Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners.
▪️ Box-Toppers points of the day’s top players.
▪️ Top 10 players in 2023 Box-Toppers points.
▪️ A B-T look at upcoming pitching matchups.
Phillies pitcher Matt Strahm is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Strahm stuck out five over 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 1-0 win over the Mariners.
Strahm earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, 27th among all players and ninth among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Tyler Mahle struck out six over four innings, allowing one run, two hits and no walks, in the 7-1 win over the Royals.
Mahle did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he did not pitch the required five innings to earn the win. He exited after 66 pitches with with right posterior elbow soreness.
Mahle earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, 16th among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Brandon Lowe of the Rays homered, tripled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 14-5 win over the White Sox.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because no NL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2023. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Thursday, April 27.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.0 |
| 3 | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 6.0 |
| 4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | tex al | 6.0 |
| 5 | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | pi sp | tb al | 5.0 |
| 6 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp | ana al | 4.7 |
| 7 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | min al | 4.7 |
| 8 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 4.0 |
| 9 | Strider, Spencer 4626 | pi sp | atl nl | 4.0 |
| 10 | Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | pi sp | tb al | 3.7 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Rankings—Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole rises from fourth to second in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Cole (6.2IP 6H 2R BB 8K W in the 4-2 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season, trailing only Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen (6.7) in Box-Toppers season player rankings. Cole rises to first place among AL pitchers, passing Kevin Gausman of the Blue Jays (6.0). Though Cole and Gausman both have 6.0 points n 2023, Cole ranks ahead because he has more 2022 points—15.4 vs. 12.7.
Cole also now has 144.3 career Box-Toppers points, 31st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 30th-ranked player, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale (145.6). Cole ranks ninth among active players in career points, third among active AL pitchers, behind Zack Greinke of the Royals (222.5) and Sale (145.6).
Scoring—Strahm earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Mahle earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Lowe earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
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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Box‑Toppers Player of the Game winners
Here is the top player from each of the day’s games listed from highest to lowest Box‑Toppers game score (BTG).Back to top
| 4/27 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +8.1 | PHI 1, SEA 0 | Matt Strahm, (W 2‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| +6.1 | STL 6, SF 0 | Miles Mikolas, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| +6.0 | PIT 6, LAD 2 | Mitch Keller, (W 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | ||
| AL | +6.0 | `MIN 7, KC 1 | Tyler Mahle | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | |
| BAT | +5.0 | TB 14, CHW 5 | Brandon Lowe, DH | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | `MIA 5, ATL 4 | Braxton Garrett | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | LAA 8, OAK 7 | Brandon Drury, 1B‑2B | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.2 | NYY 4, TEX 2 | Gerrit Cole, (W 5‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| +3.0 | NYM 9, WSH 8 | David Robertson, (S 5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +1.2 | BAL 7, DET 4 | Bryan Baker, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| +1.0 | CHC 5, SD 2 | Hayden Wesneski, (W 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box‑Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box‑Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box‑Toppers points.
All other players listed here would earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box‑Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no‑decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
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Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s Player of the Game winners
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Player of the Game winners. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2023 (’23). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’22-23), the period 2018-2023 (’18-23) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2023 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2022 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.0 | 21.4 | 101.4 | 144.3 | -9.4 |
| Strahm, Matt 3724 | pi sp mr | phi nl | 3.0 | 4.0 | 10.0 | 12.0 | +2.0 |
| Mahle, Tyler 3929 | pi sp | min al | 2.7 | 8.7 | 32.4 | 32.4 | -3.3 |
| Wesneski, Hayden 4731 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.7 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 | +1.0 |
| Garrett, Braxton 4341 | pi sp | fla nl | 2.0 | 7.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | -3.7 |
| Drury, Brandon 3744 | 2b 1b dh | ana al | 2.0 | 6.5 | 9.5 | 15.5 | -2.5 |
| Keller, Mitch 4230 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 0.0 |
| Robertson, David 2774 | pi cp mr | nym nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 7.0 | 39.0 | 0.0 |
| Lowe, Brandon 4108 | 2b dh | tb al | 1.5 | 5.0 | 17.5 | 17.5 | -2.0 |
| Mikolas, Miles 3034 | pi sp | stl nl | 1.0 | 13.1 | 27.8 | 30.5 | -11.1 |
| Baker, Bryan 4710 | pi mr cp | bal al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | -2.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Friday’s 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KC | Lyles, Jordan 3100 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 23.4 | 31.1 |
| MIN | Lopez, Pablo 4028 | 2.0 | 12.7 | 35.8 | 35.8 |
| BAL | Rodriguez, Grayson 4790 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| DET | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 36.8 | 56.2 |
| CHC | Stroman, Marcus 3327 | 3.7 | 9.4 | 30.4 | 58.2 |
| MIA | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | 3.7 | 7.7 | 19.8 | 19.8 |
| PIT | Hill, Rich 2215 | 1.0 | 8.7 | 29.4 | 80.2 |
| WSH | Kuhl, Chad 3687 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 9.7 | 15.7 |
| SEA | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | 3.7 | 13.7 | 50.1 | 58.5 |
| TOR | Manoah, Alek 4424 | 1.0 | 14.1 | 24.8 | 24.8 |
| ATL | Fried, Max 4011 | 1.0 | 17.0 | 45.5 | 45.5 |
| NYM | Peterson, David 4347 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| CLE | Bieber, Shane 4005 | 0.0 | 13.7 | 56.3 | 56.3 |
| BOS | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 27.4 | 35.4 |
| TB | Eflin, Zach 3679 | 1.0 | 4.7 | 27.5 | 32.5 |
| CHW | Giolito, Lucas 3900 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 41.1 | 44.1 |
| NYY | Schmidt, Clarke 4581 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| TEX | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | 6.0 | 15.4 | 76.7 | 137.5 |
| LAA | Anderson, Tyler 3656 | 1.0 | 13.7 | 31.4 | 36.4 |
| MIL | Miley, Wade 3006 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 24.4 | 64.5 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 0.0 | 16.0 | 65.2 | 89.7 |
| HOU | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 0.0 | 16.0 | 31.4 | 31.4 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 0.0 | 11.0 | 26.0 | 26.0 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 2.7 | 8.7 | 30.1 | 36.1 |
| CIN | Cessa, Luis 3703 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 9.0 |
| OAK | Muller, Kyle 4454 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| STL | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 42.3 | 42.3 |
| LAD | May, Dustin 4214 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| OAK | Jefferies, Daulton 4571 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| SF | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | 3.0 | 14.7 | 23.7 | 39.8 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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