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.
▪️ Subscribe to Box-Toppers Email Newsletter.
Rangers pitcher Jon Gray is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Gray struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 2-1 win over the Giants.
Gray earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season, 61st among all players and 29th among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day
Dodgers pitcher Lance Lynn struck out nine over five innings, allowing one run (none earned), four hits and one walk, in the 6-1 win over the Rockies.
Lynn earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season, 58th among NL pitchers.
Lynn now has 117.5 career Box-Toppers points, 52nd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his 1.7 points Friday, he passes five players on the “all-time” career points list—Torii Hunter (115.9), Todd Helton (116.4), Mark Buehrle (116.7), Adrian Beltre (116.8) and Barry Zito (117.4). He now trails 51st-ranked player, Marlins pitcher Johnny Cueto (118.2). Lynn ranks 14th among active players in career points, sixth among active NL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day
Jon Singleton of the Astros hit two home runs, including a three-run shot, in the 11-3 win over the Angels. Singleton went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs.
This was Singleton’s first Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor in more than nine years. He last earned Player of the Game honors Aug. 9, 2014, with the Astros.
Singleton was later relegated to the minors by the Astros, was suspended 100 games by Major League Baseball for league drug policy violations in 2018 and later that year was released by the Astros. Singleton played in the Mexican League before signing with the Brewers in 2022 and returning to the Majors with them in 2023, before being released and re-signed by the Astros.
When he last earned Player of the Game honors, Singleton was playing in his 58th Major League game. Friday was his 128th career game. This was Singelton’s third career Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor and he now has 4.0 career points.
National League Batter of the Day
Ildemaro Vargas of the Nationals hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-2 win over the Athletics.
Vargas last won Player of the Game honors Sept. 29, 2018, with the Diamondbacks, nearly five years ago.
Notable
Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott has the most 2023 Box-Toppers points among Friday’s 15 Player of the Game winners.
Abbott (5.2IP 4H 2R 0BB 9K W in the 9-2 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season, 18th among all players and ninth among NL pitchers.
Abbott becomes the 18th player this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points. Abbott is a rookie playing in his first season, so it is his first season with 10 or more points.
Career Box-Toppers points, active AL pitchers
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 12, 2023
1—Max Scherzer @Rangers 247.7
2—Justin Verlander @Astros 238.6
3—Zack Greinke @Royals 224.5
4—Chris Sale @RedSox 151.3*
5—Gerrit Cole @Yankees 147.3
*Earns 1.0 B-T pt as Player of the Game Fridayhttps://t.co/K1NNIV1aar pic.twitter.com/JYzsF9nuPg
Also notable
Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale now has 151.3 career points—26th-most since 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Sale (4.2IP H 2R 0BB 7K ND in the 5-2 win over the Tigers) now trails 25th-ranked player Barry Bonds (152.2) on the “all-time” career points list. (It should be noted that Bonds would have a projected 230 career Box-Toppers points if his entire career from 1986 were tracked.)
Sale ranks seventh among active players in career points, fourth among active AL pitchers.
Sale was returning after more than two months away recovering from a stress reaction in his left shoulder and was limited to 58 pitches.
Sale now has 6.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 36th among AL pitchers.
Debut
Cubs pitcher Javier Assad made his Box-Toppers debut Friday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Assad (7IP 4H R BB 2K W in the 6-2 win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut Aug. 23, 2022, and was playing in his 30th career game.
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 Friday, Aug. 11.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 18.4 |
| 2 | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 14.7 |
| 3 | Strider, Spencer 4626 | pi sp | atl nl | 14.4 |
| 4 | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | fla nl | 13.1 |
| 5 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | tor al | 12.4 |
| 6 | Miller, Bryce 4797 | pi sp | sea al | 12.1 |
| 7 | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 11.7 |
| 8 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | tex al | 11.4 |
| 9 | Bautista, Felix 4668 | pi cp | bal al | 11.0 |
| 10 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.7 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Scoring
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Gray earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Lynn earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Singleton and Vargas each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Friday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart) 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.
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.
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Career Box-Toppers points, active NL pitchers
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 12, 2023
1—Clayton Kershaw LAD 269.4
2—Adam Wainwright STL 152.3
3—Stephen Strasburg WSH 133.8
4—Yu Darvish SD 131.0
5—Johnny Cueto MIA 118.2
6—Lance Lynn @Dodgers 117.5*
*Earns 1.7 B-T pts as FR NL Player of the Dayhttps://t.co/K1NNIV0CkT pic.twitter.com/F8u9K5NWfv
Devin Williams @Brewers is Box-Toppers Player of Friday’s MIL-CHW Game (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K W) with +4.0 B-T game score.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 12, 2023
Starters:
MIL’s Corbin Burnes: -10.8 game score, 5.2IP 8H 5R 3BB 5K ND
Michael Kopech @WhiteSox: -9.9 game score, 4.1IP 5H 4R 5BB 4K NDhttps://t.co/GFM4OkWbSl
Jose Bautista, 42, announces retirement.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 12, 2023
He earned 67.4 career Box-Toppers points from 2006-2018, 44th among all OFs since 1995.
Best year—2010 with @BlueJays, 15.2 B-T points, 1st among AL batters.
