Nats & Tigers have most players on Box-Toppers' 2014 preseason all-star teams

The Washington Nationals and the Detroit Tigers lead the way with the most players on Box-Toppers’ 2014 preseason all-star team.

The Nationals have four players on the National League team and the Tigers have three players on the American League team. The teams were selected based on which player had the highest Box-Toppers points total at their position in 2013. (The top three outfielders and top four starting pitchers in each league were also selected.)

Preseason All-Star Team

Here is Box-Toppers' 2014 preseason all-star team, featuring top players in each position in both the American and National Leagues. The column at right (BTP) shows the number of Box-Toppers points the player scored in 2013. Players are listed based on positions they primarily played during 2013. It is expected some players will change positions in 2014, including Miguel Cabrera, moving from third to first base. The bottom four lines list the top overall pitchers and batters in both leagues in 2013.

POS	PLAYER	TEAM	BTP
	AL
1B	Davis, Chris 2478	bal al	12.7
2B	Cano, Robinson 2092	sea al	12.5
SS	Lowrie, Jed 2437	oak al	8.0
3B	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	16.9
CA	McCann, Brian 2179	nyy al	7.0
OF	Soriano, Alfonso 1445	nyy al	12.9
OF	Raburn, Ryan 2340	cle al	9.5
OF	Jones, Adam 2347	bal al	8.0
DH	Ortiz, David	bos al	12.4
SP	Scherzer, Max 2588	det al	18.1
SP	Sanchez, Anibal 2187	det al	17.1
SP	Masterson, Justin 2462	cle al	16.4
SP	Sale, Chris 2806	chi al	16.1
CP	Holland, Greg 2906	kc al	11.0
	NL
1B	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	ari nl	13.7
2B	Murphy, Daniel 2589	nym nl	8.5
SS	Desmond, Ian 2673	dc nl	5.5
3B	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	dc nl	9.2
CA	Ramos, Wilson 2904	dc nl	7.5
OF	Cuddyer, Michael 1826	col nl	11.5
OF	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	col nl	11.0
OF	Harper, Bryce 3011	dc nl	9.4
SP	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	21.7
SP	Wainwright, Adam 2150	stl nl	20.2
SP	Greinke, Zack 1871	lad nl	19.4
SP	Fernandez, Jose 3147	fla nl	19.0
CP	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	atl nl	12.7
ALMVP	Scherzer, Max 2588	det al	18.1
ALBAT	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	16.9
NLMVP	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	21.7
NLBAT	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	ari nl	13.7

The four Nationals players include:

• Shortstop Ian Desmond, who had 5.5 Box-Toppers points in 2013.

• Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman with 9.2.

• Catcher Wilson Ramos with 7.5.

• Outfielder Bryce Harper with 9.4.

The three Tigers players include:

• Third baseman Miguel Cabrera with 16.9 (Cabrera is slated to move to first base for the 2014 season). 

• Starting pitcher Max Scherzer with 18.1.

• Starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez with 17.1.

If Cabrera’s move to first base were taken into account, he would bump Chris Davis of the Orioles (12.7 Box-Toppers points) from the AL first base all-star spot. Cabrera’s third base spot would be filled by Josh Donaldson of the Athletics, who had the second-most points among AL third basemen in 2013 with 9.5.

The NL team is led by overall Box-Toppers points leader for 2013, pitcher Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, who had 21.7 points. The top NL batter is first baseman Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks, who had 13.7 Box-Toppers points in 2013.

Scherzer led all AL players with 18.1 Box-Toppers points and Cabrera’s 16.9 led all AL batters.

Five other teams had two players on the all-star teams, the Orioles, the Yankees, the Indians, the Rockies and the Dodgers. 

Two of the all-stars are on new teams in 2014:

• AL second baseman Robinson Cano (12.5 points) moved from the Yankees to the Mariners.

• AL catcher Brian McCann (7.0 points) moved from the Braves to the Yankees.

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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.

What are those numbers after players' names?

Box-Toppers' batting leader Miguel Cabrera wins AL MVP; NL leader Goldschmidt finishes behind McCutchen for NL MVP

Box-Toppers' top-ranked batter Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers was named American League Most Valuable Player Thursday.

But the National League leading batter in Box-Toppers points, Paul Goldschmidt, finished in second place in NL MVP voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates, who finished 71st among NL players and 22nd among NL batters in Box-Toppers points, was voted NL MVP.

Cabrera had 16.9 Box-Toppers points for the season, first among all batters, third among all AL players and eighth among all players. He was consistently the only batter in the overall player top 10 list during the season. He led all players in Box-Toppers points four different times during the season, most recently from June 28 to June 30.

Cabrera was voted first on 28 of the 30 writers’ ballots, winning his second straight MVP award. However, in 2012, Cabrera ranked third among AL batters in Box-Toppers points with 11.7, behind Adrian Beltre (13.5) and Chris Davis (12.0). Cabrera ranked third in 2012 despite his Triple Crown season.

McCutchen, voted NL MVP, had 6.0 Box-Toppers points for the season. He was voted first on 28 of the 30 writers’ ballots and was voted on all 30 ballots no lower than third place. However, as the 22nd-ranked NL batter in Box-Toppers points, he wouldn’t have even appeared on Box-Toppers’ 10-spot ballot.

Box-Toppers’ top NL batter Goldschmidt had 13.7 Box-Toppers points and received 15 of the writers’ second place votes, enough to secure the NL MVP runner-up spot.

So what went wrong here? Why do the writers so unanimously see McCutchen as the MVP and Box-Toppers so ... does not? (In fact, McCutchen is not even the highest-ranked batter in Box-Toppers points on his team—that honor goes to Pedro Alvarez, with 7.7 points.)

McCutchen’s batting average is .317. He hit 21 homers and 84 RBIs, scored 97 runs and stole 27 bases. Goldschmidt’s numbers were just as good, often better—.302 average, 36 homers, 125 RBIs. But McCutchen’s team made the postseason. Goldschmidt’s didn’t. Plus, words being used to describe McCutchen are “all-around player,” a “heart-and-soul” guy—intangibles. By their very nature, it’s hard to measure intangibles.

But Box-Toppers measures tangibles. The player who most helps his team win the most games earns the most Box-Toppers points. And to be fair, Box-Toppers doesn’t measure defensive play—for batters, it relies on what they produce at the plate. So it is possible that a lot of McCutchen’s valuableness gets missed that way.

Though in the previous two seasons, McCutchen has fared better in Box-Toppers points than he did in 2013. In 2011, he had 9.7 Box-Toppers points, in eighth place among NL batters. And in 2012, he had 8.5, finishing just out of the top 10 among NL batters.

So, by Box-Toppers standards, Goldschmidt very simply more often helped his team win more games than did McCutchen.

A couple of other players were voted by writers to higher spots than would be recommended by their Box-Toppers point total:

• Mike Trout of the Angels was voted in second place in AL MVP voting with five first place votes. He had 3.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, in 144th place among all AL players and 62nd among all AL batters. (In 2012, he also finished second in AL MVP voting, but in 2012, he finished fifth among AL batters with 11.0 Box-Toppers points.)
• Yadier Molina of the Cardinals was voted in third place in NL MVP voting with two first place votes. He had 4.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, in 126th place among all NL players and 52nd among all NL batters. However, Molina is rightly given credit for his defensive skills as a catcher and his role in shaping a pitching staff with four or five Cy Young-worthy starters. Box-Toppers doesn’t measure that.

There were several players who had high Box-Toppers point totals who did not receive MVP votes. Three of the Box-Toppers top 10 AL batters received no votes and seven of the Box-Toppers top 10 NL batters were shut out:

• Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees had 12.9 Box-Toppers points, 12th among all AL players and second among all AL batters. However, Soriano played in the National League for the Cubs at the start of the season and switched to the American League in July.
• Billy Butler of the Royals had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, 33rd among all AL players and eighth among AL batters.
• Prince Fielder of the Tigers had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, 39th among all AL players and 10th among AL batters.
• Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies had 11.0 Box-Toppers points, 22nd among all NL players and fourth among NL batters.
• Bryce Harper of the Nationals had 9.4 Box-Toppers points, 34th among all NL players and fifth among NL batters.
• Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals had 9.2 Box-Toppers points, 35th among all NL players and sixth among NL batters.
• Will Venable of the Padres had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, 36th among all NL players and seventh among NL batters.
• Daniel Murphy of the Mets had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, 40th among all NL players and eighth among NL batters.
• Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates had 7.7 Box-Toppers points, 45th among all NL players and ninth among NL batters.
• Brandon Phillips of the Reds had 7.5 Box-Toppers points, 48th among all NL players and 10th among NL batters.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps 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. The player on the winning team with the highest Box-Toppers game score is Player of the Game and receives 1.0 Box-Toppers point. The Player of the Game with the highest overall Box-Toppers game score for all the games played that day is Player of the Day and earns a total of 2.0 Box-Toppers points. The top player in the opposite league receives a total of 1.7 Box-Toppers points. If both the day’s top overall player and top player in the opposite league are pitchers, then the top American League and top National League batter of the day receive a total of 1.5 Box-Toppers points each.

Here are the final Box-Toppers Player Rankings for 2013, showing the top 10 overall players, plus the top 10 in AL and NL pitching and AL and NL batting. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers season point totals.

Box-Toppers rankings of MVP Award candidates 

Here are the results of Most Valuable Player Award voting in both leagues. Players are listed in order of their vote total. The far right columns show how many Box-Toppers points (BTP) they earned during the 2013 season and how each player ranked in Box-Toppers points among all players in their league.

