Will Philadelphia Phillies Second Half Pitching Doom Them in Postseason?

The Philadelphia Phillies pitching staff should be elite, but their second half performance might be a red flag for the playoffs.

Aug 31, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) walks off the field after the fifth against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies pitching staff is one of the best in baseball, but their shaky second half of the year might be a red flag for the fast approaching postseason.

Stephen J. Nesbitt and Chad Jennings of The Athletic recently released their pitching staff rankings for the MLB playoffs. While the Phillies secured the top spot, their recent play was mentioned as something to worry about.

The 'good' of their staff was the fact that they possess an ace, but the 'bad' was their 4.32 ERA in the second half.

Is that staff ERA actually representative of what the guys that will be thrown out has done, though?

Zack Wheeler has been elite all season. If it weren't for Chris Sale having a resurgent year for the Atlanta Braves, Wheeler would be a shoe-in for the Cy Young.

Fresh off of a big money contract extension, the 34-year-old pitcher has posted a 2.56 ERA this season without any consistent struggles this season. His ERA peaked at 3.00 back in April.

He also possesses a clean record in the past two postseasons. Philadelphia is in good shape with him leading the charge this season.

It's also not that the rest of the Phillies pitching staff has been horrific in the second half, they just haven't been as good as they once were.

Aaron Nola figures to be the second guy in the playoff rotation, but he's had a pretty disappointing stretch.

Nola has given up at least four earned runs twice this season and has a 5.32 ERA for September. His last start was a step in the right direction, seven innings and just one run against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Though it might have come as a shock to someone at the start of the year, Cristopher Sanchez has been elite down the stretch and should be their third guy.

Sanchez has a 2.17 ERA over his last seven starts and Philadelphia has won six of those games. He doesn't have much postseason experience, however, which could give Philadelphia a little bit of pause in relying on him.

Ranger Suarez was fantastic in the playoffs a year ago, but has a 5.12 ERA over his last nine starts with has led to a 3-6 record.

One of those two will need to make their presence known in the early postseason outings to earn more innings later on.

The bullpen should be fine. Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkeing and Carols Estevez have all been elite as of late.

While the overall pitching staff hasn't been amazing, the guys that'll be given the most work in the playoffs have been plenty good.