He was among top 10 AL batters in B-T pts in 3 seasons. https://t.co/94oZbugBJu
Among Friday’s Box-Toppers top 3-ranked starters, only Andrew Abbott @Reds won Player of the Game honors.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 12, 2023
Jesus Luzardo was not Player of the Game in @Marlins loss & Corbin Burnes was not Player of the Game in @Brewers win.
(Thread)https://t.co/K1NNIV0CkT
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).| 8/11 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +12.0 | TEX 2, SF 1 | Jon Gray (W, 8‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| +8.0 | SEA 9, BAL 2 | Luis Castillo (W, 8‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| NL | +8.0 | LAD 6, COL 1 | Lance Lynn (W, 9‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| BAT | +7.0 | HOU 11, LAA 3 | Jon Singleton 1B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.2 | CIN 9, PIT 2 | Andrew Abbott (W, 7‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | ||
| +6.2 | `BOS 5, DET 2 | Chris Sale | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||
| +6.0 | KC 12, STL 8 | Salvador Perez C | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | WSH 8, OAK 2 | Ildemaro Vargas 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | MIL 7, CHW 6 (F/10) | Devin Williams (W, 7‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | SD 10, ARI 5 | Xander Bogaerts SS | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | ATL 7, NYM 0 | Austin Riley 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | TB 9, CLE 8 | Wander Franco SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | PHI 13, MIN 2 | Bryson Stott 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | NYY 9, MIA 4 | Kyle Higashioka C | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | CHC 6, TOR 2 | Javier Assad (W, 2‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
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 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbott, Andrew 4839 | pi sp | cin nl | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | +10.0 |
| Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | pi sp | sea al | 9.4 | 19.4 | 55.8 | 64.2 | -0.6 |
| Gray, Jon 3634 | pi sp | tex al | 6.7 | 12.7 | 40.4 | 52.1 | +0.7 |
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 6.7 | 6.7 | 39.8 | 151.3 | +6.7 |
| Williams, Devin 4319 | pi cp | mil nl | 6.0 | 9.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | +3.0 |
| Franco, Wander 4630 | ss | tb al | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | +4.0 |
| Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.7 | 13.4 | 52.9 | 117.5 | -6.0 |
| Perez, Salvador 2972 | ca | kc al | 3.0 | 7.0 | 14.5 | 43.7 | -1.0 |
| Stott, Bryson 4607 | 2b | phi nl | 3.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | +0.5 |
| Bogaerts, Xander 3383 | ss | sd nl | 2.7 | 9.7 | 32.9 | 44.9 | -4.3 |
| Higashioka, Kyle 4505 | ca | nyy al | 2.5 | 4.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | +0.5 |
| Riley, Austin 4144 | 3b | atl nl | 2.0 | 10.0 | 26.0 | 26.0 | -6.0 |
| Vargas, Ildemaro 3924 | 3b | dc nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 4.0 | +1.5 |
| Singleton, Jonathan 3376 | 1b | hou al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 4.0 | +1.5 |
| Assad, Javier 4899 | pir sp | chi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Saturday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL | Winans, Allan* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| NYM | Reyes, Denyi 4777 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| CHC | Steele, Justin 4415 | 8.1 | 13.1 | 16.1 | 16.1 |
| TOR | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 12.4 | 23.4 | 52.2 | 56.2 |
| CLE | Williams, Gavin 4865 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| TB | Armstrong, Shawn 4204 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| DET | Manning, Matt 4550 | 1.7 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| BOS | Bello, Brayan 4727 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| NYY | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 5.0 | 26.1 | 45.2 | 45.2 |
| MIN | Lopez, Pablo 4028 | 10.7 | 21.4 | 44.5 | 44.5 |
| PHI | Walker, Taijuan 3453 | 7.7 | 15.4 | 30.8 | 57.2 |
| OAK | Medina, Luis 4876 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| WSH | Irvin, Jake 4805 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| CIN | Williamson, Brandon 4813 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| PIT | Jackson, Andre 4748 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| LAA | Anderson, Tyler 3656 | 1.0 | 13.7 | 31.4 | 36.4 |
| HOU | France, J.P. 4811 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| ATL | Strider, Spencer 4626 | 14.4 | 27.8 | 27.8 | 27.8 |
| NYM | Quintana, Jose 3040 | 0.0 | 11.4 | 32.9 | 83.1 |
| MIL | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | 2.0 | 22.8 | 55.6 | 56.6 |
| CHW | Scholtens, Jesse* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| STL | Matz, Steven 3516 | 4.0 | 9.4 | 31.8 | 48.4 |
| KC | Ragans, Cole 4889 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| SD | Hill, Rich 2215 | 4.0 | 11.7 | 32.4 | 83.2 |
| ARI | Gallen, Zac 4171 | 10.7 | 29.4 | 45.1 | 45.1 |
| TEX | Heaney, Andrew 3515 | 8.7 | 16.7 | 39.8 | 44.8 |
| SF | Cobb, Alex 2916 | 8.0 | 14.7 | 26.1 | 65.9 |
| COL | Lambert, Peter 4155 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| LAD | Gonsolin, Tony 4211 | 3.7 | 15.1 | 27.5 | 27.5 |
| BAL | Irvin, Cole 4140 | 2.0 | 9.7 | 17.4 | 17.4 |
| SEA | Kirby, George 4595 | 10.7 | 22.1 | 22.1 | 22.1 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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