Phillies’ Aaron Nola tops players for Monday, April 15, rising to 7th in player rankings

Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to seventh place in season player rankings.

Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to seventh place in season player rankings.

Nola struck out nine over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Rockies. Nola did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied when he exited.

Nola earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, rising to seventh place among all players and fourth among National League pitchers.

Nola now has 104.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 79th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his 2.0 points Monday, he passes Jamie Moyer (104.0) on the “all-time” career points list and now trails 78th-ranked player Scott Kazmir (105.1). Nola ranks 11th among active, signed players in career points and sixth among active NL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day is Royals pitcher Seth Lugo.

American League Player of the Day

Royals pitcher Seth Lugo struck out four over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 2-0 win over the White Sox.

Lugo earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and ranks 54th in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

American League Batter of the Day is Mitch Haniger of the Mariners.

American League Batter of the Day

Mitch Haniger of the Mariners homered, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 9-3 win over the Reds.

National League Batter of the Day is Orlando Arcia of the Braves.

National League Batter of the Day

Orlando Arcia of the Braves went 1-for-1, scoring once and driving in one run, in the 6-1 win over the Astros.

Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Monday’s win over the Yankees.

Notable

Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt rises to first place among all players over 2023-24 after earning Player of the Game honors Monday (6.1IP 4H R 2BB 5K W in the 3-1 win over the Yankees).

Bassitt earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 22.1 over 2023-24, passing Braves pitcher Spencer Strider (22.1). Though both have 22.1 points, Bassitt ranks ahead because he has more 2024 points (2.0 vs. 1.0). Strider is out for the remainder of the 2024 season after undergoing elbow surgery.

Jackson Merrill of the Padres made his Box-Toppers debut Monday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2024. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Monday, April 15.
Player Pos Team BTP
1 Peralta, Freddy 3965 pi sp mil nl 4.0
2 Burnes, Corbin 4029 pi sp bal al 3.7
3 Detmers, Reid 4513 pi sp ana al 3.7
4 Imanaga, Shota 4960 pi sp chi nl 3.7
5 Gilbert, Logan 4439 pi sp sea al 3.0
6 Glasnow, Tyler 3948 pi sp tb al 3.0
7 Nola, Aaron 3569 pi sp phi nl 3.0
8 Ozuna, Marcell 3190 dh atl nl 3.0
9 Singer, Brady 4337 pi sp kc al 3.0
10 Blackburn, Paul 3869 pi sp oak al 3.0
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Debut

Jackson Merrill of the Padres made his Box-Toppers debut Monday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Merrill (3-5 0R 2BI in the 7-3 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut March 20 and was playing in his 19th career game.

Scoring

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

  • Lugo earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.

  • Haniger and Arcia each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s 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

More from Monday

Top Monday pitcher

Monday’s pitcher with the most 2023-24 Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors:
▪️Chris Bassitt, Blue Jays (6.1IP 4H R 2BB 5K W vs. NYY) with a +3.2 B-T game score
Bassitt earns 1.0 B-T point and now has 22.1 B-T points over 2023-24, 1st among all players.

High scores, no points

Highest Box-Toppers game scores among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:
▪️+9.2—Kutter Crawford, Red Sox (5.2IP 2H 0R 0BB 6K ND)
Was not Player of the Game because BOS lost to CLE, despite recording the day’s highest B-T game score.
Player of the Game—Xzavion Curry, Guardians (5IP 2H 0R BB 3K ND) with +5.0 game score.
▪️+8.0—Edward Cabrera, Marlins (6IP 5H R BB 10K ND)
Was not Player of the Game because MIA lost to SF.
Player of the Game—Camilo Doval, Giants (1.1IP H 0R 0BB 2K Sv) with +2.1 game score.
▪️+5.1—Reese Olson, Tigers (6.1IP 6H R BB 8K L)
Was not Player of the Game because DET lost to TEX.
Player of the Game—Michael Lorenzen, Rangers (5IP 3H 0R 5BB 4K W) with +1.0 game score.

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores

-15.8—Joe Ross, Brewers (4.2IP 9H 7R 6ER 2BB 4K L vs. SD)
-15.0—Phil Maton, Rays
-15.0—Frankie Montas, Reds
-11.9—Josh Hader, Astros
-10.0—Louie Varland, Twins

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters

-5.0—Dansby Swanson, Cubs 0-5 K
-5.0—Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Diamondbacks 0-5 0K
-5.0—Nolan Schanuel, Angels 0-5 0K
-5.0—Ian Happ, Cubs 1-6 K
-4.0—Colton Cowser, Orioles 0-4 4K

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).

