Philadelphia Phillies Hold Pair of Aces in Latest Cy Young Poll

The Philadelphia Phillies have two starting pitchers that are in the Top 5 of MLB.com’s latest Cy Young poll.

May 6, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler. | Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies have two pitchers in the Top 5 of MLB.com’s latest National League Cy Young poll, including the leader.

Zack Wheeler received 19 first-place votes in the poll of MLB.com writers. Los Angeles Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow was second, followed by the Chicago Cubs’ Shota Imanaga and the San Diego Padres’ Dylan Cease.

In fifth with one first-place vote was Phillies left-hander Ranger Suárez, who is off to the best start of his career.

Wheeler has never won a Cy Young but he came closest in 2021 with Philadelphia, as he finished second in voting with a 14-10 record and a 2.78 ERA. He also led the Majors with 247 strikeouts. Wheeler was also sixth in voting in 2023 after he went 13-6 with a 3.61 ERA.

So far, the right-hander is just 4-3 with a 2.53 ERA in nine games. He has struck out 65 and walked 15 in 53.1 innings.

But, MLB.com pointed out that Wheeler is pacing toward career high in four areas — his 2.53 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 11.0 K/9 and .190 opponents' batting average. If he’s able to maintain that, the pedestrian win-loss record should improve as the season goes on.

Suárez is the surprise, which probably explains the one vote.

He is 7-0 with a 1.50 ERA and his 0.72 WHIP leads all starters. For perspective, he’s never won more than 10 games in a single season.

Recently, he became the fourth pitcher in MLB history to have a WHIP of 0.72 in their first eight starts with their team winning all eight. The other three pitchers threw in baseball’s dead ball era — Christy Mathewson in 1901, Addie Joss in 1907 and Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown in 1908.

Of course, only one player can win this award, but having two Phillies in the mix showcases out deep this starting rotation is as they chase a World Series championship.