Philadelphia Phillies Ace Still Favored to Win Cy Young Despite Slow Start

The Philadelphia Phillies ace is still favored to win the Cy Young despite a slow start.

The Philadelphia Phillies have had a slow start to the season, currently 9-8 after a win on Monday against the Colorado Rockies.

Both sides of the baseball have struggled at times, but the Phillies offense simply hasn't done what they've expected to coming into the season. On the mound, they've had bright spots, but have also had bad performances.

Still, baseball is all about luck at times. One pitcher knows better than anyone this season that luck can be a big factor in the success they find and that's Zach Wheeler.

The right-hander has a 3.0 ERA but has 30 strikeouts in 24.0 innings pitched. His 3.0 2.56 FIP shows that his 3.0 ERA is high and should come down within his next few starts. An 0-3 record with his numbers also shows how unlucky he's been.

MLB.com released their first Cy Young poll of the season and Philadelphia's ace currently has the most first-place votes out of any pitcher in the National League.

The right-hander has 20 votes, while Tyler Glasnow has 16.

Jason Foster writes about the bad luck Wheeler has faced but is impressed with his advanced numbers. The 33-year-old ranks in the 94th percentile in chase rate and his strikeout rate is the highest of his career.

According to Baseball Savant, Wheeler has an above-average xERA, xBA, whiff percentage, walk percentage, and an offspeed run value in the 94th percentile.

The Georgia native should find better luck throughout an entire season. If his advanced numbers continue looking the way they do, he should have one of the better pitching seasons in baseball.

Whether that results in a Cy Young remains to be seen but Wheeler's 30 strikeouts are separating him in the early stages of the year.