Phillies’ Wheeler tops players for Monday, May 6, rising to 1st in player rankings

Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to first place in season player rankings.

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Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.
▪️ Players of the Game
▪️ B-T points of day’s top players
▪️ Top 10 players in 2024
▪️ Monday’s highlights & lowlights
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
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Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to first place in season player rankings.

Wheeler struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one run (none earned), four hits and one walk, in the 6-1 win over the Giants.

Wheeler earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season, rising to first place in season player rankings, passing previous leader, teammate Ranger Suarez. While both Wheeler and Suarez have 6.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, Wheeler ranks ahead because he has more 2023 points—14.7 vs. 3.7.

American League Player of the Day

Twins pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson struck out eight over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 3-1 win over the Mariners. Woods Richardson did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Mariners tied the game after he exited.

Woods Richardson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, 32nd among AL pitchers.

Richardson had a +12.0 Box-Toppers game score Monday, the same as overall Player of the Day Wheeler. But Wheeler held the edge to win Player of the Day because he earned the win in his game, while Richardson picked up a no-decision.

American League Player of the Day is Twins pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson.

American League Batter of the Day

Harold Ramirez of the Rays doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 8-2 win over the White Sox.

Ramirez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 2.5 for the season, sixth among AL batters.

American League Batter of the Day is Harold Ramirez of the Rays.

National League Batter of the Day

There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because no NL batter earned Player of the Game honors in the 10 games played. Only one batter, Harold Ramirez, earned Player of the Game honors. The other nine top Monday players are pitchers.

Padres pitcher Yu Darvish now has 134.0 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Monday, May 6:
Player Pos Team BTP
1 Zack Wheeler pi sp Phillies 6.7
2 Ranger Suárez pi sp Phillies 6.7
3 Shota Imanaga pi sp Cubs 6.7
4 Freddy Peralta pi sp Brewers 6.0
5 Logan Gilbert pi sp Mariners 6.0
6 Tyler Glasnow pi sp Dodgers 6.0
7 Tanner Houck pi sp Red Sox 6.0
8 Dylan Cease pi sp Padres 5.7
9 Seth Lugo pi sp Royals 5.4
10 Luis Castillo pi sp Mariners 5.0
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Notable

Padres pitcher Yu Darvish now has 134.0 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Darvish (5IP 3H 0R BB 5K W in the 6-3 win over the Cubs) now has the 36th-most career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when player tracking began. With his 1.0 point Monday, he passes three players on the “all-time” career points list—Jason Giambi (133.4), Stephen Strasburg (133.8) and David Price (134.0). (Though tied with Price, Darvish ranks ahead because he’s earned his points most recently.) Darvish now trails 35th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5).

Darvish ranks seventh among active, signed pitchers in career points and third among active NL pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (270.4) and Chris Sale of the Braves (157.0).

Monday’s highlights & lowlights

Top Monday pitchers

Two of the three pitchers with the most 2023-24 Box-Toppers points among Monday’s starters earned Player of the Game honors:
▪️Zack Wheeler, Phillies
19.4 Box-Toppers points over 2023-24, 8th
Player of the Game in win vs. SF (also overall Player of the Day)
(7IP 4H R 0ER BB 11K W), +12.0 B-T game score
He rises to 5th in 2023-24 B-T points with 21.4
▪️Mitch Keller, Pirates
14.0 Box-Toppers points over 2023-24, 29th
Player of the Game in win vs. LAA
(CG 5H R BB 5K W), +6.0 B-T game score
He rises to 22nd in 2023-24 B-T points with 15.0
▪️Luis Castillo, Mariners
21.1 Box-Toppers points over 2023-24, 5th
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. MIN
(6.2IP 3H 3R 3BB 7K L), +1.2 B-T game score
Player of the Game—Simeon Woods Richardson (6IP H 0R BB 8K ND), +12.0 game score

High scores, no points

Highest Box-Toppers game scores for the day among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:
▪️+8.0—Bryse Wilson, Brewers (6IP H 0R 3BB 6K ND)
Was not Player of the Game because MIL lost to KC.
Player of the Game—Cole Ragans, Royals (6IP 2H 2R 2BB 8K ND) with +6.0 game score.
▪️+6.0—Alex Wood, Athletics (6IP 2H 0R BB 3K ND)
Was not Player of the Game because OAK lost to TEX.
Player of the Game—José Leclerc, Rangers (1IP 0H 0R BB 2K W) with +2.0 game score.
▪️+4.2—Robert Suarez, Padres (1.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K Sv)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. CHC.
Player of the Game—Teammate Yu Darvish (5IP 3H 0R BB 5K W) with +6.0 game score.

