Oakland Athletics remain atop Box-Toppers team rankings; Angels, Tigers, Rays among hottest teams

The Oakland Athletics remain atop Box-Toppers team rankings in the most recent report, through the games of Thursday, July 24.

Athletics players have accumulated 83.5 Box-Toppers points this season. They rose to the top spot for the report ending July 13, at the All-Star break.

Top 10 teams

Here are Box-Toppers' Top 10 teams, through the games of Thursday, July 24. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players on the team have accumulated so far this season. The column BTP/wk shows have many points teams have accumulated since the last team rankings report through July 13.

724	Teams	BTP	BTP /wk	Last  wk  rank
1	Athletics	83.5	4.5	1
2	Angels	76.5	7.0	3
3	Dodgers	71.7	2.0	2
4	Giants	70.0	5.7	4
5	Blue Jays	67.3	6.0	5
6	Tigers	67.1	7.0	11
7	Brewers	66.1	5.5	8
8	Nationals	63.9	4.7	12
9	Braves	63.9	3.7	10
10	Mariners	62.7	2.0	6

BTP: Box-Toppers points

The Athletics are led by pitchers Scott Kazmir (13.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked seventh among all players) and Jason Hammel (8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 13th among American League pitchers). (Hammel earned all his points with the Cubs before being traded to the Athletics.)

The Los Angeles Dodgers remain the top National League team for the third straight week, but fall from second to third place overall, falling behind the Los Angeles Angels. The Dodgers have 71.7 Box-Toppers points. The Angels have 76.5.

The Dodgers are led by starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (18.1 Box-Toppers points, overall player rankings leader) and Zack Greinke (who had 10.1 Box-Toppers points after Thursday, but has since scored another 2.0, giving him 12.1).

The Los Angeles Angels, the Detroit Tigers and the Tampa Bay Rays all tied for the hottest team since the last team rankings report on July 13. All three teams accumulated 7.0 Box-Toppers points over that period.

The Angels rose from third to second place in team rankings with 76.5 Box-Toppers points. The Tigers rose from 11th to sixth place in team rankings with 67.1 Box-Toppers points. And the Rays rose from 16th to 12th place with 62.2 points.

Two teams rose into the top 10: The Tigers, as previously mentioned, from 11th to sixth, and the Washington Nationals, from 12th to eighth, with 63.9 Box-Toppers points. Two teams fell out of the top 10: The St. Louis Cardinals fell from ninth to 11th, with 62.5 Box-Toppers points, and the Cincinnati Reds fell from seventh to 16th place, with 60.6 Box-Toppers points. The Reds scored 0.0 Box-Toppers points since July 13.

The Chicago Cubs remain the lowest-ranked team. Gaining 1.0 Box-Toppers point since July 13, the Cubs have 39.7 points, 5.1 points behind the 29th-place Texas Rangers.

 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.

Oakland Athletics have most players on Box-Toppers Top 100 list

The Oakland Athletics, baseball’s best team at the All-Star break, has seven players on Box-Toppers Top 100 players list, the most of any team.

The list is led by Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw who has earned 18.1 Box-Toppers points this season and Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer with 16.1. Kershaw led all players in 2013 with 21.7 Box-Toppers points and Scherzer led all American League players in 2013 with 18.1.

Top 100 list 2014

Here is Box-Toppers Top 100, listing players with the highest Box-Toppers points totals at the All-Star break.