MVP vote
AL
Player	Pos	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points	BTP	Rank*
Miguel Cabrera	3b	Tigers	23	7									385	16.9	3
Mike Trout	cf lf	Angels	5	19	3	1	1		1				282	3.5	144
Chris Davis	1b	Orioles	1	4	11	12	1		1				232	12.7	14
Josh Donaldson	3b	Athletics	1		14	9	3	3					222	9.5	31
Robinson Cano	2b	Yankees			1	5	9	2	6	5	2		150	12.5	17
Evan Longoria	3b	Rays					4	6	6	4	5	3	103	5.5	82
Dustin Pedroia	2b	Red Sox				1	5	5	5	4	2	1	99	3.5	145
Adrian Beltre	3b	Rangers					2	8	7	3	4	2	99	8.4	41
Manny Machado	3b	Orioles					2	1	2	5	5	7	57	1.0	316
David Ortiz	dh	Red Sox				2	1	2	2	1	2	2	47	12.4	18
Jason Kipnis	2b	Indians					1	1		3	3	5	31	8.0	44
Max Scherzer	pi sp	Tigers			1			2		1	1	2	25	18.1	1
Adam Jones	cf	Orioles					1			1			9	8.0	43
Edwin Encarnacion	1b dh	Blue Jays								1	2		7	8.7	38
Greg Holland	pi cp	Royals								1			3	11.0	22
Carlos Santana	ca	Indians								1			3	1.0	287
Coco Crisp	cf	Athletics									1	1	3	4.0	129
Jacoby Ellsbury	cf	Red Sox									1	1	3	5.5	83
Torii Hunter	rf	Tigers									1		2	4.0	125
Hisashi Iwakuma	pi sp	Mariners									1		2	16.1	7
Koji Uehara	pi cp	Red Sox										2	2	6.0	76
Yu Darvish	pi sp	Rangers										1	1	16.0	8
Felix Hernandez	pi sp	Mariners										1	1	14.8	9
Salvador Perez	ca 1b	Royals										1	1	2.5	195
Shane Victorino	rf	Red Sox										1	1	4.5	112
Notable AL snubs
Alfonso Soriano	lf	Yankees											0	12.9	12
Billy Butler	dh	Royals											0	9.0	33
Prince Fielder	1b	Tigers											0	8.5	39
NL
Player, Club	Pos	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points	BTP	Rank*
Andrew McCutchen	cf	Pirates	28	1	1								409	6.0	71
Paul Goldschmidt	1b	D-Backs		15	9	1	3	2					242	13.7	12
Yadier Molina	ca	Cardinals	2	8	4	6	6		1		2	1	219	4.0	126
Matt Carpenter	2b	Cardinals		6	5	4	3	9	1	1	1		194	7.5	49
Freddie Freeman	1b	Braves				5	7	8	8	1	1		154	11.5	19
Joey Votto	1b	Reds			2	8	7	3	4		1	2	149	4.5	109
Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	Dodgers			8	4		4	5	4	1		146	21.7	1
Hanley Ramirez	ss	Dodgers			1	1	2	1	2	3	3	3	58	5.0	87
Carlos Gomez	cf	Brewers					1		3	6	2	3	43	3.0	162
Jay Bruce	rf	Reds					1	1	3		2	3	30	4.5	112
Craig Kimbrel	pi cp	Braves				1		1		3	3		27	12.7	18
Shin Soo Choo	cf	Reds						1	1	1	4	3	23	7.0	55
Jayson Werth	rf	Nationals							1	2	2	6	20	6.5	66
Andrelton Simmons	ss	Braves								2	4		14	1.5	261
Yasiel Puig	rf	Dodgers							1	2			10	1.5	259
Hunter Pence	rf	Giants								1	1	2	7	6.5	63
Troy Tulowitzki	ss	Rockies									2	1	5	4.0	124
Allen Craig	lf 1b	Cardinals								1		1	4	5.0	84
Adrian Gonzalez	1b	Dodgers								1		1	4	5.0	86
Buster Posey	ca	Giants								1			3	7.0	54
Adam Wainwright	pi sp	Cardinals								1			3	20.2	2
Michael Cuddyer	rf	Rockies										3	3	11.5	20
Matt Holliday	lf	Cardinals									1		2	6.5	62
Russell Martin	ca	Pirates										1	1	2.0	212
Notable NL snubs
Carlos Gonzalez	lf	Rockies											0	11.0	22
Bryce Harper	lf	Nationals											0	9.4	34
Ryan Zimmerman	3b	Nationals											0	9.2	35
Will Venable	rf cf	Padres											0	9.0	36
Daniel Murphy	2b	Mets											0	8.5	40
Pedro Alvarez	3b	Pirates											0	7.7	45
Brandon Phillips	2b	Reds											0	7.5	48

* Rank among players (batters and pitchers) in the league (AL or NL) in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season.

Source: Baseball Writers Association of America

Dodgers' Kershaw holds lead in Box-Toppers player rankings, Tigers' Cabrera becomes top AL player

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw maintains his top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings, while Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers takes the lead among American League players.

Kershaw has 18.7 Box-Toppers to lead for the second straight week. 

Cabrera has 16.9 points to rise from 10th overall last week to fourth this week. He passes Indians pitcher Justin Masterson (16.4 points, now in fifth overall), the previous AL leader.

Masterson still leads in Box-Toppers points among AL pitchers. 

Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks  leads among NL batters with 11.7 Box-Toppers points. Goldschmidt is in 25th place among all players. 

Thirty-five players have accumulated 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points so far this season. Only five are batters—Cabrera, Goldschmidt, Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies (11.0), Chris Davis of the Orioles (12.7) and Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees (11.9).

Previous player rankings report from Aug. 22. 

What are those numbers after players' names?

How does Box-Toppers scoring work?

Top players

As of Thursday, Aug. 29

	2013 LEADERS
	OVERALL LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.7
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	18.0
3	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	17.4
4	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	16.9
5	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	15.7
7	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	15.4
8	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
9	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	15.0
10	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15.0
	AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	15.4
3	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
4	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	15.0
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4
6	Sanchez, Anibal 2187	pi sp	det al	14.4
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	13.1
8	Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	pi sp	sea al	12.4
9	Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	bal al	11.7
10	Kuroda, Hiroki 2401	pi sp	nyy al	10.4
	AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	16.9
2	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	12.7
3	Soriano, Alfonso 1445	lf	nyy al	11.9
4	Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	nyy al	9.5
5	Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	9.2
6	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	8.4
7	Jones, Adam 2347	cf	bal al	8.0
8	Kipnis, Jason 2933	2b	cle al	8.0
9	Raburn, Ryan 2340	rf dh ph	cle al	8.0
10	Carter, Chris 2828	dh lf 1b	hou al	7.9
	NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.7
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	18.0
3	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	17.4
4	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	15.7
5	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15.0
6	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	14.7
7	Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	14.7
8	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	14.4
9	Latos, Mat 2644	pi sp	cin nl	13.4
10	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	13.1
	NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	11.7
2	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	11.0
3	Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	9.5
4	Venable, Will 2621	rf cf	sd nl	9.0
5	Cuddyer, Michael 1826	rf	col nl	8.5
6	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf	dc nl	8.4
7	Carpenter, Matt 2987	2b	stl nl	7.5
8	McCann, Brian 2179	ca	atl nl	7.0
9	Posey, Buster 2745	ca	sf nl	7.0
10	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	3b	dc nl	6.7

BTP: Box-Toppers points for 2013 season

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw takes Box-Toppers points lead, Masterson, Cabrera, Goldschmidt among leaders

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers weekly player standings as of Thursday, Aug. 22:

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw takes over the top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings. 

Kershaw has 18.7 Box-Toppers points as of Thursday, Aug. 22, taking over the lead from Indians pitcher Justin Masterson (16.4 points), who has fallen to third place behind Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin (17.4).

Masterson continues to lead American League players in Box-Toppers points.

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers remains the leader among American League batters with 14.4 Box-Toppers points. However, Cabrera fell from ninth to 10th place overall this week.

Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks  leads among NL batters with 11.7 Box-Toppers points. Goldschmidt is in 23rd place among all players. 

Thirty-two players have accumulated 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points so far this season. Only five are batters—Cabrera, Goldschmidt, Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies (11.0), Chris Davis of the Orioles (12.7) and Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees (10.9).

Previous player rankings report from Aug. 15. 

What are those numbers after players' names?

How does Box-Toppers scoring work?

Top players

As of Thursday, Aug. 22

	2013 LEADERS
	OVERALL LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.7
2	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	17.4
3	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
4	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.0
5	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
6	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	15.0
7	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15.0
8	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	14.7
9	Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	14.7
10	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	14.4
	AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
2	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
3	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	15.0
4	Sanchez, Anibal 2187	pi sp	det al	14.4
5	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	13.7
6	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	13.1
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	12.7
8	Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	pi sp	sea al	12.4
9	Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	bal al	10.7
10	Kuroda, Hiroki 2401	pi sp	nyy al	10.4
	AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	14.4
2	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	12.7
3	Soriano, Alfonso 1445	lf	nyy al	10.9
4	Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	9.2
5	Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	nyy al	8.5
6	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	8.4
7	Jones, Adam 2347	cf	bal al	8.0
8	Raburn, Ryan 2340	rf dh ph	cle al	8.0
9	Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	oak al	7.5
10	Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	1b dh	tor al	7.2
	NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.7
2	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	17.4
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.0
4	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15.0
5	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	14.7
6	Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	14.7
7	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	13.7
8	Latos, Mat 2644	pi sp	cin nl	13.4
9	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	13.4
10	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	13.1
	NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	11.7
2	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	11.0
3	Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	9.5
4	Cuddyer, Michael 1826	rf	col nl	8.5
5	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf	dc nl	8.4
6	Venable, Will 2621	rf cf	sd nl	8.0
7	Carpenter, Matt 2987	2b	stl nl	7.5
8	McCann, Brian 2179	ca	atl nl	7.0
9	Posey, Buster 2745	ca	sf nl	7.0
10	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	3b	dc nl	6.7

BTP: Box-Toppers points for 2013 season

Reds' Bailey tops players for Sunday, Aug. 18, Tigers' Cabrera rises to 8th in Box-Toppers points

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers results for Sunday, Aug. 18:

Reds pitcher Homer Bailey is Sunday's Player of the Day, while Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers player season standings.

