NLCS Preview: Cardinals-Dodgers features 2 top-ranked NL Box-Toppers teams, top 3 overall players—Kershaw, Wainwright, Greinke

The National League Championship Series beginning Friday features the top two NL teams in Box-Toppers Team Rankings and the top three players in overall Box-Toppers points.

Game 1 of the best-of-seven series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers begins in St. Louis. The Dodgers just edged out the Cardinals as top NL team in Box-Toppers points for the season with 122.7 (second place overall, behind the Detroit Tigers). The Cardinals were in second in the NL (third overall) with 122.4. 

The Cardinals had the best actual winning percentage in the NL (.599). The Dodgers were in fourth (.568), behind the Cardinals, Braves and Pirates. 

The Cardinals prevailed over the Pirates in the National League Division Series. The Pirates had 115.6 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranked seventh overall. The Dodgers beat the Braves in their NLDS. The Braves had 111.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 11th overall. 

The NLCS between the Cardinals and Dodgers features the top three players in Box-Toppers Player Rankings for the season:

• Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has 21.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked first in player rankings.
• Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright has 20.2 points, ranked second. 
• Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke has 19.4 points, ranked third. 

In addition, Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn and Shelby Miller are both in the top 10 in Box-Toppers points among NL pitchers. Lynn ranks seventh with 16.1 points and Miller ranks ninth with 15.4. 

Below are position-by-position match-ups of each player likely in the starting line-up for both teams, along with the four most likely starting pitchers, the team's top closer and an extra pitcher. Also listed are each player's Box-Toppers points earned in 2013, along with their overall rank among players for the season.

If you simply add together the Box-Toppers points of these 14 key players from each team, the Cardinals have 103.7 points and the Dodgers 98.7.

If you compare them position-by-position, the Cardinals have more players with higher Box-Toppers points totals. The Cardinals have the edge in seven positions, the Dodgers in six and they tie in one position (both first basemen Matt Adams and Adrian Gonzalez have 5.0 Box-Toppers points).

In general, the Cardinals edge the Dodgers among batters, with more offensive players with higher Box-Toppers points—in fact, Hanley Ramirez is the only Dodger batter with a higher Box-Toppers point total (5.0) than his Cardinals shortstop counterpart Pete Kozma (2.5).

All three likely starting outfielders for the Dodgers have Box-Toppers point totals of 2.0 or less, meaning they were very rarely the key contributor to Dodgers wins. Carl Crawford was Player of the Game twice during the season earning 2.0 Box-Toppers points. Rookie sensation Yasiel Puig was NL Batter of the Day in his second career game June 4, earning 1.5 points, his only points of the season. And Skip Schumaker, though he appeared in 125 games, did not earn Player of the Game honors during the season, earning 0.0 Box-Toppers points.

To be fair, Dodgers pitchers were often the key contributor to the team's wins, with higher Box-Toppers game scores and earning Player of the Game honors. In fact, Dodgers pitchers have a slight edge over the Cardinals, with two of the three top overall players in Box-Toppers points (Kershaw and Greinke). The Dodgers' closer, Kenley Jansen has more Box-Toppers points than Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal (9.7 to 6.0).

So: The Dodgers have the overall higher Box-Toppers Team Ranking. The Cardinals have a better winning percentage. The Dodgers have a slight edge in pitching. The Cardinals have a seeming clear edge among batters. The Dodgers have the edge in the pitching match-up in Game 1. The Cardinals have home-field advantage. Baseball's best three players this season (by Box-Toppers measures) will be in action. It promises to be a great series. 

Coming Friday: Here is the pitching match-up for Game 1 of the NL Championship Series:

NLCS Game 1, Dodgers at Cardinals

Dodgers: Zack Greinke, 19.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked third overall (see the Top 10 Player ranking list on the home page)

Cardinals: Joe Kelly, 4.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 264th overall

In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top player in each of the other games. However, no Box-Toppers points are awarded during the postseason. 

