Philadelphia Phillies Ace Darkhorse Cy Young Contender

It's been the bats of the Philadelphia Phillies that have stolen the headlines during August. They set a franchise record for most home runs in month with 59, while also setting a National League record for the most ever in August.

Superstars Trea Turner and Bryce Harper had their best months this season, drawing most of the attention to the sluggers.

However, Phillies' ace Zach Wheeler has quietly put himself into NL Cy Young contention with how well he's played in the second half of the season.

The 33-year-old is scheduled to take the mound on Friday against the NL Central leading Milwaukee Brewers during a series with massive playoff implications.

Since starting the season with a 4.05 ERA before the All-Star break, the right hander has been dominate in over 53 innings pitched recording a 2.68 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 7.0 K/BB ratio.

So, how does he stack up compared to the rest of the contenders in the National League?

Wheeler is first in FanGraphs' WAR metric with 5.2 wins above replacement. That's 0.6 higher than Atlanta Braves' ace Spencer Strider who is in second and 1.2 more than the Arizona Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen.

The Philadelphia pitcher also has pitched the second most innings out of the contenders, is fourth on the strikeouts list with 175, is second in WHIP with 1.08 and has the best K/BB ratio with 5.83.

Those are the major statistical categories that voters take into account when choosing who will win the Cy Young.

For Wheeler to win, he'll need to lower his ERA. He currently sits with a 3.59 which is the highest out of the current favorites. The last pitcher to win a Cy Young with more than a 3.50 ERA was Roger Clemens in 2001.

There is still a month left in the season for him to become more than a dark horse candidate in the race. A great outing against the Brewers on Friday would go a long way in making that happen.