Bailey struck out eight and allowed only one run over eight innings in the 9-1 win over the Brewers.

Cabrera moved from 10th to eighth place among players in Box-Toppers standings for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Cabrera (HR 3RBI 2-3 in the 6-3 win vs. the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.4 for the season. He maintains his lead among American League batters and is the only batter in the season top 10 player list. 

Rays pitcher Chris Archer is AL Player of the Day. Archer gave up only one run over seven innings in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Blue Jays. Archer left the game without the lead and earned no decision. 

Matt Dominguez of the Astros is National League Batter of the Day. Dominguez hit a three-run home run and went 4-for-5 in the 7-5 win over the Angels. 

Chris Davis of the Orioles is AL Batter of the Day. Davis homered and went 4-for-5 in the 7-2 win over the Rockies. Davis rises to 17th in Box-Toppers player season standings. He earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season. 

Notables: Two other players, who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday, are among the Box-Toppers top 30 players in season standings:

• Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright is in 11th place. Wainwright (7IP 1R 11K W in the 6-1 win vs. the Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.7 for the season. (Wainwright and Bailey both had identical 10.0 Box-Toppers game scores, but Bailey earned Sunday's Player of the Day honor because he had more innings pitched—eight vs. seven.) 
• Braves pitcher Julio Teheran is in 28th place. Teheran (6IP 0R W in the 2-1 win vs. the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season.

Bailey receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Archer receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Dominguez and Davis each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

818	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	10.0	Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Homer Bailey (W, 8-10)	8.0	3	1	1	1	8
	10.0	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Adam Wainwright (W, 14-7)	7.0	5	1	1	1	11
AL	6.0	`Rays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Chris Archer	7.0	4	1	1	0	5
BAT	4.0	Astros	Matt Dominguez 3B	5	2	4	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	4.0	Orioles	Chris Davis 1B	5	3	4	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	White Sox	Alexei Ramirez SS	4	2	3	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	`Phillies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Cole Hamels	7.0	7	2	2	0	8
	4.0	Diamondbacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Brad Ziegler (W, 7-1)	2.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Yankees	Alex Rodriguez 3B	4	2	3	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Tigers	Miguel Cabrera 3B	3	1	2	3	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Braves	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Julio Teheran (W, 10-6)	6.0	5	0	0	3	5
	2.0	Athletics	Alberto Callaspo 3B	4	2	3	1	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Marlins	Jeff Mathis C	3	1	2	2	1	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Mariners	Michael Saunders CF, RF	4	1	3	1	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Padres	Nick Hundley C	3	1	3	0	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.

Masterson continues lead in player Box-Toppers points for season; Kershaw, Cabrera, Goldschmidt among leaders

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers weekly player standings as of Thursday, Aug. 15:

Indians pitcher Justin Masterson continues to lead all players in Box-Toppers points as of Thursday, Aug. 15, with 16.4 points. 

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, in second place overall, leads all National League players with 15.7 points. He passes previous NL leader, Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin (15.4), who is now in third overall. 

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers remains the leader among American League batters with 13.4 Box-Toppers points. However, Cabrera fell from seventh to ninth place overall this week.

Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks now leads among NL batters with 11.7 Box-Toppers points. Goldschmidt passed previous leader, Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies (11.0). Goldschmidt is in 20th place among all players. 

Thirty players have accumulated 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points so far this season. Only four are batters—Cabrera, Goldschmidt, Gonzalez and Chris Davis of the Orioles (11.2).

Previous player rankings report from Aug. 8. 

What are those numbers after players' names?

How does Box-Toppers scoring work?

Top players

As of Thursday, Aug. 15

	2013 LEADERS
	OVERALL LEADERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	15.7
3	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	15.4
4	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
5	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	15.0
6	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15.0
7	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	15.0
8	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	13.7
9	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	13.4
10	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	13.4
	AL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	16.4
2	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	15.1
3	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	15.0
4	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	13.7
5	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	13.1
6	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	12.7
7	Sanchez, Anibal 2187	pi sp	det al	12.7
8	Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	bal al	10.7
9	Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	pi sp	sea al	10.7
10	Kuroda, Hiroki 2401	pi sp	nyy al	10.4
	AL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	13.4
2	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	11.2
3	Soriano, Alfonso 1445	lf	nyy al	9.4
4	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	8.4
5	Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	8.2
6	Raburn, Ryan 2340	rf dh ph	cle al	8.0
7	Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	oak al	7.5
8	Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	1b dh	tor al	7.2
9	Jones, Adam 2347	cf	bal al	7.0
10	Kipnis, Jason 2933	2b	cle al	7.0
	NL PITCHERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	15.7
2	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	15.4
3	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	15.0
4	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	15.0
5	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	13.4
6	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	13.1
7	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	12.7
8	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	12.7
9	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	12.7
10	Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	12.7
	NL BATTERS	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	11.7
2	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	11.0
3	Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	9.5
4	Cuddyer, Michael 1826	rf	col nl	8.5
5	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf	dc nl	8.4
6	Carpenter, Matt 2987	2b	stl nl	7.5
7	McCann, Brian 2179	ca	atl nl	7.0
8	Posey, Buster 2745	ca	sf nl	7.0
9	Venable, Will 2621	rf	sd nl	7.0
10	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	3b	dc nl	6.7

BTP: Box-Toppers points for 2013 season

Pirates' Cumpton, Royals' Santana top players for Tuesday, July 30

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers results for Tuesday, July 30:

Pirates pitcher Brandon Cumpton is Tuesday's Player of the Day. Cumpton pitched seven shutout innings in the 6-0 win over the Cardinals. 

This was Cumpton's Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,240th player to debut since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. 

Cumpton had a Box-Toppers game score of 8.0, which was tied with another Pirates pitcher, A.J. Burnett, who was Player of the Game in the first game of a doubleheader with the Cardinals. Burnett (7IP 9K in the 2-1, 11-inning win) was topped by his teammate in a tie-breaker since Cumpton earned a win, while Burnett earned a no-decision.

Royals pitcher Ervin Santana is American League Player of the Day. Santana struck out eight over seven innings in the 7-2 win over the Twins.

Freddie Freeman of the Braves is National League Batter of the Day. Freeman hit two home runs and drove in four in the 11-3 win over the Rockies. 

Geovany Soto of the Rangers is AL Batter of the Day. Soto hit a three-run homer in the 14-11 win over the Angels. 

Notable: Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke (7IP 7K ND in 3-2 win vs. the Yankees) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 11.7 for the season, 11th place overall. Chris Davis (HR, 2RBI in 4-3 win vs. the Astros) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 11.2 for the season, 14th place overall.

Cumpton receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Santana receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Freeman and Soto 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

730	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	8.0	Pirates	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Brandon Cumpton (W, 1-1)	7.0	3	0	0	1	5
	8.0	`Pirates	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			A.J. Burnett	7.0	3	1	1	3	9
AL	6.0	Royals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Ervin Santana (W, 7-6)	7.0	4	2	2	1	8
	6.0	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Brandon Workman (W, 1-1)	6.0	6	1	1	1	9
BAT	5.0	Braves	Freddie Freeman 1B	4	3	2	4	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	5.0	Rays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Roberto Hernandez (W, 6-11)	9.0	5	2	2	1	6
	5.0	`Dodgers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Zack Greinke	7.0	5	2	2	0	7
	5.0	`Brewers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Tyler Thornburg	6.0	4	0	0	3	6
	4.0	Brewers	Khris Davis LF	1	1	1	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Blue Jays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Mark Buehrle (W, 7-7)	7.0	5	0	0	0	2
BAT	3.0	Rangers	Geovany Soto C	4	2	2	3	2	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Orioles	Chris Davis DH	2	2	1	2	2	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Indians	Ryan Raburn PH, DH	1	1	1	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Phillies	Michael Young 3B	4	2	2	2	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Tigers	Alex Avila C	4	1	1	4	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Mets	Juan Lagares CF	3	0	3	2	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Padres	Will Venable RF	3	1	3	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.

A look at top 100 players in Box-Toppers points in 2013

With the baseball season in the middle of the All-Star break, let's also pause and look at Box-Toppers top 100 players for the season so far.

Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin leads the list with 14.4 Box-Toppers points. And Indians pitcher Justin Masterson leads among American League players with 13.7. 

Other notable players on the list: 

• Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, 2012 AL MVP and Triple Crown winner, in third place overall with 13.4 Box-Toppers points.
• Matt Harvey of the Mets, starting pitcher for the National League in the All-Star Game, eighth place, 11.0 points. 
• Chris Davis of the Orioles, 37 home runs at the All-Star break, 15th place, 10.2 points. 
• Max Scherzer of the Tigers, starting pitcher for the AL in the All-Star Game, 18th place, 9.7 points. 
• Bryce Harper of the Nationals, 2012 NL Rookie of the Year, 37th place, 6.9 points. 
• R.A. Dickey of the Blue Jays, 2012 NL Cy Young Award winner, 38th place, 6.7 points.
• Buster Posey of the Giants, 2012 NL MVP, 56th place, 6.0 points.

Two teams each have seven players on the Top 100 list—the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds. The Detroit Tigers have five players on the list, the most of any AL team. 

