White Sox’ Clevinger tops players for Monday, Sept. 18; Phillies’ Wheeler rises to 10th

White Sox pitcher Mike Clevinger is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

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▪️ 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.
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White Sox pitcher Mike Clevinger is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Monday, Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day

Clevinger pitched a complete game, striking out seven  and allowing one run, six hits and no walks, in the 6-1 win over the Nationals.

Clevinger earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season, 37th among all players and 19th among American League pitchers.

Clevinger becomes the 45th player this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points. It is his fourth season with 10 or more points. He also did it:

  • In 2017 with Cleveland, 11.4 points, ninth among AL pitchers.

  • In 2018 with Cleveland, 13.7 points, 14th among AL pitchers.

  • In 2019 with Cleveland, 17.4 points, ninth overall and sixth among AL pitchers.

He had 6.4 points in 2022 with the Padres, 43rd among NL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day is J.D. Martinez of the Dodgers.

National League Player of the Day

J.D. Martinez of the Dodgers hit two home runs, including a three-run shot, in the 8-3 win over the Tigers. Martinez went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs.

Martinez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.7 for the season, 20th among NL batters.

American League Batter of the Day is Ryan O'Hearn of the Orioles.

American League Batter of the Day

Ryan O'Hearn of the Orioles doubled and went 5-for-5, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 8-7 win over the Astros.

National League Batter of the Day

There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter J.D. Martinez.

Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Monday’s win over the Braves.

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 Monday, Sept. 18.

Player Pos Team BTP
1 Strider, Spencer 4626 pi sp atl nl 20.1
2 Ohtani, Shohei 3933 pi sp dh ana al 19.4
3 Luzardo, Jesus 4282 pi sp fla nl 17.8
4 Peralta, Freddy 3965 pi sp mil nl 17.7
5 Bassitt, Chris 3413 pi sp tor al 17.1
6 Gausman, Kevin 3191 pi sp tor al 16.7
7 Gallen, Zac 4171 pi sp ari nl 15.7
8 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp tex al 15.4
9 Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 pi sp sea al 15.1
10 Wheeler, Zack 3204 pi sp phi nl 14.7
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Rankings

Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Wheeler (6IP 3H R 2BB 6K W in the 7-1 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.7 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.

Streak

Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2023 Monday.

Wainwright (7IP 4H 0R 2BB 3K W in the 1-0 win over the Brewers) earned his first points in 2006 with the Cardinals, but earned no points in 2011, missing that season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. His current 12-season streak began in 2012. (Had he not missed earning points in 2011, this would be his 18th straight season earning Box-Toppers points.)

Wainwright now has 153.3 career Box-Toppers points, 23rd among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. With his 1.0 point Monday, he passes three players on Box-Toppers “all-time” career points list—Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale (152.3), Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole (152.3) and Greg Maddux (152.7). (It should be noted that Maddux would have an estimated 250 career Box-Toppers points if his entire career from 1986 were tracked.) While Wainwright had the same 152.3 career point total as both Sale and Cole, he ranked lowest among the three because he had the fewest 2023 points.

Wainwright now trails 22nd-ranked player Mike Mussina (155.6) on the career points list.

Wainwright now ranks sixth among active players in career points and second among active NL pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (269.4).

There were three seasons Wainwright ranked among the overall top 10 in season Box-Toppers points, all with the Cardinals.

  • In 2010, he had 19.7 Box-Toppers points, fourth overall and second among NL pitchers.

  • In 2013, he had 20.2 points, second overall and second among NL pitchers.

  • In 2014, he had 18.7 points, eighth overall and fourth among NL pitchers.

Wainwright had 10.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 25th among NL pitchers.

Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Monday’s win over the Brewers.

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Debut

Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Monday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:

  • Reds pitcher Connor Phillips (7IP 3H 2R BB 7K W in the 7-3 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut Sept. 5 and was playing in his third career game.

  • Royals pitcher Jackson Kowar (1IP H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 6-4 win over the Guardians) made his Major League debut June 7, 2021, and was playing in his 36th career game.

Scoring

  • Clevinger earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.

  • Martinez earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.

  • O’Hearn earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day.

  • All of Monday’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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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).

