Los Angeles Dodgers edge out Washington Nationals as Box-Toppers' top preseason team. Champion Cubs slip to 5th after key player losses. Indians rank 1st among AL teams.
Read MoreCubs' Arrieta tops players for Saturday, April 16, rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers rankings
Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 16:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 4.0 |
| 2 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 3.4 |
| 3 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 3.0 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 5 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 2.7 |
| 6 | Bettis, Chad 3481 | pi sp | col nl | 2.7 |
| 7 | Ross, Joe 3499 | pi sp | dc nl | 2.7 |
| 8 | Latos, Mat 2644 | pi sp | chi al | 2.7 |
| 9 | Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b | bal al | 2.5 |
| 10 | Brown, Trevor 3610 | ca | sf nl | 2.5 |
Arrieta struck out eight over eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits, in the 6-2 win over the Rockies. Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season and rising to third place in season player rankings. Arrieta led all players in 2015 with 29.1 Box-Toppers points.
American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Erasmo Ramirez pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out four, in the 7-2 win over the White Sox.
National League Batter of the Day—Nick Markakis of the Braves doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 6-4 win over the Marlins.
With the 1.5 Box-Toppers points earned for being NL Batter of the Day Saturday, Markakis has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Orioles and has 43.6 career points, which ranks 14th among active NL outfielders. His best season was 2009 with the Orioles when he had 7.7 points, sixth among AL outfielders. In 2015, he had 4.5 points with the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—Trevor Plouffe of the Twins homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, driving in two runs, in the 6-4 win over the Angels.
Notable—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to 55th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings list after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Scherzer (7IP 5H R 7K W in the 5-3 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 108.0 career points. He passes Cubs pitcher John Lackey (107.8) to move into 55th place among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began). He trails 54th-place player Lance Berkman (108.1). Scherzer now has 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the 2016 season. He had 21.0 points in 2015, fourth among NL pitchers.
Debut—Nomar Mazara of the Rangers made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Mazara (3-4 2R BI in the 8-4 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut April 10 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,614th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Ramirez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Markakis and Plouffe each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—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. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/17 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 7.1 | Giants | Johnny Cueto (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| AL | 6.2 | Rays | Erasmo Ramirez (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 6.0 | Red Sox | David Price (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | Nationals | Max Scherzer (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | Indians | Josh Tomlin (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | Pirates | Jonathon Niese (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | `Padres | Andrew Cashner | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Braves | Nick Markakis, RF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 2.0 | Twins | Trevor Plouffe, 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Reds | Zack Cozart, SS | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rangers | Nomar Mazara, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `Tigers | Mark Lowe (H,4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Athletics | Josh Reddick, RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Mariners | Robinson Cano, 2B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Giants' Chris Heston top players in Sunday, March 13's spring training games
Giants pitcher Chris Heston is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Sunday.
Heston pitched four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out four, in the 8-1 win over the Padres. Heston had 11.4 Box-Toppers points in 2015, 15th among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher Aaron Sanchez pitched four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk and striking out four, in the 6-1 win over the Rays. Sanchez had 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015.
American League Batter of the Day—Trevor Plouffe of the Twins hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-2, driving in four runs, in the 14-6 win over the Orioles. Plouffe had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015.
National League Batter of the Day—Starling Marte of the Pirates hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, in the 9-5 win over the Tigers. Marte had 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015, 16th among NL outfielders.
Notable—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was Player of the Game in the 6-4 win over the Rockies. Kershaw pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out three. Kershaw finished second in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 25.7 (Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta finished first with 29.1). Kershaw led NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points from 2011-2014 and led all players in 2011, 2013 and 2014.
Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Heston would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Sanchez would earn 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Plouffe and Marte would earn 1.5 points for being top batter in their league for the day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Note—Sixteen spring training games were scheduled for Thursday—14 are listed below. Two games are not included because they ended in ties (Cardinals vs. Nationals and Cubs vs. Athletics).
About Box-Toppers—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. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 3/13 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | Giants | Chris Heston (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| AL | 6.0 | Blue Jays | Aaron Sanchez (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Twins | Trevor Plouffe 3B | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 5.0 | Mets | Matt Harvey (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 5.0 | Brewers | Zach Davies (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 4.0 | Rays | Hank Conger C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Phillies | Adam Morgan (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Astros | José Altuve DH | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Pirates | Starling Marte LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Indians | Trevor Bauer (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Angels | Johnny Giavotella 2B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Reds | Zack Cozart SS | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Dbacks | Michael Freeman LF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Mariners' Felix Hernandez, Cubs' Scott Feldman top players for Saturday, June 15
Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez is Saturday's Player of the Day. Hernandez pitched seven shutout innings and struck out eight in the 4-0 win over the Athletics.
Hernandez rises to 10th place among players in Box-Toppers standings for the 2013 season (see updated standings on the home page). Hernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.7 for the season.
Cubs pitcher Scott Feldman is National League Player of the Day. Feldman struck out six over seven innings in the 5-2 win over the Mets.
Trevor Plouffe of the Twins is American League Batter of the Day. Plouffe hit a two-run homer and went 3-for-3 in the 6-3 win over the Tigers.
David Freese of the Cardinals is NL Batter of the Day. Freese homered and went 3-for-4 in the 13-7 win over the Marlins.
Standings update: Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rises to seventh place among players in Box-Toppers standings for the 2013 season. Kershaw (7IP 8K ND) was Player of the Game in the 5-3 win over the Pirates. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 9.0 for the season.
Hernandez receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Feldman receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Plouffe and Freese each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Saturday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point:
| 615 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 9.0 | Mariners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Felix Hernandez (W, 8-4) | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| NL | 8.0 | Cubs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Scott Feldman (W, 6-5) | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | `Dodgers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Clayton Kershaw | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | |||
| 6.0 | Brewers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Yovani Gallardo (W, 6-6) | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |||
| 5.2 | Rays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Alex Torres (W, 2-0) | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| BAT | 5.0 | Twins | Trevor Plouffe 3B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4.1 | Angels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tommy Hanson (W, 4-2) | 6.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | |||
| BAT | 4.0 | Cardinals | David Freese 3B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4.0 | Rockies | Wilin Rosario C | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 4.0 | Braves | B.J. Upton CF | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3.0 | Padres | Yasmani Grandal C | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Adam Lind 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Nationals | Chad Tracy PH, DH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Astros | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jose Veras (S, 13) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 1.0 | Red Sox | Jonny Gomes LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.