July 22, 2026
Kyle Ross/Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
A muggy wet evening didn't slow down Zack Wheeler in a gem of start Tuesday.
Order may have been restored.
For much of the 2026 season, and rightly so, the spotlight has been on emerging Phillies ace Cris Sánchez. The lefty had the honor of starting the All-Star Game for the NL, leads the majors in WAR (5.5) and with a 12-4 record and 2.71 ERA is one of the best pitchers in the league, even on his worst day.
But sort of under the radar over the last few weeks, 36-year-old veteran Zack Wheeler has reclaimed his spot as the Phillies' best starting pitcher. And he might still be the best one in the National League.
"I always saw myself coming back to who I was, or even better," Wheeler said Tuesday night (h/t USA Today). "Getting those innings in, getting the strikeouts, and getting some wins. So, that was always the mindset coming back, and I’m thankful."
In a losing effort, Wheeler was very much ace-like against the Dodgers in his most recent start, allowing just two runs over seven frames with nine strikeouts and no walks. He has 20 games with nine Ks and no BB, the most in Phils history, according to Bob Nightengale.
After a remarkable recovery from Thoracic Outlet surgery this offseason, following a shocking blood clot that prematurely ended his dominant 2025 campaign, Wheeler has been incredible this season.
He has a 4.7 pitching WAR, which is second in MLB even though he has made six fewer starts this season than everyone else, as he had to start slowly returning from his injury. He hasn't yet qualified for an ERA title but his 2.13 mark would slot him third behind phenom Jacob Misiorowski and veteran Chris Sale. He's expected to reach the threshold for qualifying on most MLB leaderboards by the time August arrives (he needs one inning pitched per team game played and is currently at 95.0, while the Phils have played 101 games).
| Category | Stat | NL Rank* |
| WAR | 4.7 | 2nd |
| K/9 | 10.5 | 5th* |
| WHIP | 0.892 | 3rd* |
| K/BB | 4.91 | 5th* |
| WPA | 3.0 | 2nd |
Wheeler has come extremely close to winning a Cy Young award during his stint with the Phillies but has always come up short.
• Last year he finished ninth in voting despite missing two months of the season.
• In 2024 he finished second to Sale.
• In 2023 he finished sixth (and also nabbed a Gold Glove).
• In 2021 Corbin Burnes won the award, despite Wheeler's 7.5 WAR besting Burns' 5.3 in one of the closest votes in recent history — he finished a close second.
• He finished 12th in his first season in Philly, COVID-shortened 2020.
Wheeler continues to be in the mix year in and year out, and if he continues to pitch like this, he's destined to once again contend for some hardware. But will he have pitched enough to seriously be considered?
Wheeler is on pace, assuming he makes all 12 starts in the rotation down the stretch (to get to 27 total), he'll finish the season with somewhere between 155 innings (assuming a very low 5.0 innings per start) and 177 innings (assuming he makes an impressive but not impossible 7.0 innings per start).
Has a Cy Young winner ever finished the season inside that range? A look at a very short list of starters who've won it in non-shortened seasons:
| Pitcher | Season | Starts | Total IP |
| Chris Sale | 2024 | 29 | 177.1 |
| Justin Verlander | 2022 | 28 | 175.0 |
| Corbin Burnes | 2021 | 28 | 167.0 |
Pitchers are throwing fewer and fewer innings every year, and so it's a relative scale. In 1966 Sandy Koufax threw 366 innings (a hair under 8.0 innings per start) when he won his third Cy Young award. In 2023, Paul Skenes won the NL award having thrown 187.2 over his 32 starts (just shy of 6.0 innings per).
It doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility that Wheeler throws 170 innings over 27 starts and has a real shot at winning the elusive honor.
He's been pitching with purpose since his All-Star snub, so he's not showing signs of slowing down any time soon.
"It seems to be working. Just find a way," he added Tuesday when asked about pitching angry. "That’s the biggest thing. It’s a long season. It’s a ton of starts. You’ve got to pick your battles and just try to go out there and do well every time."
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