All 30 teams are represented on the list. However, one team, the Houston Astros, has only one player on the list, closing pitcher Jose Veras (6.0 points, in 61st place). The Astros have the fewest wins in baseball and the lowest team Box-Toppers points total.

Box-Toppers tends to favor pitchers over batters. And because of this, a vast majority of players (74) on the top 100 list are pitchers. Here is the breakdown of players on the list by their primary position:

• Starting pitchers: 65
• Closing pitchers: 8
• Third basemen: 6
• Outfielders: 6
• First basemen: 4
• Second basemen: 4
• Catchers: 4
• Designated hitters: 2
• Middle relief pitchers: 1
• Shortstops: 0

While pitchers dominate Box-Toppers points, their domination diminishes slightly over time. On the top 100 player list of all-time (since 1995), there are 53 pitchers, far fewer than the 74 on the top 100 list for this season. We will take a look at the top 100 Box-Toppers players of all-time (since 1995) in a future Box-Toppers post. 

Box-Toppers points reward 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 or for postseason awards. 

What are those numbers after players' names?

How does Box-Toppers scoring work?

Top 100 players for 2013

RANK	PLAYER	POS	TEAM	BTP
1	Corbin, Patrick 3027	pi sp	ari nl	14.4
2	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	13.7
3	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	3b	det al	13.4
4	Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	tb al	13.1
5	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	12.7
6	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.7
7	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	11.7
8	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	11.4
9	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	11.0
10	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.7
11	Zimmermann, Jordan 2612	pi sp	dc nl	10.7
12	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	10.7
13	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	10.4
14	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	10.4
15	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	10.2
16	Buchholz, Clay 2363	pi sp	bos al	10.1
17	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	10.0
18	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	9.7
19	Iwakuma, Hisashi 30488	pi sp	sea al	9.7
20	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	9.7
21	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	lf	col nl	9.5
22	Lee, Cliff 1798	pi sp	phi nl	9.4
23	Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	8.7
24	Latos, Mat 2644	pi sp	cin nl	8.7
25	Ortiz, David	dh	bos al	8.2
26	Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	8.0
27	Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	8.0
28	Sanchez, Anibal 2187	pi sp	det al	8.0
29	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	8.0
30	Holland, Derek 2634	pi sp	tex al	7.7
31	Saunders, Joe 2214	pi sp	sea al	7.7
32	Minor, Mike 2894	pi sp	atl nl	7.0
33	McCann, Brian 2179	ca	atl nl	7.0
34	Kipnis, Jason 2933	2b	cle al	7.0
35	Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	nyy al	7.0
36	Stults, Eric 2352	pi sp	sd nl	7.0
37	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf	dc nl	6.9
38	Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	tor al	6.7
39	Kuroda, Hiroki 2401	pi sp	nyy al	6.7
40	Colon, Bartolo	pi sp	oak al	6.7
41	Cobb, Alex 2916	pi sp	tb al	6.7
42	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	3b	dc nl	6.7
43	Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	6.5
44	Cuddyer, Michael 1826	rf	col nl	6.5
45	Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	oak al	6.5
46	Slowey, Kevin 2377	pi sp	fla nl	6.4
47	Alvarez, Pedro 2817	3b	pit nl	6.2
48	Wilson, C.J. 2074	pi sp	ana al	6.1
49	Chapman, Aroldis 2826	pi cp	cin nl	6.0
50	Samardzija, Jeff 2495	pi sp	chi nl	6.0
51	Bailey, Homer 2324	pi sp	cin nl	6.0
52	Hellickson, Jeremy 2778	pi sp	tb al	6.0
53	Peavy, Jake 1635	pi sp	chi al	6.0
54	Gee, Dillon 2808	pi sp	nym nl	6.0
55	Arroyo, Bronson 1375	pi sp	cin nl	6.0
56	Posey, Buster 2745	ca	sf nl	6.0
57	Carpenter, Matt 2987	2b	stl nl	6.0
58	Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	kc al	6.0
59	Perkins, Glen 2506	pi cp	min al	6.0
60	Johnson, Jim 2417	pi cp	bal al	6.0
61	Veras, Jose 2464	pi cp	hou al	6.0
62	Ryu, Hyun-Jin 3139	pi sp	lad nl	6.0
63	Teheran, Julio 3176	pi sp	atl nl	6.0
64	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	phi nl	5.7
65	Beltre, Adrian 1141	3b	tex al	5.7
66	Lincecum, Tim 2288	pi sp	sf nl	5.7
67	Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	1b dh	tor al	5.7
68	Hudson, Tim 1231	pi sp	atl nl	5.7
69	Leake, Mike 2709	pi sp	cin nl	5.7
70	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	bos al	5.7
71	Feldman, Scott 2632	pi cp	bal al	5.7
72	Smyly, Drew 3009	pi cp mr	det al	5.7
73	Grilli, Jason 2209	pi cp	pit nl	5.7
74	Butler, Billy 2330	dh	kc al	5.5
75	Arencibia, J.P. 2781	ca	tor al	5.5
76	Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349	pi sp	cle al	5.4
77	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	5.0
78	Medlen, Kris 2596	pi sp	atl nl	5.0
79	Phillips, Brandon 1691	2b	cin nl	5.0
80	Mauer, Joe 1869	ca	min al	5.0
81	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	ana al	5.0
82	Jackson, Edwin 1812	pi sp	chi nl	5.0
83	Wood, Travis 2777	pi sp	chi nl	5.0
84	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	kc al	5.0
85	Griffin, A.J. 3074	pi sp	oak al	5.0
86	Soriano, Alfonso 1445	lf	chi nl	5.0
87	Venable, Will 2621	rf	sd nl	5.0
88	Frazier, Todd 2929	3b	cin nl	5.0
89	Collmenter, Josh 2863	pi mr sp	ari nl	5.0
90	Peralta, Wily 3123	pi sp	mil nl	5.0
91	Straily, Dan 3080	pi sp	oak al	5.0
92	Locke, Jeff 3133	pi sp	pit nl	5.0
93	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	5.0
94	Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	4.7
95	Gallardo, Yovani 2333	pi sp	mil nl	4.7
96	Maholm, Paul 2078	pi sp	atl nl	4.7
97	Garza, Matt 2343	pi sp	chi nl	4.7
98	Nolasco, Ricky 2125	pi sp	lad nl	4.7
99	De La Rosa, Jorge 1970	pi sp	col nl	4.7
100	Pollock, A.J. 3142	cf	ari nl	4.7

BTP: Box-Toppers points for 2013

All-Star rosters include most Box-Toppers points leaders, only a few minor snubs

With the 2013 All-Star Game here, it's time for a Box-Toppers examination of the choices for the game by fans and the managers.

Overall, not bad. The players with the highest Box-Toppers points totals in each league were almost always named to the American League and National League teams. 

For example, Box-Toppers points leader and Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin was named to the NL roster (though Mets pitcher Matt Harvey was named the game's starter). And AL points leader and Indians pitcher Justin Masterson was named to the AL roster (though Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer was named AL starter).

The player with the most Box-Toppers points this season who was not selected as an All-Star is Cardinals pitcher Shelby Miller, who has 11.4 Box-Toppers points, the fifth highest among NL pitchers and more than NL starter Harvey (11.0). 

Other notable snubs (a full list is in the chart below) include:

• Tigers pitcher Anibal Sanchez, the AL player with the most Box-Toppers points (8.0) left off the roster.
• Yunel Escobar of the Rays, who has more Box-Toppers points than any other AL shortstop (4.5). 
• J.P. Arencibia of the Blue Jays, who has more points than any other AL catcher (5.5). 
• Athletics outfielders Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Reddick, who are among the top three AL outfielders in Box-Toppers points. Both have 4.5. 
• Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals, who has more points than any other NL third basemen (6.7).

The elected starters for the AL are generally stronger than the starters for the NL in terms of Box-Toppers points and player rankings (see the charts at right). Five players are among the top one or two players in Box-Toppers points at their position among AL starters, while only three players in the NL can say the same.

The chart shows the players Box-Toppers points for the season, BTP, and their rank according to their field position in their league. Generally speaking, the the lower the rank by position number, the better. For example, Chris Davis, Miguel Cabrera, David Ortiz and Carlos Gonzalez all rank No. 1 among players in their respective positions. However, elected NL starter Carlos Beltran of the Cardinals, ranks only 39th among NL outfielders in Box-Toppers points for the season.

While the NL starting line-up is not as strong as the AL line-up, the NL reserves include most of the players leading in Box-Toppers points at their position. For example, in the reserves and pitchers chart at the right below the elected starters, you can see that four NL players leading in Box-Toppers points in their position were selected to the team by NL manager Bruce Bochy of the Giants. They include:

• Brian McCann of the Braves, leading among NL catchers with 7.0 Box-Toppers points.
• Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks, leading among NL first basemen with 9.7 Box-Toppers points. 
• Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals, leading among NL second basemen with 6.0 Box-Toppers points. 
• Everth Cabrera of the Padres, leading among NL shortstops with 4.5 Box-Toppers points. 

Often, players are chosen to the All-Star for sentimental and nostalgic reasons. That might seem to be the case for Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, who has only 1.0 Box-Toppers point this season and ranks 137th among AL pitchers in points. And though he's having a strong year (30 saves in 32 chances and a 1.83 ERA), he hasn't picked up a lot of Box-Toppers points since he hasn't been the player who most contributed to the win in most of the games in which he's appeared. Still, Rivera has a very strong career Box-Toppers total. He has 122.4 career Box-Toppers points, 26th among all players since 1995 and second among closing pitchers only to Trevor Hoffman (129.4).  Even if he weren't having a great year statistically, his career Box-Toppers numbers would cry out for his selection to the All-Star Game in this, the year he is retiring.

