Phillies' Pitcher Should Be Early Favorite for NL Cy Young Award

Which pitcher on the Philadelphia Phillies should be in the early NL Cy Young conversation?

Jul 25, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; A detailed view of a Hall of Fame patch on a Philadelphia Phillies hat resting in the dugout during the second inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies have been very inconsistent to start the season, and they are hanging right around the .500 mark. For a team that has championship aspirations, they haven’t lived up to those expectations just yet.

Despite being one of the best teams in the National League for the last couple of years, the Phillies are not off to an ideal start this year. The team is undoubtedly missing Zack Wheeler in the rotation, but the hope is that he will be able to return soon and be the ace that he has been since joining them. 

Fortunately, despite being without a pitcher of the caliber of Wheeler, the rotation does have some depth and has been able to do alright. There are certainly more concerns about the offensive production of the team compared to the rotation, and one of the reasons for that is the continued development of a young star pitcher. 

Christopher Sanchez has just been getting better and better since he joined the rotation a couple of years ago, and he is off to a great start once again in 2026. 

Sanchez is an Early NL Cy Young Candidate 

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sanchez | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

For most teams, not having a pitcher the caliber of Wheeler would cripple the rotation. Fortunately, the Phillies have made it a priority to have one of the best rotations in baseball, and that has been led by Sanchez. 

The southpaw is coming off an amazing campaign in which he finished second in the NL Cy Young voting, behind only Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Last year, he totaled a 13-5 record, 2.50 ERA, and 212 strikeouts in 202 innings pitched. 

So far this year, the numbers are looking even better early on. In four starts, he has totaled a 2.01 ERA and has been able to record 31 strikeouts in 22.1 innings pitched. The ability to make more hitters swing and miss has helped him take his game to a new level. Currently, he is striking out 12.5 hitters per nine innings pitched, which is a massive jump compared to last season. 

The hot start to the campaign has put him right in the mix once again to be in the NL Cy Young conversation. As a well-known name now, there will be no sneaking up on teams, but he has proven that he might have improved from last year, and that’s a scary thing for opponents.