Yankees’ Cole tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 27, rising to 7th; Alonso leads NL batters

Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is Wednesday’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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Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to seventh place in season player rankings.

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 Wednesday, Sept. 27.

Player Pos Team BTP
1 Strider, Spencer 4626 pi sp atl nl 21.1
2 Ohtani, Shohei 3933 pi sp dh ana al 19.4
3 Gausman, Kevin 3191 pi sp tor al 18.7
4 Bassitt, Chris 3413 pi sp tor al 18.1
5 Luzardo, Jesus 4282 pi sp fla nl 17.8
6 Peralta, Freddy 3965 pi sp mil nl 17.7
7 Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp nyy al 17.0
8 Gallen, Zac 4171 pi sp ari nl 16.7
9 Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 pi sp sea al 16.1
10 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp tex al 15.4
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Also Wednesday, Pete Alonso of the Mets rises to first place among National League batters in 2023 Box-Toppers points after earning NL Batter of the Day honors, passing previous leader Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves.

Player of the Day

Cole pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out five and walking none, in the 6-0 win over the Blue Jays.

Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 17.0 for the season, rising from 10th to seventh in season player rankings, fourth among AL pitchers, trailing Shohei Ohtani of the Angels (19.4) and two Blue Jays pitchers, Kevin Gausman (18.7) and Chris Bassitt (18.1). It should be noted that Ohtani earned 9.7 of his 19.4 points as a batter and 9.7 as a pitcher, so Cole actually has the third-most 2023 Box-Toppers points among AL pitchers solely for pitching.

Cole is the odds-on favorite to win the AL Cy Young and his Box-Toppers point total is finally nearing the level of the leaders, only 1.7 points—or one potential start—behind Gausman’s 18.7. But this was likely Cole’s final start of the season, so 17.0 will likely be his final total.

While Cole got off to a strong start in 2023 and even led all players in Box-Toppers points for two days early in the season (April 16 and April 22), he earned no Box-Toppers points in May and only earned 2.0 over June and July. During that three-month period, the Yankees were 9-7 in games he started and he only had Box-Toppers game scores above +3.0 in two games the Yankees won during that span, his only two Player of the Game honors during in that period—June 20 and July 22.

Since that three-month relatively fallow period—which constitutes half the season—Cole has earned 9.0 Box-Toppers points since the start of August. That has helped him catch up to the AL pitching leaders in Box-Toppers points, but will leave him short of the lead.

It will also leave him far short of even his best seasons. In fact, 17.0 Box-Toppers points is only his fifth-highest single season total:

  • In 2019, he had 32.2 Box-Toppers points with the Astros, not only first among all players that year, but the fourth-highest single season total since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. (Randy Johnson had two seasons with 33.7 points in 2000 and 2022.) Cole did not win the AL Cy Young that year, losing to then-teammate Justin Verlander, who ranked second overall in 2019 Box-Toppers points with 27.5.

  • In 2021, he had 22.4 Box-Toppers points with the Yankees, second overall and first among AL pitchers. Robbie Ray of the Blue Jays, second among AL pitchers with 17.7 points, won the AL Cy Young Award.

  • In 2015, he had 19.0 Box-Toppers points with the Pirates, ninth overall and sixth among NL pitchers and finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting.

  • In 2018, he had 18.0 Box-Toppers points with the Astros, eighth overall and sixth among AL pitchers and finished fifth in AL Cy Young voting.

Cole on Wednesday surpassed his 2022 Box-Toppers point total of 15.4. That ranked 17th overall and eighth among AL pitchers and he finished ninth in AL Cy Young voting.

Cole also now has 155.3 career Box-Toppers points, 23rd-most among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 22nd-ranked player Mike Mussina (155.6). Cole ranks sixth among active players in career points, fourth among active AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day is Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Pfaadt.

National League Player of the Day

Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Pfaadt struck out eight over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing five hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the White Sox.

Pfaadt earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season, 87th among NL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day is Pete Alonso of the Mets.

National League Batter of the Day

Pete Alonso of the Mets homered, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 11-2 win over the Marlins.

Alonso earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season, 25th overall and rising from second to first place among NL batters, passing previous leader Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves (10.7).

Alonso led NL batters in 2022 with 14.9 Box-Toppers points.

Previously, Acuna’s 10.7 Box-Toppers point total would have tied for the lowest total to lead a single-season category with the 10.7 that Nolan Arenado of the Rockies had when he led NL batters in 2016.

American League Batter of the Day is Ryan Jeffers of the Twins.

American League Batter of the Day

Ryan Jeffers of the Twins homered, hit a sacrifice fly and went 1-for-3, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 6-4 win over the Athletics.

Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Wednesday’s win over the Red Sox.

Notable

Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow now has 12.4 Box-Toppers points—23rd overall and 11th among AL pitchers—after earning 1.0 point as Player of the Game Wednesday (5IP 2H 0R BB 9K W in the 5-0 win over the Red Sox). Glasnow has now nearly equaled the 12.7 points he earned in 2021 when he led all players in Box-Toppers points prior to his June injury requiring Tommy John surgery. He finished 2021 eighth among AL pitchers. He had no points in 2022 as he spent most of that season recovering from surgery.

