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Indians pitcher Shane Bieber is the most deserving player not selected to the 2019 Major League Baseball All-Star teams.
Bieber has 11.1 Box-Toppers points in 2019, eighth among all players and fourth among American League pitchers. Other key players not chosen for the All-Star Game who rank among Box-Toppers top players this season include Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, Marcell Ozuna of the Cardinals and Eloy Jimenez of the White Sox.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to 10th place in season player rankings.
Also Wednesday, Mike Trout of the Angels rises to lead American League batters in 2019 Box-Toppers points after earning AL Batter of the Day honors.
Read MoreThere are nine players who lead their league’s positions in Box-Toppers points who are also among the finalists in the newfangled All-Star “general” election being held this week.
But there are eight players who lead their league’s position in Box-Toppers points who are not even listed among the top three finalists (top nine for outfielders) for their positions.
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Astros pitcher Justin Verlander maintains the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the sixth straight week.
Also this week, there is a new leader in Box-Toppers points among American League batters as Eloy Jimenez of the White Sox passes previous leader Joey Gallo of the Rangers.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Scherzer struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks, in the 2-0 win over the Phillies.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Tanaka pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out 10 and walking one, in the 3-0 win over the Rays.
Read MoreAmerican League pitchers occupied eight of the top 10 spots in Box-Toppers’ 2018 season player rankings. But there were no AL pitchers among the top 10 in baseball’s Wins Above Replacement statistic.
AL teams dominated baseball in 2018 with three of its teams winning 100 or more games (Red Sox, Astros and Yankees), the Red Sox cruised to a relatively easy World Series win and it was AL pitchers who most helped those teams win all those games.
Read MoreKhris Davis of the Athletics led all players in home runs in 2018 but ranked relatively low in Box-Toppers player rankings—just 47th among American League batters.
Meanwhile, J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox, who led all batters in Box-Toppers points in 2018 with 12.5, ranked second in home runs. And just three of the top 10 home run hitters in 2018 are among the top 100 ranked players in Box-Toppers points for the season.
Read MoreThe batters with the top three Box-Toppers point totals in 2018 were also the batters with the three highest batting averages.
Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox and Christian Yelich of the Brewers had both the three highest batting averages in 2018 and the three highest Box-Toppers point totals among batters in 2018.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer leads players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2013.
Scherzer has 137.0 Box-Toppers points over the period 2013-2018, just 2.6 points ahead of Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who has 134.4 points over that span.
In fact, Scherzer unseats Kershaw from atop the six-year rolling Box-Toppers point total, a spot Kershaw has held at the end of each season since 2013, five straight seasons.
Read MoreChristian Yelich of the Brewers, who led National League batters in Box-Toppers points in 2018 with 11.5, was voted NL Most Valuable Player Thursday.
And Mookie Betts of the Red Sox, who ranked second among American League batters in Box-Toppers points with 10.9, was voted AL Most Valuable Player. Teammate J.D. Martinez, who led AL batters with 12.5 Box-Toppers points, finished fourth in AL MVP voting.
Read MoreAbout half of the top batters by position as measured by Box-Toppers points are among Silver Slugger Award winners announced Thursday.
The awards are given to the top batter in each position in both leagues. But as measured by Box-Toppers points, only seven (maybe eight) of the 17 announced winners would have been the same.
Read MoreBaseball’s postseason award finalists named this week are also among Box-Toppers’ top-ranked players for 2018.
The lone exception: J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox, who led all batters in 2018 with 12.5 Box-Toppers points, is not among the three finalists for the American League Most Valuable Player Award.
Read MoreThe Box-Toppers All-Star teams for the 2018 regular season are led by overall Box-Toppers points leader, Rays pitcher Blake Snell.
The American League and National League All-Star teams are composed of the players with the highest Box-Toppers point totals by position in each league. In addition to the batters—eight in the NL and nine (including the designated hitter) in the AL—are the top four starting pitchers in each league and the top closing pitcher.
Read MoreTigers pitcher Matthew Boyd is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreMariners pitcher James Paxton is the most deserving player not selected to the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star teams.
Paxton has 14.0 Box-Toppers points in 2018, fifth among all players and fourth among American League pitchers.
Read MoreFreddie Freeman of the Braves may be seeded seventh among the eight players in Monday’s Home Run Derby, but he has the most 2018 Box-Toppers points in the group.
Freeman has 6.5 Box-Toppers points this season and ranks third among National League batters in Box-Toppers season player rankings. However, his 16 home runs this season is seventh-most among the eight derby participants and has him seeded seventh in the tournament-style derby.
Read MoreMitch Haniger, James Paxton and Aaron Nola are among the players rising into Box-Toppers’ All-Star teams in the past week.
With Major League All-Star voting underway, here is a look at who is leading at Box-Toppers points at each position in both leagues.
Read MoreMike Trout, Kyle Schwarber and Craig Kimbrel are among the players rising into Box-Toppers’ All-Star teams in the past week.
With Major League All-Star voting underway, here is a look at who is leading at Box-Toppers points at each position in both leagues.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Luis Severino is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to first place in season player rankings.
Severino struck out 10 over eight innings, allowing two runs, four hits and no walks, in the 7-4 win over the Tigers.
Read MoreBox-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.