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. 

ALL-STAR GAME TOP SNUBS
AL PLAYERS	POS	TEAM	BTP	RANK BY POS.
Anibal Sanchez	PI SP	Tigers	8.0	10
Derek Holland	PI SP	Rangers	7.7	11
Joe Saunders	PI SP	Mariners	7.7	12
R.A. Dickey	PI SP	Blue Jays	6.7	13
Hiroki Kuroda	PI SP	Yankees	6.7	14
Josh Donaldson	3B	Athletics	6.5	2
Yunel Escobar	SS	Rays	4.5	1
J.P. Arencibia	CA	Blue Jays	5.5	1
Yoenis Cespedes	OF	Athletics	4.5	2
Josh Reddick	OF	Athletics	4.5	3
NL PLAYERS	POS	TEAM	BTP	RANK BY POS.
Shelby Miller	PI SP	Cardinals	11.4	5
Zack Greinke	PI SP	Dodgers	10.7	8
Lance Lynn	PI SP	Cardinals	10.4	9
Gio Gonzalez	PI SP	Nationals	8.7	11
Mat Latos	PI SP	Reds	8.7	12
Ryan Zimmerman	3B	Nationals	6.7	1

ALL-STAR GAME ELECTED STARTERS
AL PLAYERS	POS	TEAM	BTP	RANK BY POS.
Chris Davis	1B	Orioles	10.2	1
Robinson Canó	2B	Yankees	7.0	2
J. J. Hardy	SS	Orioles	3.0	4
Miguel Cabrera	3B	Tigers	13.4	1
Joe Mauer	C	Twins	5.0	2
Mike Trout	OF	Angels	3.5	9
Adam Jones	OF	Orioles	3.5	10
José Bautista	OF	Blue Jays	1.5	32
David Ortiz	DH	Red Sox	8.2	1
NL PLAYERS	POS	TEAM	BTP	RANK BY POS.
Joey Votto	1B	Reds	1.5	14
Brandon Phillips	2B	Reds	5.0	2
Troy Tulowitzki	SS	Rockies	2.0	7
David Wright	3B	Mets	1.0	12
Yadier Molina	C	Cardinals	3.0	5
Carlos Beltrán	OF	Cardinals	1.5	39
Carlos González	OF	Rockies	9.5	1
Bryce Harper	OF	Nationals	6.9	2

ALL-STAR GAME RESERVES & PITCHERS
AL PLAYERS	POS	TEAM	BTP	RANK BY POS.
Jason Castro	C	Astros	2.0	7
Salvador Pérez	C	Royals	0.0	18
Prince Fielder	1B	Tigers	3.5	7
Jason Kipnis	2B	Indians	7.0	1
Dustin Pedroia	2B	Red Sox	1.5	9
Ben Zobrist	2B	Rays	2.0	6
Manny Machado	3B	Orioles	1.0	14
Jhonny Peralta	SS	Tigers	1.0	11
Nelson Cruz	OF	Rangers	4.5	1
Alex Gordon	OF	Royals	1.0	42
Torii Hunter	OF	Tigers	1.0	43
Edwin Encarnación	DH	Blue Jays	5.7	2
Justin Masterson	PI SP	Indians	13.7	1
Matt Moore	PI SP	Rays	13.1	2
Chris Sale	PI SP	White Sox	10.7	3
Félix Hernández	PI SP	Mariners	10.4	4
Clay Buchholz	PI SP	Red Sox	10.1	5
Yu Darvish	PI SP	Rangers	10.0	6
Max Scherzer	PI SP	Tigers	9.7	7
Hisashi Iwakuma	PI SP	Mariners	9.7	8
Justin Verlander	PI SP	Tigers	8.0	9
Bartolo Colón	PI SP	Athletics	6.7	15
Greg Holland	PI CP	Royals	6.0	20
Glen Perkins	PI CP	Twins	6.0	21
Chris Tillman	PI SP	Orioles	4.0	35
Joe Nathan	PI CP	Rangers	3.0	59
Grant Balfour	PI CP	Athletics	3.0	60
Brett Cecil	PI MR	Blue Jays	2.0	93
Jesse Crain	PI MR	White Sox	2.0	96
Steve Delabar	PI MR CP	Blue Jays	1.0	112
Mariano Rivera	PI CP	Yankees	1.0	137
NL PLAYERS	POS	TEAM	BTP	RANK BY POS.
Buster Posey	C	Giants	6.0	2
Brian McCann	C	Braves	7.0	1
Paul Goldschmidt	1B	Diamondbacks	9.7	1
Allen Craig	1B	Cardinals	1.0	15
Freddie Freeman	1B	Braves	6.5	2
Matt Carpenter	2B	Cardinals	6.0	1
Marco Scutaro	2B	Giants	0.0	18
Pedro Álvarez	3B	Pirates	6.2	2
Everth Cabrera	SS	Padres	4.5	1
Jean Segura	SS	Brewers	2.5	6
Domonic Brown	OF	Phillies	3.5	15
Michael Cuddyer	OF	Rockies	6.5	3
Carlos Gómez	OF	Brewers	2.0	35
Andrew McCutchen	OF	Pirates	2.0	27
Patrick Corbin	PI SP	Diamondbacks	14.4	1
Clayton Kershaw	PI SP	Dodgers	12.7	2
Madison Bumgarner	PI SP	Giants	11.7	3
Adam Wainwright	PI SP	Cardinals	11.7	4
Matt Harvey	PI SP	Mets	11.0	6
Jordan Zimmermann	PI SP	Nationals	10.7	7
Cliff Lee	PI SP	Phillies	9.4	10
José Fernández	PI SP	Marlins	8.0	14
Aroldis Chapman	PI CP	Reds	6.0	18
Jason Grilli	PI CP	Pirates	5.7	29
Travis Wood	PI CP	Cubs	5.0	33
Jeff Locke	PI SP	Pirates	5.0	36
Craig Kimbrel	PI CP	Braves	3.0	52
Edward Mujica	PI CP	Cardinals	3.0	58
Sergio Romo	PI CP	Giants	2.0	77
Mark Melancon	PI MR	Pirates	1.0	121

BTP: Box-Toppers points for the current season.

RANK BY POS.: A players ranking among players in the same position for the current season. 

Rays' Chris Archer (CG shutout, 8K) is top player for Sunday, July 14

Rays pitcher Chris Archer is Sunday's Player of the Day. Archer pitched a complete game shutout and struck out eight in the 5-0 win over the Astros.

Yadier Molina of the Cardinals is National League Player of the Day. Molina hit a three-run homer and went 4-for-6 in the 10-6 win over the Cubs.

Chris Davis of the Orioles is American League Batter of the Day. Davis homered (for the 37th time this season), drove in four runs and went 2-for-4 in the 7-4 win over the Blue Jays. Davis earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.2 for the season. He is the 16th player this season to 10.0 Box-Toppers points and is currently in 15th place among players.

Archer receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Molina receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Davis receives 1.5 for being AL Batter of the Day.

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

714	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	13.0	Rays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Chris Archer (W, 4-3)	9.0	4	0	0	0	8
	6.0	Tigers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Justin Verlander (W, 10-6)	7.0	1	0	0	3	3
NL	5.0	Cardinals	Yadier Molina C	6	3	4	4	0	0			0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	4.0	Orioles	Chris Davis 1B	4	2	2	4	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Brewers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Wily Peralta (W, 7-9)	7.0	7	1	1	2	8
	4.0	`Nationals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Tyler Clippard	1.0	0	0	0	0	3
	3.0	Padres	Carlos Quentin LF	4	2	2	3	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Reds	Shin-Soo Choo CF	3	3	2	1	2	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Indians	Jason Kipnis 2B	2	1	2	2	2	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	`Phillies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Cole Hamels	8.0	8	2	2	0	7
	1.2	Mets	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Dillon Gee (W, 7-7)	6.2	5	1	0	1	2
	1.0	Athletics	Josh Donaldson 3B	5	1	2	3	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Rockies	Michael Cuddyer RF	5	1	2	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Twins	Aaron Hicks CF	4	1	1	3	1	2			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Mariners	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Tom Wilhelmsen (S, 19)	1.0	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.

Cardinals' Adam Wainwright tops players for Saturday, June 29, rises to 9th place in Box-Toppers points

Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright is Saturday's Player of the Day and rises to ninth place among players in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season (see updated top 10 list on the home page).

Wainwright pitched a complete game, struck out eight and gave up only one run in the 7-1 win over the Athletics. 

Wainwright earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season. He is the 10th player to reach 10.0 or more Box-Topers points this season.

Chris Davis of the Orioles is American League Player of the Day. Davis homered twice and drove in five runs in the 11-3 win over the Yankees. 

Hanley Ramirez of the Dodgers is National League Batter of the Day. Ramirez homered, drove in three runs and went 3-for-4 in the 4-3 win over the Phillies. 

Wainwright receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Davis receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Ramirez receives 1.5 for being NL Batter of the Day.

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

629	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	8.0	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Adam Wainwright (W, 11-5)	9.0	5	1	1	2	8
AL	7.0	Orioles	Chris Davis 1B	3	3	2	5	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	6.0	Marlins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jacob Turner (W, 2-0)	9.0	7	1	1	1	7
	5.0	`Blue Jays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Esmil Rogers	6.0	6	0	0	1	6
BAT	4.0	Dodgers	Hanley Ramirez SS	4	2	3	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Angels	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Joe Blanton (W, 2-10)	7.0	3	2	2	2	6
	4.0	`Rays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Alex Torres	2.0	0	0	0	1	3
	3.0	Braves	Freddie Freeman 1B	3	3	1	2	2	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Cubs	Alfonso Soriano DH	5	1	3	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Reds	Shin-Soo Choo CF	4	2	3	1	2	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Indians	Jason Kipnis 2B	3	1	2	2	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Twins	Justin Morneau 1B	3	1	2	2	1	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Pirates	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Francisco Liriano (W, 7-3)	6.0	7	1	1	1	6
	2.0	Rockies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Rafael Betancourt (W, 2-3)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Mets	Marlon Byrd RF	3	2	1	1	0	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.

