Thursday, October 1, 2026
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73 ° Clear
His tenure in Philadelphia has been nothing short of elite.
Since the first moment that Zack Wheeler took the mound as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, he has provided the organization with stability.
Prior to his time in Philly, Wheeler was a New York Met. His potential was never fully realized in New York, often due to injury, and the Phillies took a gamble on the right-hander ahead of the 2020 season.
It has paid dividends.
Two runner-up finishes for the National League Cy Young award in six seasons seems pretty good, right?
Since joining the Phillies, Wheeler leads all of Major League Baseball pitchers in fWar (30.1) and quality starts (114). He has the second-best playoff ERA among pitchers who have thrown at least 40+ innings. He is nearly top five in every regular season category, including innings pitched (4th), strikeouts (3rd) and wins (3rd).
After season-ending surgery derailed another Cy Young bid in 2025, Wheeler was determined to not let his thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) define him. A blood clot developed in his right shoulder, and for a moment there was a very real possibility that he would never throw another pitch.
Instead, Wheeler worked. He grinded away, following a strict rehab program set forth by his doctors and the Phillies medical staff.
The Phillies’ ace wanted to be back by Opening Day. Had the Phillies allowed him, he probably could have.
Instead, Wheeler made his triumphant return to Major League Baseball on April 25th against the Atlanta Braves.
Since his season debut, Wheeler has accumulated a 6-1 record with a 2.01 earned run average. He has tossed 62.2 innings this season, currently trailing the minimum innings threshold to become a qualified pitcher, by 11.1.
For a pitcher to be qualified, they must throw one inning for every game played by their team. At season’s end, a pitcher needs to have thrown 162 innings or more to truly be considered for end-of-season awards.
Wheeler likely will get 17 more starts this season for the Phillies. To reach 162 innings, he has to pitch roughly six or more innings in each start if he is going to hunt down that mark.
Why is this important?
With how strong he has performed this season, Wheeler has suddenly become a real dark horse candidate for yet another Cy Young award.
Teammate Cristopher Sanchez and Milwaukee Brewers’ starter Jacob Misiorowski are the two favorites at the midway point of the season. Other names such as Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bryce Elder and Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves, and Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates are other strong contenders.
For Wheeler to have any real shot of winning his first career Cy Young award, he will need to get over the innings threshold.
A trophy is not required to validate how brilliant Zack Wheeler has been since joining the Philadelphia Phillies. His stellar regular seasons and dominant postseasons speak for themselves.
However, receiving this accomplishment would help push the Phillies’ veteran into a conversation with some of the best arms in the history of baseball.
The hunt for 162 innings will continue when Wheeler takes the mound against his former club, the New York Mets, on Sunday.
