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Astros pitcher Justin Verlander is Box-Toppers’ top-ranked player over the past two seasons while Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer ranks first in points over the past six seasons.
Verlander earned 51.6 Box-Toppers points combined in 2018 and 2019 to lead all players in that span while Scherzer earned 134.3 points from 2014-2019, most in that span.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Gerrit Cole tops Box-Toppers list of the top 100 players in 2019.
Cole had 32.2 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, which is the fourth-highest single-season point total in the 25 seasons of Box-Toppers tracking, which began in 1995. It was 1.5 points short of the record, 33.7, set by Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks in both 2000 and 2002.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Gerrit Cole and Nationals pitcher Patrick Corbin are top players in Tuesday’s pair of league championship games.
The Astros take a 2-1 lead over the Yankees in the American League Championship Series and the Nationals win the National League Championship Series, sweeping the Cardinals, 4-0.
Read MoreThough the Washington Nationals are the Wild Card team, they seem to hold most of the advantages over the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series.
The Nationals have more wins and rank higher in Box-Toppers team rankings than the NL Central champion Cardinals. Still, the Cardinals have a Box-Toppers point advantage in starting batting lineups, as the teams begin the best-of-seven games series Friday in St. Louis.
Read MoreThe Milwaukee Brewers visit the Washington Nationals in the National League one-game Wild Card playoff game Tuesday.
Starting pitchers are:
Brewers—Brandon Woodruff, 7.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 94th among all players, 40th among NL pitchers.
Nationals—Max Scherzer, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 15th among all players, ninth among NL pitchers.
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The Houston Astros finish the 2019 season with a large lead in Box-Toppers team rankings.
The Astros lead the rankings for the 10th straight week, while the Washington Nationals continue to lead National League teams in the rankings and were the hottest team since the last rankings report Sept. 19.
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The Houston Astros maintain a big lead in Box-Toppers team rankings this week, leading for the third straight week.
Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals rise to lead National League teams, ending the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 10-week lead among NL teams. Plus, the New York Yankees are the week’s hottest team.
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The Tampa Bay Rays maintain their lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the second week.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers rise to lead National League teams and the Chicago Cubs are the week’s hottest team.
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The Tampa Bay Rays rise to lead Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers rise to lead National League teams and the Chicago Cubs are the week’s hottest team.
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Box-Toppers picks the New York Yankees to beat the Chicago Cubs in the 2019 World Series.
In addition, Box-Toppers projects the Yankees will win 111 games in 2019, one of four teams projected to win 100 or more games this season. All 2018 American League playoff teams are projected to return to the postseason, while three different teams are forecast for the National League postseason—the Nationals, Phillies and Mets.
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The New York Yankees are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2019 preseason rankings, rising from second place at the end of the 2018 season.
The 2018 World Series-champion Boston Red Sox fall from first at the end of last season to second place in the 2019 preseason rankings.
Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Arizona Diamondbacks had the biggest decline.
Read MoreRandy Johnson leads all players in career Box-Toppers points and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
The most likely rival to Johnson’s throne at the moment is Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw who has 214.8 career Box-Toppers points, third among all players since 1995 and most among active players.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Box-Toppers’ top-ranked player over both the past two seasons and past six seasons.
Scherzer has the most Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons (50.1 over 2017 and 2018) and the most points over the past six seasons (137.0 from 2013 to 2018).
Read MoreBlake Snell tops Box-Toppers list of the top 100 players in 2018.
The Rays pitcher had 27.2 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, which is the 12th-highest single-season point total since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.
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 MoreThe surging Milwaukee Brewers hold several key advantages over the Los Angeles Dodgers as they enter the National League Championship Series.
Read MoreRockies pitcher Kyle Freeland is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day in the National League Wild Card Game.
Freeland struck out six over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 2-1, 13-inning win over the Cubs, as the Rockies advance to the NL Division Series Thursday against the Brewers.
Read MoreThe Colorado Rockies visit the Chicago Cubs in the National League one-game Wild Card playoff game Tuesday.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Walker Buehler is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, in one of two National League tiebreaker games to determine postseason seeding.
Meanwhile, Brewers pitcher Josh Hader is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the other game.
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The Boston Red Sox finish the season atop Box-Toppers team rankings, leading all teams for the ninth straight week.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers maintain their lead among National League teams as they and the Houston Astros were the hottest two teams of the season’s final 10 days.
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.