D-backs' Josh Collmenter tops players for Wednesday, June 19

Diamondbacks pitcher Josh Collmenter is Wednesday's Player of the Day. Collmenter struck out seven over six scoreless innings of relief in the 3-1 win over the Marlins. Collmenter left with the game tied and so was not eligible for the win.

Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson is American League Player of the Day. Wilson pitched seven shutout innings, giving up only two hits, in the 1-0 win over the Mariners. 

Chris Davis of the Orioles is AL Batter of the Day. Davis hit two home runs, drove in five and went 3-for-5 in the 13-3 win over the Tigers. 

Collmenter receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Wilson receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Davis receives 1.5 for being AL Batter of the Day. No NL batter was Player of the Game Wednesday, so no NL batter receives bonus points.

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

619	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	11.0	`Diamondbacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Josh Collmenter	6.0	1	0	0	1	7
	10.0	`Nationals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Gio Gonzalez	7.0	2	2	2	2	11
	7.0	Dodgers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Chris Capuano (W, 2-4)	6.0	3	0	0	0	4
AL	6.0	Angels	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			C.J. Wilson (W, 6-5)	7.0	2	0	0	2	3
BAT	5.0	Orioles	Chris Davis DH	5	2	3	5	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Yankees	Ichiro Suzuki RF	4	2	3	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Indians	Michael Brantley LF	3	2	2	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Giants	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Madison Bumgarner (W, 7-4)	7.0	3	2	2	4	8
	4.0	Braves	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Kris Medlen (W, 4-7)	7.0	6	3	1	0	7
	4.0	`Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Tony Cingrani	1.0	0	0	0	0	3
	3.2	Twins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Kevin Correia (W, 6-4)	6.2	5	2	2	0	6
	3.0	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jake Westbrook (W, 3-2)	7.0	2	1	0	3	2
	2.0	Rangers	Leonys Martin CF	3	2	2	1	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Brewers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			John Axford (W, 3-3)	1.0	1	0	0	0	2
	1.0	Rays	Desmond Jennings CF	4	2	2	1	1	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Blue Jays	Adam Lind 1B	4	1	1	3	0	1			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.

Tigers' Miguel Cabrera, Reds' Brandon Phillips among leaders in All-Star voting and Box-Toppers standings

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers and Brandon Phillips of the Reds are among players who are leaders both in fan All-Star voting and Box-Toppers standings.

In fact, Box-Toppers standings roughly coincide with about half of the players currently leading in All-Star voting.

Major League Baseball released All-Star vote standings for the National League on June 9 and released American League standings on June 3. The current leaders by league and by position are listed in the far right columns in the chart below. Note that five of the players currently leading in All-Star voting also rank first in their position in the league in Box-Toppers points. Three others rank second.

Overall, it's either a very good showing by fans or a decent affirmation of Box-Toppers' worth as a measure of player performance. Or it could be that we're all wrong.

Fans and Box-Toppers generally agree on these players: 

• AL 1B: Chris Davis of the Orioles.
• AL 2B: Robinson Cano of the Yankees. 
• AL 3B: Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers. 
• AL CA: Joe Mauer of the Twins. (Mauer ranks second among AL catchers in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season, but leads among AL catchers when both the 2012 and 2013 seasons are combined.)  
• AL OF: Mike Trout of the Angels. (Trout ranks seventh among AL outfielders in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season, but leads among AL outfielders over the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons.) 
• AL DH: David Oritz of the Red Sox. 
• NL 1B: Brandon Phillips of the Reds. 
• NL CA: Buster Posey of the Giants. (Posey is second to Brian McCann of the Braves in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season and the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons, but it is a pretty close race.) 
• NL OF: Bryce Harper of the Nationals. (Harper is second among NL outfielders in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season.) 

There are a few instances in which Box-Toppers ranked a player lower than fans: 

• AL SS: Elvis Andrus of the Rangers ranks ninth in Box-Toppers points among AL shortstops for the 2013 season. He has 1.0 point this season and only 2.0 the past two seasons. 
• AL OF: Adam Jones of the Orioles ranks 13th in Box-Toppers points among AL outfielders.
• AL OF: Torii Hunter of the Angels ranks 55th in Box-Toppers among AL outfielders. Though Hunter has scored no Box-Toppers points this season, he ranks second among AL outfielders in Box-Toppers points over the period of 2008-2013.
• NL 1B: Joey Votto of the Reds ranks 10th in Box-Toppers points among NL first basemen. 
• NL SS: Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies ranks fifth among NL shortstops. 
• NL 3B: Pablo Sandoval of the Giants ranks seventh among NL third basemen. 
• NL OF: Justin Upton of the Braves ranks 20th among NL outfielders. 
• NL OF: Carlos Beltran of the Cardinals ranks 28th among NL outfielders.

There are only a few obvious snubs by Box-Toppers measures, but there are still a couple of weeks before All-Star voting closes to fix the problems:

• NL 1B: Should be Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks. Goldschmidt leads all NL batters in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season with 8.7. He leads NL first basemen in Box-Toppers points for 2013 and over the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons. He is second among NL first basemen in All-Star voting with over 900,000 votes, more than 600,000 behind Votto.
• NL SS: Should be Everth Cabrera of the Padres. Cabrera leads NL shortstops in Box-Toppers points for 2013 and over the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons. He's not in the top five among NL shortstops in All-Star voting.
• NL OF: Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies should be among the top three. He is currently seventh in All-Star voting with 955,000—Carlos Beltran of the Cardinals, currently third in voting among NL outfielders, has 1,550,000. Gonzalez leads all NL outfielders in Box-Toppers points for both the 2013 season and the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons.
• NL CA: Buster Posey leads in fan voting, but Brian McCann of the Braves has very narrow Box-Toppers points leads over Posey. But it hardly matters since Posey has nearly 2 million fan votes and McCann has barely 500,000.

The chart below shows Box-Toppers points leaders by position so far through the 2013 season. The middle columns look at players over the longer run, seeing who is leading in Box-Toppers points for the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons. And the far right columns show the current All-Star fan vote leaders, with their rank by position in Box-Toppers points in the 2013 season.

The chart also includes Box-Toppers points leaders among starting, middle and relief closing pitchers, even though fans don't get to vote on those.

Voting for the All-Star game is open until July 4.

Here is how the Box-Toppers All-Star teams stand as of today: 

	2013 SEASON				2012-13 SEASONS				ALL-STAR VOTE LEADERS
AL	PLAYER	TEAM	BTP		PLAYER	TEAM	BTP		PLAYER	TEAM	RANK BY POS.
First base	Davis, Chris 2478	bal al	4.5		Davis, Chris 2478	bal al	16.5		Chris Davis	bal al	1
Second base	Cano, Robinson 2092	nyy al	4.5		Kipnis, Jason 2933	cle al	9.5		Robinson Cano	nyy al	1
Shortstop	Drew, Stephen 2210	bos al	4.5		Escobar, Yunel 2331	tb al	10		Elvis Andrus	tex al	9
Third base	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	10.7		Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	22.4		Miguel Cabrera	det al	1
Catcher	Arencibia, J.P. 2781	tor al	5.5		Mauer, Joe 1869	min al	13		Joe Mauer	min al	2
Outfield 1	Johnson, Kelly 2018	tb al	4.5		Trout, Mike 2949	ana al	13.5		Mike Trout	ana al	7
Outfield 2	Nava, Daniel 2740	bos al	4.5		Hamilton, Josh 2332	ana al	11.5		Adam Jones	bal al	13
Outfield 3	Raburn, Ryan 2340	cle al	4.5		Rios, Alex 1989	chi al	9.9		Torii Hunter	det al	55
Designated hitter	Ortiz, David	bos al	5.2		Butler, Billy 2330	kc al	13.7		David Ortiz	bos al	1
Starting pitcher 1	Masterson, Justin 2462	cle al	10.7		Verlander, Justin 2112	det al	30.8
Starting pitcher 2	Buchholz, Clay 2363	bos al	10.1		Darvish, Yu 3003	tex al	25.8
Starting pitcher 3	Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	sea al	9.7		Scherzer, Max 2588	det al	25.7
Starting pitcher 4	Darvish, Yu 3003	tex al	9		Hernandez, Felix 2064	sea al	25.4
Middle reliever	Tazawa, Junichi 3151	bos al	4		Chen, Bruce 1170	kc al	8
Closing pitcher	Perkins, Glen 2506	min al	5		Rodney, Fernando 1803	tb al	10
NL
First base	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	ari nl	8.7		Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	ari nl	13.2		Joey Votto	cin nl	10
Second base	Phillips, Brandon 1691	cin nl	5		Phillips, Brandon 1691	cin nl	14.5		Brandon Phillips	cin nl	1
Shortstop	Cabrera, Everth 2625	sd nl	4.5		Cabrera, Everth 2625	sd nl	7.5		Troy Tulowitzki	col nl	5
Third base	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	dc nl	5.2		Freese, David 2710	stl nl	12.7		Pablo Sandoval	sf nl	7
Catcher	McCann, Brian 2179	atl nl	5		McCann, Brian 2179	atl nl	11		Buster Posey	sf nl	2
Outfield 1	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	col nl	8		Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	col nl	17.2		Justin Upton	atl nl	20
Outfield 2	Harper, Bryce 3011	dc nl	5.9		Braun, Ryan J. 2300	mil nl	16		Bryce Harper	dc nl	2
Outfield 3	Pollock, A.J. 3142	ari nl	4.7		Holliday, Matt 1836	stl nl	15.7		Carlos Beltran	stl nl	28
Starting pitcher 1	Miller, Shelby 3134	stl nl	9.7		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	28.8
Starting pitcher 2	Corbin, Patrick 3027	ari nl	9.4		Lynn, Lance 2992	stl nl	26.1
Starting pitcher 3	Harvey, Matt 3075	nym nl	9		Strasburg, Stephen 2736	dc nl	23.4
Starting pitcher 4	Wainwright, Adam 2150	stl nl	8.7		Gonzalez, Gio 2626	dc nl	22.7
Middle reliever	Collmenter, Josh 2863	ari nl	3		Casilla, Santiago 2301	sf nl	6
Closing pitcher	Grilli, Jason 2209	pit nl	4.7		Chapman, Aroldis 2826	cin nl	18
AL top player	Masterson, Justin 2462	cle al	10.7		Verlander, Justin 2112	det al	30.8
AL top batter	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	10.7		Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	22.4
NL top player	Miller, Shelby 3134	stl nl	9.7		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	28.8
NL top batter	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	ari nl	8.7		Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	col nl	17.2

BTP: Box-Toppers points

RANK BY POS: Where the player ranks by fielding position in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season. 