NL Championship Series player comparisons 

Likely starting players for the Cardinals and Dodgers listed by position with their Box-Toppers point total (BTP) for the 2013 regular season and their overall player rank among all players

	Cardinals	BTP	Rank		Dodgers	BTP	Rank
1B	Matt Adams	5.0	198		Adrian Gonzalez	5.0	175
2B	Matt Carpenter	7.5	100		Mark Ellis	3.5	295
SS	Pete Kozma	2.5	408		Hanley Ramirez	5.0	177
3B	David Freese	5.5	154		Juan Uribe	3.0	323
CA	Yadier Molina	4.0	253		A.J. Ellis	2.5	387
CF	Jon Jay	5.5	162		Skip Schumaker	0.0	920
LF	Matt Holliday	6.5	121		Carl Crawford	2.0	450
RF	Carlos Beltran	2.5	378		Yasiel Puig	1.5	542
SP	Adam Wainwright	20.2	2		Clayton Kershaw	21.7	1
SP	Lance Lynn	16.1	11		Zack Greinke	19.4	3
SP	Joe Kelly	4.0	264		Hyun-Jin Ryu	9.7	61
SP	Michael Wacha	3.0	361		Ricky Nolasco	9.7	60
CP	Trevor Rosenthal	6.0	147		Kenley Jansen	9.7	59
PI	Shelby Miller	15.4	17		Chris Capuano	6.0	134

Marlins' Jose Fernandez leads all players in Box-Toppers points—does he have a shot at Cy Young? Probably not

With only two weeks left in the season, Box-Toppers has a new leader atop player standings—rookie Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez. 

Fernandez, who has 19.0 Box-Toppers points this season, passed last week's leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who has 18.7 points and is in second place. 

But Fernandez' days atop player rankings may be numbered. He made what was expected to be his final start of the season this week, in part to protect his young arm and also because the Marlins are not in the playoff hunt.

The race for the not-at-all coveted top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings is a tight one. Any one of the top 10 players, who are within 2.9 Box-Toppers points of the lead, could rise and claim it. Nine of the top 10 players are pitchers and could have two or three starts left in the season, giving them plenty of opportunity to pick up 3.0 or more Box-Toppers points to claim the top spot.

The race for top National League pitcher is extremely tight, with Fernandez currently narrowly leading the way. The top four players are all National League pitchers and are only 1.6 points apart. So, for example, if Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin were to earn at least NL Player of the Day honors in his next start, he would earn 1.7 points and have 19.1 for the season, enough to pass Fernandez.

The top American League player remains Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers. The third baseman—the sole batter among the top 10—has 16.9 Box-Toppers points and is in fifth place overall. Though other AL pitchers could challenge him for overall top AL player in Box-Toppers points, his lead among AL batters seems secure—he leads second-place player Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees (12.9) by 4.0 Box-Toppers points.

The top American League pitcher remains Justin Masterson of the Indians with 16.4 Box-Toppers points. He falls from seventh to eight place overall. Masterson continues to lead AL pitchers despite not scoring a Box-Toppers point since July 27. 

Still, he has maintained a narrow lead among AL pitchers of 1.3 points or less since then. In other words, Masterson is not exactly on fire and no other AL pitchers seem eager to steal his crown from him. (Masterson has been injured recently but hopes to return to pitching before the end of the season.) 

Masterson's lead among AL pitchers does appear shaky, with five other pitchers within 1.5 Box-Toppers points of catching him with two weeks left. 

Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks continues to lead among NL batters with 12.7 Box-Toppers points. There are three players who trail him by fewer than 2.0 Box-Toppers points. Freddie Freeman of the Braves and Michael Cuddyer of the Rockies, both of whom have 11.5 Box-Toppers points and both of whom have been hot recently, seem to have the best shot of catching Goldschmidt.

Now: Would any of these leaders in Box-Toppers points categories have any shot at all of winning actual coveted postseason awards? 