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	18.1
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	det al	16.1
3	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	14.0
4	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	13.5
5	Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	oak al	13.1
6	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	12.8
7	Richards, Garrett 3042	pi sp	ana al	12.7
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	cin nl	12.7
9	Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	12.7
10	Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	ss	col nl	11.6
11	Teheran, Julio 3176	pi sp	atl nl	11.4
12	Lincecum, Tim 2288	pi sp	sf nl	10.4
13	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tb al	10.4
14	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	10.4
15	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	10.1
16	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.0
17	Abreu, Jose 3308	1b	chi al	9.5
18	Darvish, Yu 3003	pi sp	tex al	9.4
19	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	9.0
20	Hutchison, Drew 3038	pi sp	tor al	9.0
21	Colon, Bartolo	pi sp	nym nl	8.7
22	Alvarez, Henderson 2951	pi sp	fla nl	8.7
23	Simon, Alfredo 2718	pi sp	cin nl	8.7
24	Hammel, Jason 2235	pi sp	oak al	8.7
25	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	8.7
26	Lohse, Kyle 1487	pi sp	mil nl	8.4
27	Ryu, Hyun-Jin 3139	pi sp	lad nl	8.4
28	Hughes, Phil 2272	pi sp	min al	8.4
29	Young, Chris 1933	pi sp	sea al	8.4
30	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	atl nl	8.0
31	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	bos al	8.0
32	Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	1b dh lf	tor al	8.0
33	Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	7.7
34	Hudson, Tim 1231	pi sp	sf nl	7.7
35	Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	bos al	7.7
36	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	7.7
37	Chavez, Jesse 2780	pi sp	oak al	7.7
38	Beckett, Josh 1544	pi sp	lad nl	7.7
39	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	7.5
40	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	7.0
41	Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	stl nl	7.0
42	Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048	pi sp	sea al	7.0
43	Zimmermann, Jordan 2612	pi sp	dc nl	7.0
44	Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	7.0
45	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	atl nl	7.0
46	Uehara, Koji 2802	pi cp	bos al	7.0
47	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	7.0
48	Shields, James 2157	pi sp	kc al	6.7
49	Kennedy, Ian 2723	pi sp	sd nl	6.7
50	Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	oak al	6.5
51	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	lf	oak al	6.5
52	McCutchen, Andrew 2637	cf	pit nl	6.5
53	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	6.4
54	McHugh, Collin 3316	pi sp	hou al	6.4
55	Colabello, Chris 3235	1b dh rf	min al	6.2
56	Gallardo, Yovani 2333	pi sp	mil nl	6.0
57	Collmenter, Josh 2863	pi sp	ari nl	6.0
58	Aybar, Erick 2416	ss	ana al	6.0
59	Duffy, Danny 2915	pi sp mr	kc al	6.0
60	Doolittle, Sean 3052	pi cp	oak al	6.0
61	Elias, Roenis 3309	pi sp	sea al	6.0
62	Buehrle, Mark 1407	pi sp	tor al	5.7
63	Wilson, C.J. 2074	pi sp	ana al	5.7
64	Fister, Doug 2688	pi sp	dc nl	5.7
65	Ross, Tyson 2840	pi sp	sd nl	5.7
66	Vogelsong, Ryan 1820	pi sp	sf nl	5.7
67	Hahn, Jesse 3354	pi sp	sd nl	5.7
68	Hunter, Torii 1190	rf	det al	5.5
69	Rizzo, Anthony 3063	1b	chi nl	5.5
70	Ramirez, Alexei 2537	ss	chi al	5.5
71	Morse, Michael 2020	lf	sf nl	5.5
72	Upton, Justin 2411	lf	atl nl	5.2
73	Masterson, Justin 2462	pi sp	cle al	5.0
74	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	stl nl	5.0
75	Bailey, Homer 2324	pi sp	cin nl	5.0
76	Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	kc al	5.0
77	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	phi nl	5.0
78	Burnett, A.J. 1300	pi sp	phi nl	5.0
79	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	5.0
80	Cashner, Andrew 2807	pi sp	sd nl	5.0
81	Wood, Travis 2777	pi sp	chi nl	5.0
82	Chapman, Aroldis 2826	pi cp	cin nl	5.0
83	Leake, Mike 2709	pi sp	cin nl	5.0
84	Porcello, Rick 2573	pi sp	det al	5.0
85	Smyly, Drew 3009	pi sp mr	det al	5.0
86	Cishek, Steve 2997	pi cp	fla nl	5.0
87	Perez, Martin 3213	pi sp	tex al	5.0
88	Roark, Tanner 3261	pi sp	dc nl	5.0
89	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	pit nl	5.0
90	Wacha, Michael 3276	pi sp	stl nl	5.0
91	Suzuki, Kurt 2344	ca	min al	5.0
92	Seager, Kyle 3031	3b	sea al	5.0
93	Koehler, Tom 3159	pi sp	fla nl	5.0
94	Dozier, Brian 3219	2b	min al	5.0
95	Robertson, David 2774	pi cp	nyy al	5.0
96	Tomlin, Josh 2771	pi sp cp	cle al	5.0
97	Rodriguez, Sean 2729	lf 1b 2b dh ph	tb al	5.0
98	Duda, Lucas 2818	1b	nym nl	5.0
99	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	5.0
100	Cobb, Alex 2916	pi sp	tb al	4.7

BTP: Box-Toppers points

Pitcher Scott Kazmir leads the seven Athletics on the top 100 list, he has 13.1 Box-Toppers points and is in fifth place overall (second among AL pitchers). The other Athletics players are:

• Jason Hammel, starting pitcher, in 24th place with 8.7. (Hammel earned all 8.7 Box-Toppers points with the Cubs, prior to being traded to the Athletics.)

• Jesse Chavez, starting pitcher, in 37th place with 7.7.

• Sonny Gray, starting pitcher, in 47th place with 7.0.

• Josh Donaldson, third base, in 50th place with 6.5.

• Yoenis Cespedes, left field, in 51st place with 6.5.

• Sean Doolittle, closing pitcher, in 60th place with 6.0.

Athletics players have accumulated 79.0 Box-Toppers points this season, the most of any team. The Los Angeles Dodgers, in second place, have 69.7.

While the addition of Hammel gives the Athletics seven players in the top 100, they would still have the most players on the list without him, with six. No other team has more than five players on the list. There are five teams with five players each—the Atlanta Braves, the Cincinnati Reds, the Washington Nationals, the Detroit Tigers and the Seattle Mariners.