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores

Out of 281 total players Monday, 75 pitchers
-15.0—Mike Clevinger, White Sox (2IP 6H 4R 3ER 4BB 0K L vs. TB)
-13.8—Roddery Muñoz, Marlins
-12.9—Mason Black, Giants
-8.9—Richard Lovelady, Cubs
-8.9—Jared Shuster, White Sox

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters

Out of 206 total batters Monday
-5.0—Marcus Semien, Rangers 0-5 K
-4.0—Matt Chapman, Giants 0-4 3K
-4.0—Edouard Julien, Twins 0-4 3K
-4.0—Brett Baty, Mets 0-4 2K
-4.0—Jake Burger, Marlins 0-4 2K
-4.0—Paul DeJong, White Sox 0-4 2K
-4.0—Adolis García, Rangers 0-4 2K
-4.0—Connor Joe, Pirates 0-4 2K
-4.0—Julio Rodríguez, Mariners 0-4 2K
-4.0—Josh Rojas, Mariners 0-4 2K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.

Darvish now has 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 19th among NL pitchers.

Scoring

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

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

  • Ramirez 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.

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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).

5/6 BTG Game Player AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB +12.0 PHI 6, SF 1 Zack Wheeler (W, 4‑3) 7.0 4 1 0 1 11
AL +12.0 `MIN 3, SEA 1 Simeon Woods Richardson 6.0 1 0 0 1 8
+6.0 PIT 4, LAA 1 Mitch Keller (W, 3‑3) 9.0 5 1 1 1 5
+6.0 SD 6, CHC 3 Yu Darvish (W, 2‑1) 5.0 3 0 0 1 5
+6.0 `KC 3, MIL 2 Cole Ragans 6.0 2 2 2 2 8
BAT +4.0 TB 8, CHW 2 Harold Ramírez DH 4 3 4 1
+4.0 LAD 6, MIA 3 Ryan Yarbrough (W, 3‑1) 3.0 1 0 0 0 2
+3.0 `CLE 2, DET 1 Triston McKenzie 5.0 3 1 1 3 6
+2.0 TEX 4, OAK 2 José Leclerc (W, 3‑2) 1.0 0 0 0 1 2
+2.0 NYM 4, STL 3 Edwin Díaz (S, 5) 1.0 0 0 0 0 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 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 +/‑
Wheeler, Zack 3204 pi sp phi nl 6.7 21.4 66.9 90.3 -8.0
Darvish, Yu 3003 pi sp sd nl 3.0 10.0 60.0 134.0 -4.0
McKenzie, Triston 4303 pi sp cle al 3.0 5.0 35.1 35.1 +1.0
Woods Richardson, Simeon 4974 pi sp min al 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 +2.7
Ramirez, Harold 4164 dh tb al 2.5 7.0 12.0 12.0 -2.0
Keller, Mitch 4230 pi sp pit nl 2.0 15.0 22.0 22.0 -11.0
Ragans, Cole 4889 pi sp kc al 2.0 6.4 6.4 6.4 -2.4
Yarbrough, Ryan 3962 pi mr sp lad nl 1.0 4.0 31.1 38.1 -2.0
Diaz, Edwin 3690 pi cp nym nl 1.0 1.0 17.7 42.7 +1.0
Leclerc, Jose 3768 pi mr cp tex al 1.0 1.0 5.0 8.0 +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 Urena, Jose 3492 0.0 0.0 3.0 23.4
OAK Stripling, Ross 3629 1.0 2.0 25.7 40.1
DET Maeda, Kenta 3609 2.7 13.8 36.6 67.3
CLE Allen, Logan T. 4789 1.0 8.7 8.7 8.7
LAA Sandoval, Patrick 4357 0.0 3.0 14.0 14.0
PIT Priester, Quinn* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
ARI Gallen, Zac 4171 2.0 18.7 53.1 53.1
CIN Montas, Frankie 3803 1.0 1.0 33.5 36.5
TOR Berrios, Jose 3791 3.7 14.1 46.2 73.0
PHI Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 1.7 5.7 5.7 5.7
BAL Burnes, Corbin 4029 3.7 15.4 56.6 59.6
WSH Williams, Trevor 3792 1.0 6.7 17.4 30.4
CHW Soroka, Mike 3956 0.0 0.0 11.4 14.4
TB Eflin, Zach 3679 2.0 14.0 32.8 45.5
HOU Verlander, Justin 2112 0.0 12.4 66.9 245.0
NYY Gil, Luis 4498 3.7 3.7 4.7 4.7
BOS Crawford, Kutter 4660 1.0 6.7 10.7 10.7
ATL Lopez, Reynaldo 3712 3.7 4.7 25.2 32.9
MIL Rea, Colin 3582 1.0 6.0 6.0 9.7
KC Lugo, Seth 3729 5.4 11.8 20.8 29.8
SD Vasquez, Randy 4841 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
CHC Imanaga, Shota 4960 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7
SEA Hancock, Emerson 4985 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
MIN Ober, Bailey 4441 2.0 10.7 20.4 20.4
NYM Butto, Jose 4933 2.0 4.0 4.0 4.0
STL Mikolas, Miles 3034 0.0 6.7 21.8 36.2
SF Harrison, Kyle 4914 1.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
COL Hudson, Dakota 4035 0.0 1.0 16.4 17.4
MIA Cabrera, Edward 4641 0.0 3.7 10.1 10.1
LAD Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7
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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