4/15 BTG Game Player AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB +9.1 `PHI 2, COL 1 (F/10) Aaron Nola 7.1 4 1 1 1 9
+8.0 STL 3, OAK 1 Sonny Gray (W, 2‑0) 6.0 4 0 0 0 6
AL +6.0 KC 2, CHW 0 Seth Lugo (W, 3‑0) 7.0 4 0 0 1 4
+5.0 `CHC 3, ARI 2 (F/11) Ben Brown 6.0 1 1 1 2 4
+5.0 `CLE 6, BOS 0 Xzavion Curry 5.0 2 0 0 1 3
BAT +4.0 SEA 9, CIN 3 Mitch Haniger DH 3 2 2 3
+3.1 TOR 3, NYY 1 Chris Bassitt (W, 2‑2) 6.1 4 1 1 2 5
+3.0 NYM 6, PIT 3 Adam Ottavino (W, 1‑0) 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
+3.0 BAL 7, MIN 4 Craig Kimbrel (S, 4) 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
+2.1 SF 4, MIA 3 Camilo Doval (S, 2) 1.1 1 0 0 0 2
BAT +2.0 ATL 6, HOU 1 Orlando Arcia SS 1 1 1 1
+2.0 WSH 6, LAD 4 Kyle Finnegan (S, 6) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
+1.0 LAA 7, TB 3 Taylor Ward LF 5 2 2 2
+1.0 TEX 1, DET 0 Michael Lorenzen (W, 1‑0) 5.0 3 0 0 5 4
0.0 SD 7, MIL 3 Jackson Merrill CF 5 0 3 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 2024 (’24). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’23-24), the period 2019-2024 (’19-24) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2024 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2023 total (+/-).
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Player of the Game Pos Team ’24 ’23‑24 ’19‑24 Career +/‑
Nola, Aaron 3569 pi sp phi nl 3.0 15.0 59.1 104.7 -9.0
Bassitt, Chris 3413 pi sp tor al 2.0 22.1 59.9 65.9 -18.1
Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp stl nl 2.0 12.4 50.0 99.9 -8.4
Kimbrel, Craig 2825 pi cp bal al 2.0 6.0 15.7 90.1 -2.0
Ottavino, Adam 3054 pi mr cp nym nl 2.0 2.0 11.0 22.0 +2.0
Brown, Ben 4967 pi sp chi nl 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 +2.0
Lugo, Seth 3729 pi sp kc al 1.7 8.1 17.1 26.1 -4.7
Arcia, Orlando 3717 ss atl nl 1.5 5.5 13.7 17.2 -2.5
Haniger, Mitch 3772 dh lf sea al 1.5 2.5 11.5 22.5 +0.5
Lorenzen, Michael 3479 pi sp tex al 1.0 9.7 16.7 24.2 -7.7
Doval, Camilo 4658 pi cp sf nl 1.0 6.0 11.0 11.0 -4.0
Ward, Taylor 4345 lf ana al 1.0 4.0 14.9 14.9 -2.0
Curry, Xzavion 4875 pi sp cle al 1.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 -1.0
Finnegan, Kyle 4535 pi cp dc nl 1.0 2.0 9.0 9.0 0.0
Merrill, Jackson 4977 cf sd 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 2024 (’24), this year and last year (’23-24), over a six-year period (’19-24) and their career point total.
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Game Starter ’24 ’23-24 ’19‑24 Career
TEX Gray, Jon 3634 0.0 7.7 29.7 53.1
DET Mize, Casey 4377 0.0 0.0 7.7 7.7
MIN Paddack, Chris 4093 0.0 1.0 25.8 25.8
BAL Rodriguez, Grayson 4790 2.0 10.0 10.0 10.0
COL Gomber, Austin 3985 0.0 1.0 14.0 18.7
PHI Suarez, Ranger 4228 2.0 5.7 20.7 20.7
SF Hicks, Jordan 3991 2.7 5.7 9.7 11.7
MIA Weathers, Ryan 4388 0.0 0.0 2.7 2.7
LAA Soriano, Jose 4884 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
TB Civale, Aaron 4173 1.0 7.0 29.4 29.4
NYY Rodon, Carlos 3494 1.0 2.0 35.5 58.6
TOR Kikuchi, Yusei 4136 1.0 11.0 28.4 28.4
CLE Bibee, Tanner 4792 2.0 10.7 10.7 10.7
BOS Whitlock, Garrett 4431 1.0 5.0 12.0 12.0
PIT Jones, Jared 4956 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
NYM Quintana, Jose 3040 0.0 0.0 22.8 83.1
KC Singer, Brady 4337 3.0 8.0 26.7 26.7
CHW Cannon, Jonathan* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
SD Cease, Dylan 4231 1.7 11.7 48.5 48.5
MIL Miley, Wade 3006 0.0 4.7 24.1 68.2
ATL Lopez, Reynaldo 3712 1.0 2.0 22.5 30.2
HOU Brown, Hunter 4729 0.0 10.1 11.1 11.1
CHC Hendricks, Kyle 3386 0.0 5.0 33.1 73.6
ARI Henry, Tommy 4829 0.0 3.7 3.7 3.7
CIN Greene, Hunter 4651 0.0 5.7 11.7 11.7
SEA Gilbert, Logan 4439 3.0 16.4 37.5 37.5
STL Lynn, Lance 2992 1.0 5.7 51.9 119.5
OAK Sears, JP 4627 1.0 5.0 10.0 10.0
WSH Corbin, Patrick 3027 0.0 7.1 34.2 92.4
LAD Undecided 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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