All but one team is represented on the top 100 list. The only team without a member is the Baltimore Orioles. That team’s leader in Box-Toppers points, Nelson Cruz, designated hitter and left fielder, has 4.5 points, in 109th place. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies both have one player on the top 100 list.

Pitchers dominate the top 100 list, with 80 members—73 of them starting pitchers. Box-Toppers tends to favor pitchers over batters, especially in the short-term. Star pitchers tend to rack up points in quick batches while batters tend to pick up points steadily over long periods of time. For example, the Box-Toppers “all-time” top 100 list has 45 batters and 55 pitchers (the “all-time” list tracks players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began).

Here is a breakdown of the top 100 list by position:

• Starting pitchers 73

• Closing pitchers 7

• First base 7

• Outfield 6 (4 LF, 1 CF, 1 RF)

• Shortstop 3

• Third base 2

• Second base 1

• Catcher 1

Here are some notable players’ statuses in the top 100.

• Last year’s Cy Young Award winners are ranked No. 1 and 2. Kershaw, the reigning National League winner, is in first place with 18.1 Box-Toppers points and Scherzer, the reigning AL winner, is in second place with 16.1.

• Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies leads all NL batters and is in 10th place overall, with 11.6 Box-Toppers points.

• Jose Abreu of the White Sox leads all AL batters and is in 17th place overall, with 9.5 Box-Toppers points.

• Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, 2013’s AL Most Valuable Player is in 39th place overall with 7.5 Box-Toppers points. He ranks third among AL batters.

• Pitcher Jose Fernandez of the Marlins, 2013’s NL Rookie of the Year is in 40th place overall with 7.0 Box-Toppers points. However, Fernandez is injured and now out for the rest of the season.

• Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates, 2013’s NL MVP, is in 52nd place overall with 6.5 Box-Toppers points (already more than the 6.0 he earned last season, when he ranked 22nd among NL batters). McCutchen currently ranks third among NL batters.

• Pitcher Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals, who started the All-Star Game for the NL, is ranked third overall with 14.0 Box-Toppers points. He ranks second among NL pitchers.

• Pitcher Felix Hernandez of the Mariners, who started the All-Star Game for the AL, is ranked sixth overall with 12.8 Box-Toppers points. He ranks third among AL pitchers.

• Wil Myers of the Rays, 2013’s AL Rookie of the Year has 1.0 Box-Toppers point and is not on this year’s top 100. (He had 3.5 Box-Toppers points in 2013.)

• Pitcher Chris Archer of the Rays, who led AL Rookies in Box-Toppers points in 2013, is in 53rd place with 6.4 Box-Toppers points. (Last season, he had 11.7 Box-Toppers points.)

So far this season, 578 players have earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors and so have at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point. Eighty new players have earned Player of the Game honors for the first time this season, making their Box-Toppers debut.

 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?

Trade boosts Oakland Athletics to top of Box-Toppers team rankings at All-Star break

The Oakland Athletics, largely on the strength of their trade to acquire two starting pitchers from the Chicago Cubs, have risen to the top of Box-Toppers team rankings at the All-Star break.

Top 10 teams

Here are Box-Toppers' Top 10 teams, through the games of Sunday, July 13. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players on the team have accumulated so far this season. The column BTP/wk shows have many points teams have accumulated since the last team rankings report July 3.

713	Teams	BTP	BTP /wk	Last  wk  rank
1	Athletics	79.0	19.1	2
2	Dodgers	69.7	8.1	1
3	Angels	69.5	11.0	5
4	Giants	64.3	5.7	4
5	Blue Jays	61.3	2.0	3
6	Mariners	60.7	3.0	6
7	Reds	60.6	9.5	12
8	Brewers	60.6	3.0	7
9	Cardinals	60.5	6.0	8
10	Braves	60.2	6.0	10

BTP: Box-Toppers points

Athletics players have accumulated 79.0 Box-Toppers points, rising from second place at the time of the last team rankings report July 3 to regain the top spot. They pass the Los Angeles Dodgers, the leader at the July 3 report. The Dodgers have 69.7 Box-Toppers points, dipping to second place, still leading among all National League teams.

The Athletics jumped in total Box-Toppers points when on July 5, they acquired starting pitchers Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija from the Cubs. Hammel has 8.7 Box-Toppers points and Samardzija has 4.0. At the time, the trade gave the Athletics a net gain of 10.7 Box-Toppers points, boosting them to the top of team rankings and pushing the Cubs to the bottom—30th place.

The trade helped make the Athletics the hottest team since the last team rankings report on July 3. They picked up 19.1 Box-Toppers points over that period.

The Athletics are led by pitchers Scott Kazmir (13.1 Box-Toppers points, fifth place among all players) and newly-acquired Hammel (his 8.7 Box-Toppers points puts him at 11th place among AL pitchers, even though all his points were earned while pitching in the NL for the Cubs).

The Athletics also have baseball’s best winning percentage (.621). The Athletics previously led in Box-Toppers team rankings at the weekly June 19 report.

