 9 |
| 10 | Padres | 108.1 | 10.6 | 14 |
| 11 | Marlins | 107.9 | 4.0 | 12 |
| 12 | Twins | 106.7 | 8.2 | 13 |
| 13 | Mariners | 103.7 | 5.0 | 12 |
| 14 | Diamondbacks | 102.1 | 2.2 | 11 |
| 15 | Cubs | 100.3 | 4.7 | 15 |
| 16 | Yankees | 92.1 | 7.0 | 18 |
| 17 | Giants | 91.7 | 3.7 | 17 |
| 18 | Red Sox | 88.6 | 4.0 | 19 |
| 19 | Reds | 88.6 | 0.5 | 16 |
| 20 | Angels | 87.8 | 4.0 | 20 |
| 21 | Pirates | 84.7 | 4.5 | 22 |
| 22 | Tigers | 84.5 | 6.0 | 23 |
| 23 | Guardians | 84.5 | 3.0 | 21 |
| 24 | Nationals | 75.4 | 2.0 | 24 |
| 25 | Cardinals | 66.4 | 4.0 | 25 |
| 26 | Mets | 64.4 | 4.0 | 26 |
| 27 | White Sox | 63.6 | 4.5 | 27 |
| 28 | Rockies | 56.4 | 3.5 | 28 |
| 29 | Royals | 55.6 | 5.5 | 29 |
| 30 | Athletics | 51.4 | 4.5 | 30 |
All Game 1 matches are Tuesday, all Game 2 matches are Wednesday and any Game 3 matches, if necessary, will be Thursday.
Here is a Box-Toppers look at the eight teams competing in the four Wild Card round series:
American League Wild Card Round: Blue Jays at Twins
The Minnesota Twins host the Toronto Blue Jays in one AL Wild Card series. The winner will face the Houston Astros, the second-seeded AL team, in the AL Division Series.
The Twins, winners of the AL Central Division, are the third-seeded team in the AL. The Blue Jays, the third-ranked AL Wild Card team, are the sixth seed.
The Twins rank 12th in Box-Toppers team rankings with its players accumulating 106.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, including picking up 8.2 points in the final 10 days of the season, most among AL teams.
The Blue Jays rank eighth with 114.3 Box-Toppers points, including picking up 4.0 points in the final 10 days of the season.
Though the Blue Jays are the lower seed, they rank higher than the Twins and have more Box-Toppers points in 2023. The Twins are Box-Toppers’ lowest-ranked team to have won a division, including finishing behind the San Diego Padres (108.1 Box-Toppers points, 10th place), a team that did not make the postseason.
Starting pitchers for Game 1 are:
Blue Jays—Kevin Gausman, 18.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, fourth among all players and third among AL pitchers.
Twins—Pablo Lopez, 13.4 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 16th among all players and 10th among AL pitchers.
Lopez leads Twins in 2023 Box-Toppers points, ahead of pitcher Kenta Maeda (11.1).
Key Blue Jays players include:
Blue Jays top-ranked player is starting pitcher Chris Bassitt, 20.1 points, second overall and first among AL pitchers.
Starting pitcher Jose Berrios, 10.4 points, 44th overall, 22nd among AL pitchers.
Starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, 10.0 points, 52nd overall, 27th among AL pitchers.
Outfielder Whit Merrifield, 4.5 points, 208th overall, 38th among AL batters, Blue Jays’ top-ranked batter.
Other notable Blue Jays include batters Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (4.0 points), Brandon Belt (3.0 points), George Springer (2.0 points), Bo Bichette (2.0 points) and Cavan Biggio (2.0 points) and reliever Jordan Romano (4.0 points).
Key Twins players include:
Starting pitcher Kenta Maeda, 11.1 points, 35th overall and 17th among AL pitchers.
Starting pitcher Sonny Gray, 10.4 points, 42nd overall and 20th among AL pitchers.
Starting pitcher Joe Ryan, 8.7 points, 62nd overall and 33rd among AL pitchers.