What are those numbers after players' names?

Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Gonzalez among best in Box-Toppers All-Star teams

Still struggling with your All-Star vote?

Are you someone who truly wants to field a great team—voting for the best players—and not someone who is just willing to vote that .125 hitter in simply because he is on your favorite team?

Well, even if you aren't, Box-Toppers is going to take a look at the top players by position in each league. And as in past all-star updates, we'll look at the all-star teams in a couple of different ways: We'll look at who is leading in Box-Toppers points by position so far through the 2013 season. And we'll also look at players over the longer run, seeing who is leading in Box-Toppers points for the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons.

So, for example, Stephen Drew of the Red Sox is leading among American League shortstops so far in 2013 with 4.5 Box-Toppers points. But J.J. Hardy of the Orioles is leading among AL shortstops if you combine his 2012 and 2013 Box-Toppers points. Hardy has 9.2 (7.2 in 2012 and 2.0 in 2013).

Box-Toppers also includes starting, middle relief and closing pitchers in its all-star line-ups, even though fans don't get to vote for them.

Several players appear on both the 2013 and the combined 2012-13 list, indicating they may be especially worthy of your attention as you fill out your ballot. They include:

• AL 1B: Chris Davis of the Orioles.​
• AL 2B: Robinson Cano of the Yankees.​
• AL 3B: Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, who also leads all AL batters in Box-Toppers for 2013 (9.7) and combined 2012-13 seasons (21.4).
• AL pitchers: Yu Darvish of the Rangers and Chris Sale of the White Sox (but, again, fans don't vote on pitchers). 
• NL 2B: Brandon Phillips of the Reds.​
• NL CA: Brian McCann of the Braves.
• NL OF: Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies.
• NL pitcher: Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers.
• NL middle reliever: Santiago Casilla of the Giants.

Voting for the All-Star game is open until July 4.

Here is how the Box-Toppers All-Star teams stand as of today:

	2013 SEASON				2012-13 SEASONS
AL	PLAYER	TEAM	BTP		PLAYER	TEAM	BTP
First base	Davis, Chris 2478	bal al	4.5		Davis, Chris 2478	bal al	16.5
Second base	Cano, Robinson 2092	nyy al	4.5		Cano, Robinson 2092	nyy al	8.5
Shortstop	Drew, Stephen 2210	bos al	4.5		Hardy, J.J. 2071	bal al	9.2
Third base	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	9.7		Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	21.4
Catcher	Arencibia, J.P. 2781	tor al	5.5		Mauer, Joe 1869	min al	13
Outfield 1	Johnson, Kelly 2018	tb al	4.5		Trout, Mike 2949	ana al	13.5
Outfield 2	Raburn, Ryan 2340	cle al	4.5		Hamilton, Josh 2332	ana al	11.5
Outfield 3	Joyce, Matt 2480	tb al	3		Rios, Alex 1989	chi al	9.9
Designated hitter	Ortiz, David	bos al	3.7		Butler, Billy 2330	kc al	12.7
Starting pitcher 1	Masterson, Justin 2462	cle al	10.7		Verlander, Justin 2112	det al	30.8
Starting pitcher 2	Buchholz, Clay 2363	bos al	9.1		Hernandez, Felix 2064	sea al	25.4
Starting pitcher 3	Sale, Chris 2806	chi al	8.7		Darvish, Yu 3003	tex al	24.8
Starting pitcher 4	Darvish, Yu 3003	tex al	8		Sale, Chris 2806	chi al	24.4
Middle reliever	Scheppers, Tanner 3136	tex al	3		Chen, Bruce 1170	kc al	8
Closing pitcher	Perkins, Glen 2506	min al	5		Rodney, Fernando 1803	tb al	10
NL
First base	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	ari nl	5.2		LaRoche, Adam 1910	dc nl	11.5
Second base	Phillips, Brandon 1691	cin nl	3.5		Phillips, Brandon 1691	cin nl	13
Shortstop	Crawford, Brandon 2878	sf nl	3		Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	col nl	7
Third base	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	dc nl	3.7		Freese, David 2710	stl nl	11.7
Catcher	McCann, Brian 2179	atl nl	5		McCann, Brian 2179	atl nl	11
Outfield 1	Harper, Bryce 3011	dc nl	5.9		Braun, Ryan J. 2300	mil nl	16
Outfield 2	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	col nl	5		Holliday, Matt 1836	stl nl	14.7
Outfield 3	Pollock, A.J. 3142	ari nl	4.7		Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	col nl	14.2
Starting pitcher 1	Harvey, Matt 3075	nym nl	9		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	28.8
Starting pitcher 2	Corbin, Patrick 3027	ari nl	8.4		Lynn, Lance 2992	stl nl	25.1
Starting pitcher 3	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	8		Strasburg, Stephen 2736	dc nl	23.4
Starting pitcher 4	Miller, Shelby 3134	stl nl	7.7		Gonzalez, Gio 2626	dc nl	22.7
Middle reliever	Casilla, Santiago 2301	sf nl	2		Casilla, Santiago 2301	sf nl	6
Closing pitcher	Grilli, Jason 2209	pit nl	4.7		Chapman, Aroldis 2826	cin nl	18
AL top player	Masterson, Justin 2462	cle al	10.7		Verlander, Justin 2112	det al	30.8
AL top batter	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	9.7		Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	21.4
NL top player	Harvey, Matt 3075	nym nl	9		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	28.8
NL top batter	Harper, Bryce 3011	dc nl	5.9		Braun, Ryan J. 2300	mil nl	16

BTP: Box-Toppers points

What are those numbers after players' names?

Masterson retakes Box-Toppers points lead; Stults (12K), Navarro (3HR) top players for Wednesday, May 29

Indians pitcher Justin Masterson retakes the Box-Toppers season points lead on the day a Padres pitcher struck out 12 and a Cubs catcher hit three homers to top all players for Wednesday.

Masterson rises to the top in Box-Toppers for 2013 with 10.7, moving him ahead of previous leader Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, who has 9.7 points. (See current standings update on the home page.) Masterson (6IP 7K) was Player of the Game in the 5-2 win over the Reds, earning 1.0 ​Box-Toppers point Wednesday.

Eric Stults of the Padres is Wednesday's Player of the Day. Stults struck out 12 over eight innings in the 3-2 win over the Mariners. Stults left the game with the score tied 1-1 and so was not eligible for the win.​

Rays pitcher Roberto Hernandez is American League Player of the Day. Hernandez pitched 8 2/3 innings and gave up only one run (no earned runs) in the 3-1 win over the Marlins.​

Dioner Navarro of the Cubs is National League Batter of the Day. Navarro homered three times, drove in six runs and went 3-for-3 in the 9-3 win over the White Sox.

​Chris Davis of the Orioles is AL Batter of the Day. Davis homered twice and went 4-for-4 in the 9-6 win over the Nationals.

Stults receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Hernandez receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Navarro and Davis each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

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

529	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	15.0	`Padres	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Eric Stults	8.0	3	1	1	0	12
BAT	10.0	Cubs	Dioner Navarro C	3	4	3	6	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
AL	9.2	Rays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Roberto Hernandez (W, 3-5)	8.2	3	1	0	0	5
	6.2	Blue Jays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Juan Perez (W, 1-0)	2.2	0	0	0	0	4
BAT	6.0	Orioles	Chris Davis 1B	4	3	4	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	6.0	Angels	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jered Weaver (W, 1-1)	6.0	5	1	1	0	7
	3.0	Indians	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Justin Masterson (W, 8-3)	6.0	4	1	1	4	7
	2.0	Phillies	Domonic Brown LF	4	2	2	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Athletics	Nate Freiman PH, 1B	3	0	2	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Cardinals	Daniel Descalso PH, 2B	1	0	1	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Astros	Marwin Gonzalez SS	1	1	1	1	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Twins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Glen Perkins (S, 11)	1.0	1	0	0	0	2
	1.0	Pirates	Pedro Alvarez 3B	3	1	1	2	0	2			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	0.0	Mets	Marlon Byrd RF	5	1	2	2	0	1			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.

Cabrera, Mauer, Braun, McCann among top candidates for Box-Toppers All-Star teams

Who is worthy of your All-Star vote?

