Philadelphia Phillies Ace Officially Named National League Cy Young Finalist

The NL Cy Young Award Finalists have been announced and the Philadelphia Phillies' ace was named for the second time in his career.

Oct 5, 2024; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) throws a pitch against the New York Mets in the seventh inning in game one of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

For the second time in his career (2021), Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler has been named an NL Cy Young finalist.

Wheeler had another superb season. He finished with a 16-7 record as a starter and pitched 200 innings for the second time in his career. In those 200 innings, the second-most in the National League, Wheeler posted a 2.57 ERA and an NL-best 0.955 WHIP. He made 32 starts for the NL East champions and struck out 224 while walking just 52.

This year, Wheeler set new career bests in ERA, ERA+ (158), and WHIP. The two-time All-Star only had six starts of five or fewer innings with 13 starts of at least seven innings. Wheeler had 12 starts with three or fewer hits allowed and four with at least 10 strikeouts.

In addition to being selected as an NL Cy Young finalist, Wheeler has the chance to win a Gold Glove in back-to-back seasons.

Bryce Harper went to bat for his star pitcher after a seven-inning, one-run performance against the Milwaukee Brewers:

“He’s a Cy Young, man, I don’t think anybody in baseball is better than him at this point. I don’t think anybody is in the National League, either. The people down in Atlanta probably think the same thing about the guy throwing down there [Sale], but I thought [Wheeler] got robbed of it three years ago. I believe he earned it this year.”

- Bryce Harper, September 17

Wheeler has the opportunity to be the eighth Phillies pitcher to take home the award and the first since the late Roy Halladay did so in 2010. The Atlanta Braves' Chris Sale and Pittburgh Pirates' rookie Paul Skenes were also named NL Cy Young Finalists.

Compared to the other finalists, Wheeler pitched more innings than Sale but had a worse bWAR, ERA, ERA+, fewer strikeouts, and more walks. When matched up against Skenes, Wheeler had more WAR, starts, innings, and strikeouts and Skenes has him beat in ERA, ERA+, K%, and BB%. Of course, Wheeler pitched 67 more innings than Skenes.