Starting pitcher Bailey Ober, 8.7 points, 65th overall and 35th among AL pitchers.
Catcher Ryan Jeffers, 4.2 points, 222nd overall and 44th among AL batters, the Twins’ top-ranked batter.
Other notable Twins include reliever Caleb Thielbar (4.0 points), third baseman Royce Lewis (4.0 points), infielder Kyle Farmer (3.4 points) outfielder Max Kepler (3.5 points), outfielder Byron Buxton (1.0 point) and shortstop Carlos Correa (1.0 point).
American League Wild Card Round: Rangers at Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays host the Texas Rangers in one AL Wild Card series. The winner will face the Baltimore Orioles, the top-seeded AL team, in the AL Division Series.
The Rays, the top AL Wild Card team, are the fourth-seeded team in the AL. The Rangers, the second-ranked AL Wild Card team, are the fifth seed.
Though the Rays are the higher seed, the Rangers rank higher in Box-Toppers team rankings—in fact, they rank first overall with 128.1 Box-Toppers points, picking up 6.0 in the final 10 days of the season. The Rays rank fourth with 123.6 points, also picking up 6.0 points in the final 10 days of the seasonn.
These are two of Box-Toppers’ most highly ranked teams squaring off in the first round of the playoffs. In fact, these are the only two teams that led Box-Toppers team rankings reports all season. The Rays led for the first 14 straight weekly reports from April to July, losing to the Rangers (July 20) before regaining the lead July 27. Then the Rangers led each of the final nine weekly reports from Aug. 3 to the end of the season.
The Rays strength was built on a hot start, as they won their first 13 straight games and went 23-6 through April 30. The Rangers burst into first in team rankings with late July trade deadline deals, notably picking up pitcher Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery, adding their relatively high Box-Toppers point totals to their overall team total. Yet those deals didn’t live up to their potential and the Rangers frequently faltered, including going on a stretch of 6-16 by early September, falling out of playoff contention. But the Rangers still maintained the Box-Toppers points lead on the strength of trade deadline deals, with players’ points earned on other teams now counting toward the Rangers team total.
While the Rangers are the fifth-seeded playoff team, playing the first round entirely on the road, they were one win away Sunday from winning the AL West, becoming the second-overall AL playoff seed and earning a first round bye to the AL Division Series with home-field advantage. They tied with the Houston Astros for the AL West lead but the Astros held the tiebreaker, having won the season series over the Rangers, 9-4.
Starting pitchers for Game 1 are:
Rangers—Jordan Montgomery, 10.4 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 43rd among all players and 21st among AL pitchers.
Rays—Tyler Glasnow 12.4 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 26th among all players and 14th among AL pitchers. Glasnow is the Rays’ top-ranked player.
Key Rangers players include some of their best pitchers who won’t be available to them due to injury, including:
Starting pitcher Max Scherzer, 15.4 points, 10th overall, sixth among AL pitchers, and first among all Rangers players.
Starting pitcher Jacob deGrom, 7.7 points, 78th overall, 41st among AL pitchers, and fifth among all Rangers players, though he only pitched through April.
Starting pitcher Jon Gray, 7.7 points, 80th overall, 42nd among AL pitchers, who may be able to return if the Rangers advance in the playoffs.
Other key Rangers players who are likely to play include:
Starting pitcher Andrew Heaney, 11.4 points, 32nd overall, 16th among AL pitchers.
Starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, 9.7 points, 56th overall, 30th among AL pitchers.
Second baseman Marcus Semien, 6.7 points, 113th overall, 15th among AL batters, Rangers’ top-ranked batter.
Catcher Mitch Garver, 6.5 points, 121st overall, 19th among AL batters.
Shortstop Corey Seager, 6.2 points, 128th overall, 22nd among AL batters.
Outfielder Adolis Garcia, 6.0 points, 135th overall, 25th among AL batters.