The Dodgers remain the top NL team for the second week with 69.7 Box-Toppers points. They fall from first to second place overall.

The Dodgers are led by starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (18.1 Box-Toppers points, overall player rankings leader) and Zack Greinke (10.1 Box-Toppers points, seventh place among NL pitchers).

The Dodgers have NL’s best winning percentage (.557).

The Cincinnati Reds rise into the top 10 at the All-Star break. They picked up a NL-high 9.5 Box-Toppers points since the last report July 3, giving them 60.6 for the season, rising from 12th to seventh in team rankings. The Detroit Tigers fell from the top 10 list—with 60.1 Box-Toppers points, they fell from ninth to 11th.

As previously mentioned, the Chicago Cubs dropped to the bottom of Box-Toppers team rankings, with a net loss of points in the trade with the Athletics. They lost 7.2 Box-Toppers points since the last report July 3, giving them 38.7 for the season. The previous report’s 30th-ranked team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, rose to 28th place, picking up 6.4 Box-Toppers points, giving them 47.5 for the season.

 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.

Los Angeles Dodgers rise to top of Box-Toppers team rankings

The Los Angeles Dodgers have risen to the top of Box-Toppers team rankings this week.

Dodgers players have accumulated 61.6 Box-Toppers points to rise from third place overall and pass last week’s leader, the San Francisco Giants. The Giants, scoring only 1.7 Box-Toppers points this past week, fell to fourth place with 58.6 points.

Top 10 teams

Here are Box-Toppers' Top 10 teams, through the games of Thursday, July 3. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players on the team have accumulated so far this season. The column BTP/wk shows have many points teams have accumulated during the past week.

703	Teams	BTP	BTP /wk	Last  wk  rank
1	Dodgers	61.6	5.4	3
2	Athletics	59.9	4.0	4
3	Blue Jays	59.3	3.0	2
4	Giants	58.6	1.7	1
5	Angels	58.5	4.0	6
6	Mariners	57.7	6.7	8
7	Brewers	57.6	2.0	5
8	Cardinals	54.5	3.0	7
9	Tigers	54.4	6.5	12
10	Braves	54.2	8.2	15

BTP: Box-Toppers points

The Dodgers are led by pitchers Clayton Kershaw (14.4 Box-Toppers points, who leads all players in Box-Toppers points) and Zack Greinke (10.1 Box-Toppers points, 10th place among all players, sixth among National League pitchers).

The Giants have the sixth-best winning percentage in baseball (.557), second best in the NL behind the Milwaukee Brewers (.593). The Brewers have 57.6 Box-Toppers points, ranked seventh among all teams.

The Oakland Athletics are the top American League team in Box-Toppers points with 59.9. They are ranked second overall, just behind the Dodgers. They pass last week’s AL leading team, the Toronto Blue Jays (59.3 Box-Toppers points). The Blue Jays fell from second overall to third in Box-Toppers team rankings.

The Athletics are led by pitchers Scott Kazmir (9.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among AL pitchers) and Jesse Chavez (6.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 15th among AL pitchers).

The Athletics have baseball’s best winning percentage (.612).

The Atlanta Braves are the hottest team of the week, picking up 8.2 points, giving them 54.2 for the season and rising from 15th to 10th in team rankings.

Along with the Braves, the Detroit Tigers rise into the top 10, rising from 12th to ninth place. Two teams fell out of the top 10—the Washington Nationals fell from ninth to 11th and the Cincinnati Reds fell from 10th to 12th.

The Arizona Diamondbacks remain the lowest-ranked team with 41.1 Box-Toppers points, however, they picked up 6.2 points over the past week.

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.

San Francisco Giants retake top spot in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings

The San Francisco Giants have retaken the top spot in Box-Toppers team rankings this week.

Top 10 teams

Here are Box-Toppers' Top 10 teams, through the games of Thursday, June 26. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players on the team have accumulated so far this season. The column BTP/wk shows have many points teams have accumulated during the past week.

626	Teams	BTP	BTP /wk	Last  wk  rank
1	Giants	56.9	5.0	2
2	Blue Jays	56.3	6.9	5
3	Dodgers	56.2	6.7	4
4	Athletics	55.9	3.0	1
5	Brewers	55.6	6.0	3
6	Angels	54.5	6.5	6
7	Cardinals	51.5	5.0	7
8	Mariners	51.0	6.0	9
9	Nationals	48.2	4.0	11
10	Reds	48.1	6.5	19

BTP: Box-Toppers points

Giants players have accumulated 56.9 Box-Toppers points. They pass last week’s top team, the Oakland Athletics, now in fourth place in team rankings with 55.9 Box-Toppers points. The Giants have been the top team in Box-Toppers rankings five of the past seven weeks and have been the top National League team for five straight weeks.

The Giants are led by pitchers Madison Bumgarner (12.5 Box-Toppers points, fourth place among all players, third among NL pitchers), Tim Hudson (6.7 Box-Toppers points, 15th among NL pitchers) and Tim Lincecum (6.0 Box-Toppers points, 20th among NL pitchers). Lincecum pitched a no-hitter this week. Nineteen different Giants players have earned Player of the Game honors and picked up at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point this season.