Let's take a look at who is leading Box-Toppers points by position and in each league. We'll look at it in a couple of different ways: We'll look at who is leading so far through the 2013 season. And since the sample size of the 1.5-month-old season is still fairly small, we'll also look at who is leading in Box-Toppers points for the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons.​

So, for example, Mitch Moreland of the Rangers is leading among American League first basemen ​so far in 2013 with 3.5 Box-Toppers points. But Mike Napoli of the Red Sox is leading among AL first basemen if you combine his 2012 and 2013 Box-Toppers points. Napoli has 10.7 (8.2 in 2012 and 2.5 in 2013).

Box-Toppers also includes starting, middle relief and closing pitchers in its all-star line-ups, even though fans don't get to vote for them.

Several players appear on both the 2013 and the combined 2012-13 list, indicating they may be especially worthy of your attention as you fill out your ballot. They include:​

• ​AL 3B: Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, who also leads all AL batters in Box-Toppers for 2013 (7.2) and combined 2012-13 seasons (18.9).
• AL CA: Joe Mauer of the Twins.
• AL OF: Chris Davis of the Orioles.​
• AL pitcher: Yu Darvish of the Rangers (but, again, fans don't vote on pitchers). Darvish leads all players in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season with 8.0.​
• NL CA: Brian McCann of the Braves.​
• NL OF: Ryan Braun of the Brewers. Braun leads NL batters for the combined 2012-13 seasons with 16.0.​
• NL OF: Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies.​
• NL pitcher: Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. Kershaw leads NL players in points for the combined 2012-13 seasons with 27.8.​
• NL middle reliever: Santiago Casilla of the Giants.​

Here is how the Box-Toppers All-Star teams stood as of May 3.​

Voting for the All-Star game is open until July 4.

Here is how the Box-Toppers All-Star teams stand as of today:​

	2013 SEASON				2012-13 SEASONS
AL	PLAYER	TEAM	BTP		PLAYER	TEAM	BTP
First base	Moreland, Mitch 2799	tex al	3.5		Napoli, Mike 2161	bos al	10.7
Second base	Cano, Robinson 2092	nyy al	3.5		Cano, Robinson 2092	nyy al	7.5
Shortstop	Drew, Stephen 2210	bos al	2.5		Hardy, J.J. 2071	bal al	9.2
Third base	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	7.2		Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	18.9
Catcher	Mauer, Joe 1869	min al	3		Mauer, Joe 1869	min al	12
Outfield 1	Raburn, Ryan 2340	cle al	3.5		Davis, Chris 2478	bal al	14
Outfield 2	Wells, Vernon 1548	nyy al	3		Trout, Mike 2949	ana al	12
Outfield 3	Davis, Chris 2478	bal al	2		Hamilton, Josh 2332	ana al	11.5
Designated hitter	Hafner, Travis 1650	nyy al	3.5		Butler, Billy 2330	kc al	12.7
Starting pitcher 1	Darvish, Yu 3003	tex al	8		Verlander, Justin 2112	det al	29.8
Starting pitcher 2	Masterson, Justin 2462	cle al	7.7		Darvish, Yu 3003	tex al	24.8
Starting pitcher 3	Buchholz, Clay 2363	bos al	7.1		Hernandez, Felix 2064	sea al	24.4
Starting pitcher 4	Sale, Chris 2806	chi al	6.7		Dickey, R.A. 1734	tor al	23.1
Middle reliever	Scheppers, Tanner 3136	tex al	3		Chen, Bruce 1170	kc al	8
Closing pitcher	Balfour, Grant 1880	oak al	3		Rodney, Fernando 1803	tb al	10
NL
First base	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	ari nl	3.5		Jones, Garrett 2655	pit nl	9.5
Second base	Carpenter, Matt 2987	stl nl	3.5		Phillips, Brandon 1691	cin nl	12
Shortstop	Desmond, Ian 2673	dc nl	2.5		Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	col nl	7
Third base	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	dc nl	3.7		Freese, David 2710	stl nl	10.7
Catcher	McCann, Brian 2179	atl nl	3		McCann, Brian 2179	atl nl	9
Outfield 1	Harper, Bryce 3011	dc nl	5.9		Braun, Ryan J. 2300	mil nl	16
Outfield 2	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	col nl	4		Holliday, Matt 1836	stl nl	14.7
Outfield 3	Braun, Ryan J. 2300	mil nl	3.5		Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	col nl	13.2
Starting pitcher 1	Miller, Shelby 3134	stl nl	7.7		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	27.8
Starting pitcher 2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	7		Lynn, Lance 2992	stl nl	23.4
Starting pitcher 3	Harvey, Matt 3075	nym nl	7		Bumgarner, Madison 2753	sf nl	22.4
Starting pitcher 4	Corbin, Patrick 3027	ari nl	6.4		Strasburg, Stephen 2736	dc nl	22.4
Middle reliever	Casilla, Santiago 2301	sf nl	2		Casilla, Santiago 2301	sf nl	6
Closing pitcher	Feldman, Scott 2632	chi nl	3		Chapman, Aroldis 2826	cin nl	16
AL top player	Darvish, Yu 3003	tex al	8		Verlander, Justin 2112	det al	29.8
AL top batter	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	7.2		Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	18.9
NL top player	Miller, Shelby 3134	stl nl	7.7		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	27.8
NL top batter	Harper, Bryce 3011	dc nl	5.9		Braun, Ryan J. 2300	mil nl	16

BTP: Box-Toppers points

What are those numbers after players' names?

Box-Toppers takes early crack at picking All-Star teams

Is it too early to be voting on All-Stars for the midsummer classic?

Yes.

That said, voting is open at mlb.com and fans have already started to vote even though there is not enough evidence yet to reveal who the season's all-stars really are.​

Since it is not stopping fans, we won't let it stop us at Box-Toppers, either. We will take a look at who is leading in Box-Toppers points by position and in each league. We'll also choose pitchers, even though voters don't get to pick those.

And because the season is only a little more than a month old and there hasn't yet been enough baseball played to clearly determine top players, we'll look at our all-star teams in two different ways. We'll look at Box-Toppers point leaders so far through the young 2013 season. And we'll look at who is leading in Box-Toppers points for the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons.​

The lists for both teams are below.​

	2013 SEASON				2012-13 SEASONS
AL	PLAYER	TEAM	BTP		PLAYER	TEAM	BTP
First base	Moss, Brandon 2520	oak al	3		Napoli, Mike 2161	bos al	10.7
Second base	Kendrick, Howie 2191	ana al	2.5		Cano, Robinson 2092	nyy al	6
Shortstop	Lowrie, Jed 2437	oak al	2.5		Hardy, J.J. 2071	bal al	8.2
Third base	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	5.7		Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	17.4
Catcher	Wieters, Matt 2643	bal al	3		Mauer, Joe 1869	min al	10.5
Outfield 1	Raburn, Ryan 2340	cle al	3.5		Davis, Chris 2478	bal al	14
Outfield 2	Davis, Chris 2478	bal al	2		Hamilton, Josh 2332	ana al	11.5
Outfield 3	Willingham, Josh 2205	min al	2		Trout, Mike 2949	ana al	11
Designated hitter	Hafner, Travis 1650	nyy al	3.5		Butler, Billy 2330	kc al	11.2
Starting pitcher 1	Buchholz, Clay 2363	bos al	7.1		Verlander, Justin 2112	det al	27.8
Starting pitcher 2	Moore, Matt 2975	tb al	6.7		Darvish, Yu 3003	tex al	22.8
Starting pitcher 3	Darvish, Yu 3003	tex al	6		Hernandez, Felix 2064	sea al	22.4
Starting pitcher 4	Masterson, Justin 2462	cle al	4.7		Dickey, R.A. 1734	tor al	22.1
Middle reliever	Chen, Bruce 1170	kc al	2		Chen, Bruce 1170	kc al	8
Closing pitcher	Perkins, Glen 2506	min al	3		Rodney, Fernando 1803	tb al	8
NL
First base	Carpenter, Matt 2987	stl nl	2.5		LaRoche, Adam 1910	dc nl	9
Second base	Ellis, Mark 1614	lad nl	2.5		Phillips, Brandon 1691	cin nl	11
Shortstop	Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	col nl	1		Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	col nl	6
Third base	Frazier, Todd 2929	cin nl	2.5		Freese, David 2710	stl nl	10.7
Catcher	Posey, Buster 2745	sf nl	2		Posey, Buster 2745	sf nl	7.5
Outfield 1	Harper, Bryce 3011	dc nl	4.9		Braun, Ryan J. 2300	mil nl	15
Outfield 2	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	col nl	4		Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	col nl	13.2
Outfield 3	Bruce, Jay 2453	cin nl	3		Holliday, Matt 1836	stl nl	11.7
Starting pitcher 1	Lynn, Lance 2992	stl nl	5.7		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	25.8
Starting pitcher 2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	5		Lynn, Lance 2992	stl nl	23.4
Starting pitcher 3	Harvey, Matt 3075	nym nl	5		Gonzalez, Gio 2626	dc nl	21.7
Starting pitcher 4	Maholm, Paul 2078	atl nl	4.7		Bumgarner, Madison 2753	sf nl	21.4
Middle reliever	Casilla, Santiago 2301	sf nl	2		Casilla, Santiago 2301	sf nl	6
Closing pitcher	Chapman, Aroldis 2826	cin nl	2		Chapman, Aroldis 2826	cin nl	16
AL top player	Buchholz, Clay 2363	bos al	7.1		Verlander, Justin 2112	det al	27.8
AL top batter	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	5.7		Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	17.4
NL top player	Lynn, Lance 2992	stl nl	5.7		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	25.8
NL top batter	Harper, Bryce 3011	dc nl	4.9		Braun, Ryan J. 2300	mil nl	15

BTP: Box-Toppers points

What are those numbers after players' names?