Other notable Rangers players include pitcher Martin Perez (4.7 points), catcher Jonah Heim (4.5 points), pitcher Dane Dunning (4.0 points), first baseman Nathaniel Lowe (4.0 points), reliever Aroldis Chapman (4.0 points) and third baseman Josh Jung (3.5 points).
Key Rays players include:
Starting pitcher Zach Eflin, 12.0 points, 30th overall and 15th among AL pitchers.
Infielder Isaac Paredes, 7.2 points, 96th overall, 11th among AL batters, first among Rays batters.
First baseman Yandy Diaz, 7.0 points, 105th overall, 12th among AL batters.
Outfielder Randy Arozarena, 6.0 points, 132nd overall, 24th among AL batters.
Key Rays players were injured during the season and aren’t available, including:
Starting pitcher Shane McClanahan, 9.7 points, 54th overall, 28th among AL pitchers. Despite not pitching since June, he still ranks third among Rays in 2023 Box-Toppers points.
Starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen, 6.7 points, 112th overall, 46th among AL pitchers.
Closer Jason Adam, 6.4 points, 124th overall, 48th among AL pitchers and third among AL closers.
Second baseman Brandon Lowe, 5.5 points, 154th overall, 27th among AL batters.
One other key Rays player has been on administrative leave since August and won’t be available to the team: Shortstop Wander Franco, 5.0 points, 180th overall, 31st among AL batters.
National League Wild Card Round: Diamondbacks at Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers host the Arizona Diamondbacks in one NL Wild Card series. The winner will face the Los Angeles Dodgers, the second-seeded NL team, in the NL Division Series.
The Brewers, winners of the NL Central Division, are the third-seeded team in the NL. The Diamondbacks, the third-ranked NL Wild Card team, are the sixth seed.
The Brewers rank seventh in Box-Toppers team rankings with its players accumulating 115.8 Box-Toppers points in 2023, including picking up 4.9 points in the final 10 days of the season.
The Diamondbacks rank 14th with 102.1 Box-Toppers points, including picking up a net 2.2 points in the final 10 days of the season. The Diamondbacks are the lowest-ranked team in Box-Toppers rankings to make the postseason, behind non-playoff qualifiers the San Diego Padres (10th with 108.1 points) and the Seattle Mariners (13th with 103.7 points).
Starting pitchers for Game 1 are:
Diamondbacks—Brandon Pfaadt, 3.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 282nd among all players, 88th among NL pitchers.
Brewers—Corbin Burnes, 11.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 31st among all players, 13th among NL pitchers and second among Brewers players.
Other Diamondbacks pitchers include:
Zac Gallen, 16.7 points, eighth overall, fourth among NL pitchers.
Merrill Kelly, 13.0 points, 18th overall, seventh among NL pitchers.
Ryne Nelson, 6.7 points, 117th overall, 39th among NL pitchers.
Diamondbacks key batters include:
First baseman Christian Walker, 6.0 points, 133rd overall, 21st among NL batters.
Second baseman Ketel Marte, 4.5 points, 210th overall, 45th among NL batters.
Other key Diamondbacks players include closer Paul Sewald (5.0 points), outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (4.0 points), outfielder Corbin Carroll (3.0 points) and third baseman Evan Longoria (2.7 points).
Other key Brewers pitchers include:
Freddy Peralta, 17.7 points, sixth overall, third among NL pitchers, Brewers’ top-ranked player.
Closer Devin Williams, 8.0 points, 76th overall, 26th among NL pitchers, first among NL closers.
Brandon Woodruff, 7.0 points, 99th overall, 32nd among NL pitchers. (Update: Woodruff will miss the Wild Card series with a shoulder injury. His status beyond the series if the Brewers advance is not known.)
Key Brewers batters include:
Outfielder Christian Yelich, 9.2 points, 57th overall, fifth among NL batters, Brewers’ top-ranked batter.
Shortstop Willy Adames, 6.7 points, 115th overall, 16th among NL batters.