The Giants have the third-best winning percentage in baseball (.582), behind the Athletics (.615—55.9 Box-Toppers points, fourth place overall) and the Milwaukee Brewers (.605—55.6 Box-Toppers points, fifth place overall).

The Toronto Blue Jays, the hottest team of the week, are the top American League team in Box-Toppers rankings. The Blue Jays moved from fifth place to second among all teams and passed last week’s AL and overall leader, the Athletics. They regain their spot atop the AL after losing it last week to the Athletics—previously, they were top AL team for three straight weeks.

Blue Jays players have accumulated 56.3 Box-Toppers points, including 6.9 during the past week—more than any other team.

The Blue Jays are led by first baseman Edwin Encarnacion (7.0 Box-Toppers points, third place among AL batters) and pitcher Drew Hutchison (7.0 Box-Toppers points, 12th place among AL pitchers). Twenty-one different Blue Jays players have earned Player of the Game honors and picked up at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point this season.

The Blue Jays have the fourth-best winning percentage in the AL (.556), behind the Athletics, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels.

Two teams rose into the top 10 this week: The Washington Nationals rose from 11th to ninth place and the Cincinnati Reds rose from 19th to 10th place. Two teams fell out of the top 10: The Miami Marlins fell from eighth to 11th place and the Kansas City Royals fell from 10th to 14th place.

The Arizona Diamondbacks remain the lowest-rated team with 34.9 Box-Toppers points, picking up only 1.0 point during the past week.

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.

Box-Toppers predicts Dodgers over Tigers in 2014 World Series

Box-Toppers predicts the Los Angeles Dodgers will defeat the Detroit Tigers in the 2014 World Series.

The predictions are based on the accumulated Box-Toppers points totals of each player on the team’s 2014 roster. So for example, the Dodgers had two of the three highest-ranked players in Box-Toppers points in 2013—pitcher Clayton Kershaw led all players with 21.7 and pitcher Zack Greinke was in third place with 19.4. Both are returning. In addition, the Dodgers signed pitcher Danny Haren and so the 10.4 Box-Toppers points he earned in 2013 with the Nationals are added to the Dodgers’ accumulated point total.

The Tigers, which Box-Toppers predicts will win the American League title, had three players among the top 10 in Box-Toppers points in 2013—pitcher Max Scherzer (18.1, first among AL players), pitcher Anibal Sanchez (17.1) and third baseman Miguel Cabrera (16.9, first among AL batters).

Both the Dodgers and the Tigers reached their league championship series in 2013, but lost. In 2014, Box-Toppers predicts a script-flip of sorts. The two teams that lost their LCS match-ups last year will win and the teams that won those series will lose. Box-Toppers picks last year’s overall champion, the Red Sox, to lose to the Tigers in the AL Championship Series and the Cardinals to lose to the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.

Last year, Box-Toppers also picked the Dodgers to win the World Series. It was a pick that looked terrible for nearly half the season as the Dodgers struggled out of the gate and nearly fired manager Don Mattingly. But late in the season, the Dodgers grabbed the overall top spot in Box-Toppers Team Power Rankings before finishing the season at No. 2, just behind the Tigers.

Box-Toppers pick for 2013 AL champion did not fare as well—the Toronto Blue Jays finished last in the AL East, eight games under .500. This year, Box-Toppers predicts they will again finish last in the division.

In addition, Box-Toppers last year picked the eventual champion Red Sox to finish fourth in the AL East, largely based on their late-season swoon in 2012. Last year’s NL champ Cardinals were picked to finish in second in the NL Central, failing to secure a playoff spot.

Here are an overview of the picks:

Here are the prospective divisional winners in the AL:

• East: Red Sox

• Central: Tigers

• West: Rangers

• Wild cards: Rays, Orioles

And in the NL:

• East: Nationals

• Central: Cardinals

• West: Dodgers

• Wild cards: Reds, Braves

Box-Toppers' 2014 Preseason Predictions

Box-Toppers picks the Dodgers to beat the Tigers in the 2014 World Series. Here is the predicted order of finish of all 30 teams in their divisions.

	2014 PICKS
	AL
	EAST	CENTRAL	WEST
1	Red Sox*	Tigers*	Rangers*
2	Rays**	Indians	Athletics
3	Orioles**	Royals	Angels
4	Yankees	Twins	Mariners
5	Blue Jays	White Sox	Astros
	NL
	EAST	CENTRAL	WEST
1	Nationals*	Cardinals*	Dodgers*
2	Braves**	Reds**	Giants
3	Mets	Pirates	D-Backs
4	Phillies	Brewers	Padres
5	Marlins	Cubs	Rockies

* Division winner, **Wild card
ALCS: Tigers over Red Sox
NLCS: Dodgers over Cardinals
World Series: Dodgers over Tigers

Detroit Tigers top final Box-Toppers Team Power Rankings, but race at top is tight

The Detroit Tigers are the top team in the final Box-Toppers Team Power Rankings report for the 2013 season.

However, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the second-ranked team (and top National League team) are only 0.7 Box-Toppers points behind the Tigers. In fact, the top four teams in the rankings are less than 2.0 Box-Toppers points apart. In other words, it is pretty tight, pretty close at the top.  

Tigers players have accumulated 123.4 Box-Toppers points to lead for the second straight week  and the Dodgers have 122.7 points. The third-place St. Louis Cardinals (122.4) are only 0.3 behind the Dodgers and the fourth-place Boston Red Sox (121.7) are only 0.7 behind the Cardinals.

All 30 teams are listed in this final report to provide a sense of how each team finished (sorry to fans in Houston and Chicago). 

The hottest team since the last Box-Toppers team rankings report (on Sept. 19) is the Cleveland Indians, picking up 12.1 Box-Toppers points and rising from ninth to sixth in rankings with 117.0 points. 

The hottest National League team since the last report is the Atlanta Braves, picking up 9.5 Box-Toppers points. However, they remain in 11th place with 111.0 points. 

The teams with the best actual winning percentages are the Red Sox and the Cardinals (both at .599, both win 97 wins). The Cardinals are in third in Box-Toppers points and the Red Sox are in fourth. Box-Toppers' top team, the Tigers, have the sixth-best record in baseball (.573). The Dodgers, in second in Box-Toppers rankings, are tied for the seventh-best record (.568).

The Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers, which are playing an extra regular season game Monday to determine the second AL wild card team, are both in the top 10 in team rankings. One team will earn 2.0 Box-Toppers Monday but that won't change their final ranking—they are both more than 2.0 points behind the team ahead of them in the rankings list. The Rays are in sixth with 117.1 points and the Rangers are in ninth with 113.0 points.

So can Box-Toppers team rankings determine who will win in the playoffs and World Series? Not necessarily. Last year, the top team in Box-Toppers rankings was the Dodgers—and they didn't even make the playoffs. (They got their points by acquiring players in mid-season, nearly all of whom failed to perform up to expectations with the Dodgers.) 

But based on simple rankings, it appears Box-Toppers would predict the Red Sox facing the Tigers in the AL Championship Series and Cardinals facing the Dodgers in the NL Championship Series. And then, the Tigers would defeat the Dodgers in the World Series. 

But based on the teams that are hottest going into the playoffs, the teams with the most Box-Toppers points in the last 10 days would have the advantage. Using that logic, the Braves would beat the Cardinals in the NLCS and the Indians would beat the Athletics in the ALCS. In the World Series, the Indians, with 12.1 Box-Toppers points since Sept. 19, would defeat the Braves, with 9.5 points in that period.

In the preseason, Box-Toppers picked the Dodgers as World Series champions—which is still a possibility. However, Box-Toppers pre-season pick for AL champion, the Toronto Blue Jays, finished last in the AL East (and 22nd in Box-Toppers Team Power Rankings). Still, three of the four LCS pre-season picks are still alive—Tigers, Dodgers and Reds. But on the other hand, only four of the 10 teams Box-Toppers picked in preseason to qualify for the playoffs are still alive—the previous three plus the Braves.

The Houston Astros consistently brought up the rear in Box-Toppers team standings. They finished with 48.9 Box-Toppers points. Normally, teams should expect to earn at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for each win, but the Astros had more wins than Box-Toppers points—51 wins vs. 48.9 Box-Toppers points because they traded away players who helped earn their points (notably closing pitcher Jose Veras to the Tigers).

The Astros finished 13.3 Box-Toppers points behind the 29th ranked team, the Cubs. That's the largest point gap between teams on the power rankings list. And fittingly, the Astros scored 0.0 Box-Toppers points since Sept. 19, the fewest of any of the 30 teams.

Both Chicago teams finished 28th (White Sox) and 29th (Cubs) on the list. The White Sox had a worse winning percentage (.389 vs. .407) but they finished ahead of the Cubs in Box-Toppers points (63.9 vs. 62.2). If you combined the Box-Toppers points for both Chicago teams, they could just scrape together enough points to pass the first-place Tigers (126.1 vs. 123.4). 

Final rankings

Through Monday, Sept. 29. Final rankings, except for one final game Sept. 30

929	Teams	BTP	BTP/wk	Last week rank
1	Tigers	123.4	4.5	1
2	Dodgers	122.7	5.0	2
3	Cardinals	122.4	9.0	4
4	Red Sox	121.7	4.5	3
5	Rays	117.1	8.0	7
6	Indians	117.0	12.1	9
7	Pirates	115.6	7.0	6
8	Athletics	115.3	8.2	8
9	Rangers	113.0	9.0	10
10	Reds	111.2	3.0	7
11	Braves	111.0	9.5	11
12	Orioles	106.0	5.5	12
13	Nationals	105.9	5.5	13
14	Royals	102.2	7.2	15
15	Yankees	101.7	5.0	14
16	Angels	91.9	4.0	16
17	Giants	90.6	5.0	17
18	Diamondbacks	88.2	4.0	18
19	Brewers	87.7	8.2	21
20	Rockies	86.1	5.0	19
21	Padres	86.0	6.7	22
22	Blue Jays	83.6	4.0	20
23	Mets	82.1	6.5	23
24	Mariners	81.2	6.6	24
25	Marlins	73.6	7.0	26
26	Phillies	72.3	2.0	25
27	Twins	66.7	1.0	27
28	White Sox	63.9	3.0	28
29	Cubs	62.2	2.0	29
30	Astros	48.9	0.0	30

BTP: Box-Toppers points total. Accumulated points of all players on team in 2013 season.

