Astros pitcher Framber Valdez is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Valdez struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 3-0 win over the Athletics.
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Brewers’ Freddy Peralta rises to lead this week’s Box-Toppers player rankings report
Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta rises to lead Box-Toppers season player rankings this week.
Meanwhile, Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert rises to lead American League pitchers, Marcell Ozuna of the Braves rises to lead National League batters and Andres Gimenez of the Guardians maintains his lead among AL batters.
Read MoreRed Sox’ Houck tops players for Wednesday, April 17, rising to 5th in player rankings
Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fifth in season player rankings.
Also Wednesday, Mariners pitcher Bryce Miller rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
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Orioles’ Corbin Burnes leads Box-Toppers 1st weekly player rankings report
Orioles pitcher Corbin Burnes leads Box-Toppers first weekly player rankings report of the 2024 season.
Burnes also leads American League pitchers. Meanwhile, Tyler Glasnow of the Dodgers leads National League pitchers, Andres Gimenez of the Guardians leads AL batters and Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs leads NL batters.
Read MorePhillies’ Suarez tops players for Thursday, April 11; Royals’ Witt tops AL players
Phillies pitcher Ranger Suarez is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Suarez struck out eight over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 5-1 win over the Pirates.
Read MoreRoyals’ Wacha tops players for Saturday, April 6; Dodgers’ Yamamoto tops NL players
Royals pitcher Michael Wacha is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Aaron Judge of the Yankees is Box-Toppers American League Batter of the Day, his second Player of the Game honor of 2024, and rises to fourth place in season player rankings.
Read MoreGerrit Cole leads players in Box-Toppers points over past 6 seasons (2018-23)
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole leads players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2018.
Cole has 112.4 Box-Toppers points over the period 2018-23, 17.4 points ahead of second-ranked player, Rangers pitcher Max Scherzer, who has 95.0 over that span.
Read MoreShohei Ohtani leads players in Box-Toppers points over past 2 seasons (2022-23)
Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani has more Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons than any other player.
Ohtani has earned 44.1 Box-Toppers points over 2022 and 2023. He ranked second among all players in 2022 with 24.7 Box-Toppers points and third among all players in 2023 with 19.4 points.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers season-by-season AL & NL pitching & batting leaders, 1995-2023
Analyzing 29 years of Box-Toppers points leaders in pitching and batting in both leagues.
In 2023, Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, American League Most Valuable Player, was the only player who won a major postseason award and also led his Box-Toppers category (leading AL batters with 19.4). Also, Pete Alonso of the Mets became the ninth batter since 1995 to lead his league’s batters in Box-Toppers points more than once, leading NL batters for the second straight season.
Read MoreA detailed look at Box-Toppers points leaders for 2023: Top players by position in each league
How 2023 Silver Sluggers winners fared in Box-Toppers rankings
Six of the 20 batters winning Silver Slugger Awards in 2023 were also among the leaders at their positions in 2023 Box-Toppers point totals.
The awards are given to the top batter in each position in both leagues, voted on by Major League Baseball coaches and managers. Box-Toppers, analyzing traditional box scores, tracks which player most helps his team win the most games, awarding points for the top player in each game.
Read MoreBox-Toppers’ top-ranked nominees—Ohtani, Acuna—win 2023 Hank Aaron Awards
Box-Toppers’ top-ranked nominees in both leagues won 2023’s Hank Aaron Awards for top offensive player. But Box-Toppers would have chosen two other players for the honors.
Shohei Ohtani of the Angels won the award in the American League and Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves won the award in the National League.
Read MoreFour Box-Toppers points leaders among players named to 2023 All-MLB First Team
Only four Box-Toppers points leaders are among players selected for 2023’s 16-member “All-MLB” team announced this month. Three other Box-Toppers leaders were chosen for the “All-MLB” Second Team.
The All-MLB team players are not selected based on their affiliation with American League or National League. Rather, all players are chosen regardless of league as “First Team” or “Second Team” players.
Read MoreCan Shohei Ohtani continue his lofty, Angelic Box-Toppers rankings with Dodgers?
Shohei Ohtani, who signed a record free-agent deal with the Dodgers, has consistently been among Box-Toppers' highest-ranking players over the past three seasons.
However, his second surgery to repair his pitching elbow's ulnar collateral ligament, raises concerns about his future effectiveness. A Box-Toppers look at Ohtani’s career and the mixed outcomes of pitchers with a second elbow surgery.
Read MoreBox-Toppers points leaders Ohtani, Henderson win 2023 Players Choice Awards
Only two of Box-Toppers category leaders also won Players Choice Awards for 2023 as voted by the players’ union: Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, who was voted American League Outstanding Player and Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles was voted AL Outstanding Rookie.
Read MoreBox-Toppers 2023 year-end All-Star teams
The Box-Toppers All-Star teams for the 2023 regular season are led by overall Box-Toppers points leader, Braves pitcher Spencer Strider.
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 nine batters in each league are the top four starting pitchers in each league and the top closing pitcher.
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Shohei Ohtani of the Angels and Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Braves were voted 2023 Most Valuable Player award winners. While Ohtani was also Box-Toppers’ choice as AL MVP, Pete Alonso of the Mets was Box-Toppers’ NL MVP leader over Acuña.
Box-Toppers’ pick Ohtani wins AL MVP, but Acuña wins NL MVP over our pick, Alonso
Shohei Ohtani of the Angels was voted 2023 American League Most Valuable Player Wednesday. He was also Box-Toppers’ choice as AL MVP.
However, in the National League, Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves was voted MVP—he finished second in Box-Toppers’ NL MVP ballot behind Pete Alonso of the Mets.
Read MoreBox-Toppers’ MVP Awards: Ohtani reigns over AL; Alonso edges Acuña in NL
Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, favorite for American League Most Valuable Player, is also Box-Toppers’ choice for the award. But Box-Toppers’ choice for NL MVP, Pete Alonso of the Mets, is not among the finalists for the award, expected to go to Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves, who is second on Box-Toppers’ NL MVP ballot.
Read MoreYankees’ Judge tops players for Friday, Sept. 22; Blue Jays’ Bassitt rises to 4th
Aaron Judge of the Yankees is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
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Injury ends Ohtani’s pitching season as his Box-Toppers player rankings lead narrows
Shohei Ohtani clings to the Box-Toppers season player rankings lead, despite a week in which he earned no Box-Toppers points and sustained an injury that will keep from pitching for the rest of 2023.
The Angels pitcher/designated hitter leads player rankings for the 10th straight week, but the lead narrowed to just 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his slimmest lead since June 27.
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