Where Does Philadelphia Phillies Ace Rank in MLB Player's Survey?

The Philadelphia Phillies have an elite arm leading their starting rotation, but did his peers around MLB give him his due respect?

Mar 4, 2025; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) throws a pitch against the New York Yankees in the first inning during spring training at BayCare Ballpark. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies have one of the most talented starting rotations in MLB, and it is in large part due to the consistently elite performances they receive from their ace, Zack Wheeler.

He joined the Phillies at the start of the decade, and has put himself in the conversation as one of the top pitchers in the sport after a frustrating beginning to his career with the New York Mets.

The Georgia native finished as the runner-up for the 2024 National League Cy Young Award behind Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves, and he is one of the frontrunners for the honor in 2025

Wheeler's emergence over the past five years in Philadelphia has earned him not only the respect of fans and media, but from his peers around the league.

MLB.com and its beat reporters spent spring training conducting a survey of over 100 players answering an array of questions, and they released the resulting ranking of the game's best pitchers.

Wheeler took the second spot, checking in only behind reigning unanimous American League Cy Young winner, Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal.

"Wheeler has consistently been one of baseball’s top pitchers since he signed with the Phillies before the 2020 season," Brent Maguire wrote. "After dealing with injuries and inconsistency with the Mets from 2013-19, Wheeler has been a durable innings-eating ace in Philadelphia."

That durability has been an immense benefit for the Phillies, as they have gotten Cy Young-caliber regular seasons from Wheeler almost ever year with him still healthy to dominate in the playoffs.

That postseason excellence was cited by an American League pitcher in the survey as one of his reasons for ranking Wheeler so highly.

"“He pitches at such an elite level, and then just the bulk he posts every year," the player said. "It's just like he seems to show up every time, so he's a big-game pitcher as well."

In 12 career playoff appearances, all with Philadelphia, Wheeler has dominated.

He's 4-3 with a 2.18 ERA and 77 strikeouts over 70.1 innings pitched. He helped lead the team to its appearance in the 2022 World Series, and if this core can capture that elusive championship this year, there's no doubt he will be a major reason of why.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson has already announced that Wheeler will get the nod for his second consecutive Opening Day start when Philadelphia takes on the Washington Nationals on March 27.

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