For example, if Fernandez keeps his lead among NL pitchers, would he be worthy of winning the NL Cy Young Award? Worthy? Yes. Will he get it? Unlikely, since he comes from a non-playoff team and an ignored media market.  It will probably be Kershaw. However, Fernandez should receive more-than-serious consideration for NL Rookie of the Year.

Will Justin Masterson win the AL Cy Young if he keeps his lead? No, probably not. Though Box-Toppers credits him with being most responsible for bringing his teams wins more often, I don't think he is viewed as The One for the Indians. Plus, the Tigers have overshadowed the Indians in the AL Central and their pitchers, especially Max Scherzer who has 19 wins, have been the media favorites.

Will Cabrera win AL most valuable player? Yes. He should. 

Will Goldschmidt win NL MVP? No. Again, he's playing for a non-playoff team. Freddie Freeman of the Braves, in second in Box-Toppers NL batters list, would be a good candidate, but I think writers will probably pick an "intangible" guy, a leader in the clubhouse, a "spark plug" on the field, a light-hitting catcher or something. Or perhaps even someone like Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers. Though the rookie is a media juggernaut, he earned his 1.5 and only Box-Toppers points of the season on June 4.

Previous player rankings report from Sept. 5. 

What are those numbers after players' names?

How does Box-Toppers scoring work? 

Top players

As of Thursday, Sept. 12

	2013 LEADERS
	OVERALL LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	19.0
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.7
3	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.4
4	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	17.4
5	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	16.9
6	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	16.7
7	Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	16.7
8	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
9	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	16.1
10	Sanchez, Anibal 2187	pi sp	det al	16.1
	AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
2	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	16.1
3	Sanchez, Anibal 2187	pi sp	det al	16.1
4	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	15.4
5	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
6	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	15.0
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	13.1
8	Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	bal al	12.7
9	Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	pi sp	sea al	12.4
10	Buchholz, Clay 2363	pi sp	bos al	11.1
	AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	16.9
2	Soriano, Alfonso 1445	lf	nyy al	12.9
3	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	12.7
4	Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	nyy al	12.5
5	Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	12.4
6	Raburn, Ryan 2340	rf dh lf ph	cle al	9.5
7	Butler, Billy 2330	dh	kc al	9.0
8	Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	1b dh	tor al	8.7
9	Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	oak al	8.5
10	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	8.4
	NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	19.0
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.7
3	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.4
4	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	17.4
5	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	16.7
6	Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	16.7
7	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	15.4
8	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15.0
9	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	14.7
10	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	14.1
	NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	12.7
2	Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	11.5
3	Cuddyer, Michael 1826	rf	col nl	11.5
4	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	11.0
5	Venable, Will 2621	rf cf	sd nl	9.0
6	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf	dc nl	8.4
7	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	3b	dc nl	7.7
8	Phillips, Brandon 1691	2b	cin nl	7.5
9	Carpenter, Matt 2987	2b	stl nl	7.5
10	Murphy, Daniel 2589	2b	nym nl	7.5

BTP: Box-Toppers points for 2013 season

Box-Toppers deems Freeman, Uehara most worthy candidates for All-Star Final Vote

Red Sox closer Koji Uehara and Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman are the players most deserving to be voted to the All-Star Game in the Final Vote, according to Box-Toppers statistics.

Major League Baseball's All-Star Final Vote process gives fans the chance to select the final player on each All-Star team. Fans choose from a list of five players from each league who were either not selected by fans in general voting (which ended July 4) or selected by All-Star team managers to fill out the rosters.

Box-Toppers deems Freeman most worthy of earning the Final Vote in the National League. Of the 10 players on the Final Vote ballot, Freeman has the most Box-Toppers points with 5.0. He has the second-most Box-Toppers points of any NL first baseman, behind only Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks (8.7). 

Uehara narrowly earns Box-Toppers' endorsement in the American League. He has 3.0 Box-Toppers points, tied with Rangers relief pitcher Tanner Scheppers. However, Uehara breaks the tie because he has more total Box-Toppers points over the past three seasons (5.0 to 3.0).

