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The Los Angeles Dodgers rise to a commanding lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report on the strength of the players they acquired prior to Friday’s trade deadline.
Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox fall from first to second in team rankings but maintain their lead among American League teams.
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The Chicago Cubs lead Box-Toppers first weekly team rankings report of the 2020 season.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins are the top-ranked American League team and the Oakland Athletics are the hottest team of the past week.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Kelly struck out seven over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 4-1 win over the Rangers.
Read MoreMiguel Tejada has the most Box-Toppers points of any shortstop since tracking began in 1995.
Tejada, who played from 1997 to 2013 primarily for the Athletics and Orioles, but also for the Astros, Giants, Padres and Royals, earned 102.3 career Box-Toppers points. That is 25.9 Box-Toppers points ahead of the second-place shortstop in career Box-Toppers points, Derek Jeter (76.4), who played for the Yankees from 1995 to 2014.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Corey Kluber had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers points from 2018 to 2019.
Kluber, who earned 21.7 Box-Toppers points in 2018 (fourth among all players), earned no points in 2019. His decline of 21.7 points was ahead of Rays pitcher Blake Snell, whose 10.0 points in 2019 represented a 17.2-point drop from the 27.2 points he earned to lead all players in 2018.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Kershaw struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 10-6 win over the Marlins. Kershaw did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Marlins tied the game, 6-6, after he exited.
Read MoreIndians 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 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.
Read MoreHow did baseball’s statistical leaders do in Box-Toppers points in 2018?
The leaders of six of the seven key statistics were among Box-Toppers’ overall top 100 players for 2018. However, Khris Davis of the Athletics who led in home runs (48) ranked 223rd among all players with 4.5 Box-Toppers points, 47th among American League batters.
Read MoreTwins pitcher Jose Berrios is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Thursday’s Opening Day games.
Berrios struck out 10 over 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 2-0 win over the Indians.
Read MoreThree of the top 10 runs batted in leaders are among their league’s top 10 batters in Box-Toppers points in 2018.
They are J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox, Christian Yelich of the Brewers and Javier Baez of the Cubs.
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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 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 MoreAstros pitcher Justin Verlander is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his third-place spot in season player rankings.
Also Saturday, Rays pitcher Blake Snell finished his 2018 Box-Toppers Player of the Year season with a flourish, earning Player of the Game honors, extending his lead over Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer in season player rankings.
In addition, Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola rises to fifth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. And Christian Yelich of the Brewers extends his lead among National League batters in 2018 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and maintains his second-place spot in season player rankings in his final start of 2018.
Meanwhile, Christian Yelich of the Brewers rises to first place among National League batters in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning NL Batter of the Day honors, passing previous leader Javier Baez of the Cubs.
Read MoreRays pitcher Blake Snell is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, increasing his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings and achieving the 16th-highest single-season Box-Toppers point total since tracking began in 1995.
Snell struck out 11 over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, in the 5-2 win over the Blue Jays.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Justin Verlander is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third place in season player rankings.
Also Saturday, Javier Baez of the Cubs rises to first place among National League batters in 2018 Box-Toppers points after earning NL Batter of the Day honors.
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.