BTP/wk: Box-Toppers points for the team from Friday, Sept. 20 through Sunday, Sept. 29.

Detroit Tigers remain top Box-Toppers team, Tampa Bay Rays jump in rankings

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

The Detroit Tigers continue to hold the top spot in Box-Toppers team rankings for the third week in a row, while the Tampa Bay Rays make a big jump to second place.

Tigers players have accumulated 99.3 Box-Toppers points this season, the most of any team.

The Rays were the hottest team of the week, picking up 10.2 Box-Toppers points giving them 95.9 for the season and moving them from seventh to second place overall. The Rays picked up some of their points by acquiring players. They got 3.0 Box-Toppers points by signing free agent Delmon Young (who earned his points with the Phillies) and 2.5 points by claiming David DeJesus off waivers from the Nationals. (DeJesus earned his points earlier in the season with the Cubs.)

Last week's hot team, the Texas Rangers, fell to third place with 95.0 Box-Toppers points. 

The St. Louis Cardinals, in fourth overall, remain the top National League team in Box-Toppers points with 94.4. But the Los Angeles Dodgers continue to inch closer—with 94.0 points, they trail by only 0.4.

The Cincinnati Reds are the hottest National League team for the second straight week, picking up 6.5 Box-Toppers points, giving them 92.2 points. However, the Reds still fall in the overall rankings from sixth to seventh place.

Top 10 teams

Through Thursday, Aug. 22

822	Top 10 Teams	BTP	BTP/wk	Last week rank
1	Tigers	99.3	3.7	1
2	Rays	95.9	10.2	7
3	Rangers	95.0	4.5	2
4	Cardinals	94.4	5.0	4
5	Dodgers	94.0	6.0	5
6	Red Sox	93.5	3.0	3
7	Reds	92.2	6.5	6
8	Orioles	88.0	3.5	8
9	Indians	87.2	5.4	10
10	Braves	86.8	4.0	9

BTP: Box-Toppers points total. Accumulated points of all players on team in 2013 season.

BTP/wk: Box-Toppers points for the team for the past week, through games on Thursday. 

Detroit Tigers remain top Box-Toppers team, Texas Rangers make big jump

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

The Detroit Tigers remain atop Box-Toppers team rankings for the second straight week, while the Texas Rangers made the biggest jump of the week.

Tigers players have accumulated 95.6 Box-Toppers points, the most of any team.

The Texas Rangers picked up 10.0 Box-Toppers points in the past week, giving them 90.5 for the season, boosting them from seventh to second place in Box-Toppers team power rankings.

The Boston Red Sox, leaders two weeks ago, also have 90.5 points, tied with the Rangers, but fall from second to third because they have fewer Box-Toppers points than the Rangers for the past week (10.0 vs. 2.0).

The St. Louis Cardinals remain the top National League team in Box-Toppers points with 89.4. However, after being overall leader just three weeks ago, the Cards fell this week from third to fourth overall. In addition, the Los Angeles Dodgers continue to close in on the Cardinals. After trailing the Cardinals by 11.4 points on July 25, the Dodgers are now only 1.4 points behind.

The Cincinnati Reds are the hottest National League team of the week, picking up 8.4 Box-Toppers points, giving them 85.7 points and rising from 10th to sixth place. 

Top 10 teams

815	Top 10 Teams	BTP	BTP/wk	Last week rank
1	Tigers	95.6	3.7	1
2	Rangers	90.5	10.0	7
3	Red Sox	90.5	2.0	2
4	Cardinals	89.4	3.0	3
5	Dodgers	88.0	6.0	5
6	Reds	85.7	8.4	10
7	Rays	85.7	2.5	4
8	Orioles	84.5	3.2	6
9	Braves	82.8	5.5	9
10	Indians	81.8	3.0	8

BTP: Box-Toppers points total. Accumulated points of all players on team in 2013 season.

BTP/wk: Box-Toppers points for the team for the past week, through games on Thursday. 

Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers make trades, pass St. Louis Cardinals in Box-Toppers team rankings

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers weekly team standings as of Thursday, Aug. 1:

The Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers, with the help of deadline trades, have knocked the St. Louis Cardinals off the top of Box-Toppers team rankings for the first time since May 10. 