Though by Box-Toppers standards, Uehara is the top AL player on the Final Vote ballot, he does rank only 56th among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points for the season. Scheppers ranks 61st. Even among AL closers, Uehara ranks 13th.

The American League choices are all relief pitchers and are all a little weak in terms of Box-Toppers points. In fact, one player, Tigers relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit has 0.0 Box-Toppers points this season and earned only 1.0 last season.

The National League choices, by contrast, are all batters, and seem a little more interesting, exciting and substantial choices. Rookie sensation Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers is on the list. While his stats for his brief time in the majors are impressive (batting over .400 with eight homers since his June 3 debut), he has earned only 1.5 Box-Toppers points, the fewest of any Final Vote candidate in the National League.

Box-Toppers is set up to determine the players who most help their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. These top players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game. Among each day's top players, bonus points are awarded for the top players and batters of the day in each league. Players accumulate points through the season to provide a data point for comparison, such as determining which players are most worthy as All-Stars.

Voting on the final candidates ends on Thursday. Fans can vote online.

	FINAL VOTE CANDIDATES
	AL PLAYERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Koji Uehara	pi cp	bos al	3.0
2	Tanner Scheppers	pi mr	tex al	3.0
3	Steve Delabar	pi mr	tor al	1.0
4	David Robertson	pi mr	nyy al	1.0
5	Joaquin Benoit	pi mr	det al	0.0
	NL PLAYERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Freddie Freeman	1b	atl nl	5.0
2	Ian Desmond	ss	dc nl	4.5
3	Adrian Gonzalez	1b	lad nl	3.0
4	Hunter Pence	rf	sf nl	2.0
5	Yasiel Puig	rf	lad nl	1.5

BTP: Box-Toppers points

Tigers' Anibal Sanchez, Giants' Tim Lincecum top players for Tuesday, June 4

Tigers pitcher Anibal Sanchez is Tuesday's Player of the Day. Sanchez struck out nine and allowed only one run over seven innings in the 10-1 win over the Tigers.

Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum is National League Player of the Day. Lincecum gave up just one run over seven innings in the 2-1 win over the Blue Jays. 

Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers is NL Batter of the Day. In his second Major League game, Puig homered twice, drove in five runs and went 3-for-4 in the 9-7 win over the Padres. This was Puig's Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has been Player of the Game, and he is the 3,193rd player to debut since 1995, when Box-Toppers record-keeping began.

Mike Carp of the Red Sox is American League Batter of the Day. Carp homered and went 3-for-4 in the 17-5 win over the Rangers. 

Sanchez receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Lincecum receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Puig and Carp each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Tuesday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point:

604	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	9.0	Tigers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Anibal Sanchez (W, 6-5)	7.0	4	1	1	1	9
	8.0	Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			David Phelps (W, 4-3)	6.0	1	0	0	4	7
	7.0	Orioles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Chris Tillman (W, 5-2)	7.0	4	1	1	2	8
NL	7.0	Giants	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Tim Lincecum (W, 4-5)	7.0	3	1	1	1	6
BAT	6.0	Dodgers	Yasiel Puig RF	4	2	3	5	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	6.0	Phillies	John Mayberry PH, RF	3	2	2	5	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	5.0	Red Sox	Mike Carp LF	4	3	3	3	1	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	5.0	`Nationals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jordan Zimmermann	8.0	4	2	0	1	4
	5.0	Twins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Samuel Deduno (W, 2-1)	6.0	4	0	0	2	5
	4.0	Mariners	Raul Ibanez DH	4	2	2	4	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Diamondbacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Josh Collmenter (W, 2-0)	4.0	4	0	0	1	5
	2.2	Rockies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Josh Outman (W, 2-0)	0.2	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Angels	Albert Pujols 1B	3	1	1	3	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	`Braves	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Mike Minor	6.0	4	4	2	0	6
	1.0	Brewers	Yuniesky Betancourt PH, 1B	1	0	1	1	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.