National League Wild Card Round: Marlins at Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies host the Miami Marlins in one NL Wild Card series. The winner will face the Atlanta Braves, the top-seeded NL team, in the NL Division Series.
The Phillies, the top NL Wild Card team, are the fourth-seeded team in the NL. The Marlins, the second-ranked NL Wild Card team, are the fifth seed.
The Phillies rank ninth in Box-Toppers team rankings with its players accumulating 112.2 Box-Toppers points in 2023, including picking up 5.3 points in the final 10 days of the season.
The Marlins rank 11th with 107.9 Box-Toppers points, including picking up 4.0 points in the final 10 days of the season. They finish behind the non-playoff qualifying San Diego Padres (10th with 108.1 points) in Box-Toppers team rankings.
Starting pitchers for Game 1 are:
Marlins—Jesus Luzardo, 17.8 Box-Toppers points in 2023, fifth among all players, second among NL pitchers and first among Marlins players.
Phillies—Zack Wheeler, 14.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 11th among all players, fifth among NL pitchers and first among Phillies players.
Other key Marlins pitchers include:
Braxton Garrett, 12.7 points, 21st overall, ninth among NL pitchers.
Eury Perez, 6.0 points, 145th overall, 45th among NL pitchers.
Another key Marlins pitcher went on the injured list in September and is out for the season: Sandy Alcantara, who earned 7.0 points in 2023, 98th overall, 31st among NL pitchers, a season after leading NL pitchers with 21.1 points in 2022.
Key Marlins batters include:
Second baseman Luis Arraez, 7.5 points, 85th overall, 11th among NL batters and first among Marlins batters.
Outfielder Jorge Soler, 5.7 points, 153rd overall, 24th among NL batters.
Outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, 5.0 points, 176th overall, 35th among NL batters.
Third baseman Jake Burger, 5.0 points, 179th overall, 37th among NL batters.
Other key Marlins players include first baseman Josh Bell (4.5 points), outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. (4.5 points) and closer David Robertson (4.0 points).
Other key Phillies pitchers include:
Aaron Nola, 12.0 points, 27th overall, 12th among NL pitchers.
Michael Lorenzen, 8.7 points, 64th overall, 22nd among NL pitchers.
Taijuan Walker, 7.7 points, 79th overall, 27th among NL pitchers.
Key Phillies batters include:
Outfielder Nick Castellanos, 7.0 points, 110th overall, 15th among NL batters, first among Phillies batters.
Infielder Alec Bohm, 6.4 points, 126th overall, 19th among NL batters.
Outfielder/designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, 5.5 points, 157th overall, 27th among NL batters.
Shortstop Trea Turner, 5.0 points, 182nd overall, 39th among NL batters.
Other key Phillies include starting pitcher Matt Strahm (5.0 points), closer Craig Kimbrel (4.0 points), designated hitter/first baseman Bryce Harper (3.0 points) and catcher J.T. Realmuto (2.5 points).
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.
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A Box-Toppers look at Tuesday’s Wild Card round pitching matchups
A Box-Toppers look at the upcoming day’s probable pitching matchups. Teams are paired below with visiting teams on top and home teams on the bottom. Each team’s starting pitcher is shown with their Box-Toppers point total from 2023 (’23), over a two-year period (’22-23), over a six-year period (’18-23) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEX | Montgomery, Jordan 3814 | 10.4 | 19.8 | 30.5 | 36.5 |
| TB | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 48.8 | 48.8 |
| TOR | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | 18.7 | 31.4 | 52.8 | 88.1 |
| MIN | Lopez, Pablo 4028 | 13.4 | 24.1 | 47.2 | 47.2 |
| ARI | Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| MIL | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | 11.7 | 27.1 | 55.9 | 55.9 |
| MIA | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | 17.8 | 21.8 | 33.9 | 33.9 |
| PHI | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | 14.7 | 29.1 | 70.9 | 83.6 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default, game-by-game view.
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