Boston is now atop the rankings, followed by Detroit, while St. Louis, last week's leader, falls to third place. 

Red Sox players have accumulated the most Box-Toppers points this season with 84.0, rising from fourth place last week. The Tigers are close behind with 83.9 points. The Cardinals remain the top team in the National League with 82.2 points. 

The Red Sox and the Tigers both tied for the hottest team of the week, each picking up 11.5 points. The Red Sox, by acquiring starting pitcher Jake Peavy from the Chicago White Sox, picked up the 6.0 Box-Toppers points he's earned so far this year. And the Tigers, by acquiring closer pitcher Jose Veras from the Houston Astros, also picked up the 6.0 points he's earned so far this year.

(Both teams who traded away the star players, the White Sox and the Astros, are at the bottom of the Box-Toppers team rankings. The White Sox are in 29th place with 40.6 points and the Astros are in 30th place with 31.7 points.) 

The Cardinals, who had a seemingly insurmountable lead of 7.5 points last week, only picked up 1.5 points over the week. Among the top 10 teams, only the Cincinnati Reds, which picked up 1.0 point over the week, did worse, falling from third place to 10th. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers, which languished most of the season and only last week debuted in the top 10, now has the second-highest Box-Toppers point total among NL teams. 

Top 10 teams

801	Top 10 Teams	BTP	BTP/wk	Last week rank
1	Red Sox	84.0	11.5	4
2	Tigers	83.9	11.5	5
3	Cardinals	82.2	1.5	1
4	Rays	81.2	8.0	2
5	Indians	77.8	8.2	7
6	Orioles	77.6	8.0	6
7	Dodgers	76.0	6.7	8
8	Athletics	74.2	5.5	9
9	Rangers	73.8	5.5	10
10	Reds	73.8	1.0	3

BTP: Box-Toppers points total. Accumulated points of all players on team in 2013 season.

BTP/wk: Box-Toppers points for the team for the past week, through games on Thursday. 

St. Louis Cardinals hold top spot in Box-Toppers team rankings as of July 25; Rays top all AL teams

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers weekly team standings as of Thursday, July 25:

The St. Louis Cardinals continue to hold the top spot in Box-Toppers team rankings for the 11th straight time, but the Tampa Bay Rays have risen to take the top spot among American League teams.

Cardinals players have accumulated the most Box-Toppers points this season with 80.7. The Rays, with 73.2 points, passed the previous AL leader Boston Red Sox, who fell to fourth overall with 72.5 points.

The Kansas City Royals were the hottest team of the past week, picking up 7.9 Box-Toppers points, giving them 54.1 points, rising to 23rd place overall.

The Cincinnati Reds were the hottest NL team of the past week, picking up 7.2 points and rising from seventh place to third, with 72.8 points.

The Los Angeles Dodgers (a preseason pick to win the World Series by some ...) made their debut in the Box-Toppers top 10 team list, picking up 6.5 points over the past week, giving them 69.3 points, moving from 11th to eighth place overall. 

Top 10 teams

725	Top 10 Teams	BTP	BTP/wk	Last week rank
1	Cardinals	80.7	6.5	1
2	Rays	73.2	6.0	4
3	Reds	72.8	7.2	7
4	Red Sox	72.5	3.5	2
5	Tigers	72.4	5.0	3
6	Orioles	69.6	5.5	9
7	Indians	69.6	3.4	5
8	Dodgers	69.3	6.5	11
9	Athletics	68.7	3.0	6
10	Rangers	68.3	4.0	8

BTP: Box-Toppers points total. Accumulated points of all players on team in 2013 season.

BTP/wk: Box-Toppers points for the team for the past week, through games on Thursday. 

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

St. Louis Cardinals remain atop Box-Toppers team rankings

The St. Louis Cardinals remain atop Box-Toppers team power rankings for the second straight week.

Cardinals players have accumulated the most Box-Toppers points for the season (36.9) and strengthened their dominant position by picking up more points than any other team in the past week (8.5).

The Texas Rangers remain at the number-two spot with 33.9 points and also picked up more points than any other American League team in the past week (6.5).​

The Cincinnati Reds made the biggest jump in the rankings from 10th place to third, picking up 7.5 points in the past week, giving them 30.2 for the season.​

The Cardinals have the best win-loss record in the National League at 26-14, but the Box-Toppers second-ranked Rangers have the best record in baseball at 27-14.

​The Cardinals are led by pitchers Shelby Miller, who has 7.7 Box-Toppers points and Adam Wainwright, with 6.0. The Rangers are led by pitchers Yu Darvish (8.0) and Derek Holland (4.0). Darvish is also overall leader in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season.

516	Top 10 Teams	Pts	Last week rank
1	Cardinals	36.9	1
2	Rangers	33.9	2
3	Reds	30.2	10
4	Red Sox	29.8	3
5	Nationals	29.5	4
6	Tigers	29.1	5
7	Indians	28.4	9
8	Yankees	27.9	Not ranked
9	Diamondbacks	26.1	8
10	Braves	25.9	6