Scoring

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

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

  • Alonso and Jeffers each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.

  • All of Wednesday’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).

9/27 BTG Game Player AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB +12.0 NYY 6, TOR 0 Gerrit Cole (W, 15‑4) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 9.0 2 0 0 0 5
+11.0 TB 5, BOS 0 Tyler Glasnow (W, 10‑7) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 5.0 2 0 0 1 9
+10.0 TEX 5, LAA 0 Dane Dunning (W, 12‑6) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 7.0 3 0 0 1 7
NL +8.2 ARI 3, CHW 0 Brandon Pfaadt (W, 3‑9) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 5.2 5 0 0 0 8
+7.0 LAD 8, COL 2 Emmet Sheehan (W, 4‑1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 6.0 5 2 2 0 10
BAT +6.0 NYM 11, MIA 2 Pete Alonso 1B 4 4 4 2 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+6.0 CLE 4, CIN 3 Shane Bieber (W, 6‑6) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 6.0 5 1 1 0 7
+4.0 PHI 7, PIT 6 Gregory Soto (S, 3) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
+3.0 MIL 3, STL 2 Joel Payamps (W, 7‑5) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
+2.2 BAL 5, WSH 1 Grayson Rodriguez (W, 7‑4) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 5.2 6 1 1 0 5
+2.0 ATL 6, CHC 5 Ozzie Albies 2B 5 1 3 3 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+2.0 MIA 4, NYM 2 Jon Berti 3B 3 2 2 1 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
BAT +2.0 MIN 6, OAK 4 Ryan Jeffers DH 3 1 1 3 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+2.0 SD 5, SF 2 (F/10) Josh Hader (W, 2‑3) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 1.0 0 0 0 1 2
+1.0 HOU 8, SEA 3 Michael Brantley LF 5 1 4 1 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
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 +/‑
Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp nyy al 17.0 32.4 112.4 155.3 +1.6
Glasnow, Tyler 3948 pi sp tb al 12.4 12.4 48.8 48.8 +12.4
Alonso, Pete 4118 1b nym nl 12.0 26.9 38.4 38.4 -2.9
Rodriguez, Grayson 4790 pi sp bal al 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 +8.0
Sheehan, Emmet 4886 pi sp lad nl 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 +4.7
Jeffers, Ryan 4432 ca dh min al 4.2 5.2 7.7 7.7 +3.2
Bieber, Shane 4005 pi sp cle al 4.0 17.7 60.3 60.3 -9.7
Hader, Josh 3881 pi cp mr sd nl 4.0 10.0 43.4 46.4 -2.0
Dunning, Dane 4317 pi sp tex al 4.0 8.4 13.4 13.4 -0.4
Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 pi sp ari nl 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7 +3.7
Berti, Jon 4132 3b ss 2b ph fla nl 3.0 5.0 8.0 8.0 +1.0
Brantley, Michael 2785 dh lf hou al 2.0 4.0 10.5 31.9 0.0
Albies, Ozzie 3953 2b atl nl 2.0 3.5 20.0 20.0 +0.5
Payamps, Joel 4527 pi mr mil nl 2.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 +1.0
Soto, Gregory 4371 pi cp phi nl 1.0 6.0 8.0 8.0 -4.0
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A Box-Toppers look at Thursday’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
OAK Medina, Luis 4876 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
MIN Gray, Sonny 3259 10.4 22.5 56.7 97.9
ARI Jarvis, Bryce* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
CHW Toussaint, Touki 4110 3.0 5.0 9.7 9.7
KC Ragans, Cole 4889 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.4
DET Gipson-Long, Sawyer 4940 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
STL Hudson, Dakota 4035 1.0 5.0 17.4 17.4
MIL Burnes, Corbin 4029 11.7 27.1 55.9 55.9
PIT Ortiz, Luis 4738 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
PHI Wheeler, Zack 3204 14.7 29.1 70.9 83.6
BOS Sale, Chris 2806 8.7 8.7 41.8 153.3
BAL Kremer, Dean 4330 8.7 16.4 20.1 20.1
NYY Weaver, Luke 3719 0.0 0.0 16.0 25.7
TOR Bassitt, Chris 3413 18.1 29.1 57.9 61.9
MIA Luzardo, Jesus 4282 17.8 21.8 33.9 33.9
NYM Peterson, David 4347 1.0 6.0 11.0 11.0
CHC Stroman, Marcus 3327 7.7 13.4 34.4 62.2
ATL Smith-Shawver, AJ* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
LAD Yarbrough, Ryan 3962 3.0 5.0 37.1 37.1
COL Flexen, Chris 4368 0.0 2.0 13.7 13.7
TEX Montgomery, Jordan 3814 10.4 19.8 30.5 36.5
SEA Gilbert, Logan 4439 12.4 26.5 33.5 33.5
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
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