9/18 BTG Game Player AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB +8.0 CHW 6, WSH 1 Mike Clevinger (W, 8‑8) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 9.0 6 1 1 0 7
NL +6.0 LAD 8, DET 3 J.D. Martinez DH 4 2 3 5 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+6.0 CIN 7, MIN 3 Connor Phillips (W, 1‑0) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 7.0 3 2 2 1 7
+5.0 `BOS 4, TEX 2 Kutter Crawford ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 6.0 4 2 2 0 7
+5.0 `NYM 2, MIA 1 Jose Butto ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 6.0 4 1 1 1 6
+4.0 STL 1, MIL 0 Adam Wainwright (W, 5‑11) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 7.0 4 0 0 2 3
+4.0 PHI 7, ATL 1 Zack Wheeler (W, 12‑6) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 6.0 3 1 1 2 5
+4.0 SEA 5, OAK 0 Bryan Woo (W, 4‑4) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 5.0 3 0 0 4 6
BAT +3.0 BAL 8, HOU 7 Ryan O’Hearn 1B‑LF 5 1 5 2 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+3.0 SD 11, COL 9 Luis Campusano C 5 2 3 3 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+2.0 KC 6, CLE 4 Jackson Kowar (W, 2‑0) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 1.0 1 0 0 0 2
MLB—Overall Box‑Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box‑Toppers points.
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 (+/-).
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Player of the Game Pos Team ’23 ’22‑23 ’18‑23 Career +/‑
Wheeler, Zack 3204 pi sp phi nl 14.7 29.1 70.9 83.6 +0.3
Clevinger, Mike 3707 pi sp chi al 10.4 16.8 49.9 64.3 +4.0
Woo, Bryan 4842 pi sp sea al 8.7 8.7 8.7 8.7 +8.7
Martinez, J.D. 2922 dh lad nl 5.7 10.7 42.4 65.1 +0.7
Crawford, Kutter 4660 pi sp bos al 5.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 +1.7
Campusano, Luis 4770 ca sd nl 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7 +3.7
O’Hearn, Ryan 4043 1b rf lf dh bal al 3.0 3.0 11.5 11.5 +3.0
Butto, Jose 4933 pi sp nym nl 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 +2.0
Wainwright, Adam 2150 pi sp stl nl 1.0 11.0 35.8 153.3 -9.0
Kowar, Jackson 4944 pi mr kc al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 +1.0
Phillips, Connor 4943 pi sp cin nl 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 +1.0
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A Box-Toppers look at Tuesday’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.
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Game Starter ’23 ’22‑23 ’18‑23 Career
LAA Sandoval, Patrick 4357 3.0 11.0 14.0 14.0
TB Bradley, Taj 4780 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0
MIN Maeda, Kenta 3609 9.4 9.4 42.9 62.9
CIN Cruz, Fernando 4768 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0
NYM Lucchesi, Joey 3936 2.0 2.0 18.4 18.4
MIA Garrett, Braxton 4341 11.7 17.4 19.4 19.4
CHW Urena, Jose 3492 0.0 1.0 13.7 23.4
WSH Rutledge, Jackson* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
TOR Kikuchi, Yusei 4136 9.0 14.7 26.4 26.4
NYY Schmidt, Clarke 4581 2.0 6.4 6.4 6.4
PHI Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
ATL Strider, Spencer 4626 20.1 33.5 33.5 33.5
CLE Allen, Logan T. 4789 7.7 7.7 7.7 7.7
KC Cruz, Steven* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
PIT Undecided 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
CHC Assad, Javier 4899 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
MIL Megill, Trevor 4531 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.0
STL Rom, Drew 4935 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
BOS Houck, Tanner 4342 1.0 4.0 12.7 12.7
TEX Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 9.7 15.7 43.5 69.3
BAL Gibson, Kyle 3312 7.7 16.7 42.2 61.2
HOU Brown, Hunter 4729 10.1 11.1 11.1 11.1
SEA Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 15.1 25.1 61.5 69.9
OAK Blackburn, Paul 3869 4.7 8.7 10.7 11.7
SF Cobb, Alex 2916 10.0 16.7 28.1 67.9
ARI Gallen, Zac 4171 15.7 34.4 50.1 50.1
COL Feltner, Ryan 4635 2.0 4.0 4.0 4.0
SD Snell, Blake 3688 12.7 25.8 78.1 87.1
DET Diaz, Miguel 4016 0.0 0.0 4.0 4.0
LAD Undecided 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
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