Phillies Star Pitcher Receives Major Praise from Padres All-Star Manny Machado

The Philadelphia Phillies are well represented on the top 100 player list that was shared by ESPN.

A panel of more than 60 baseball experts was asked to pick which player in a pairing was going to perform better over and over, eventually whittling things down to a top 100.

The Phillies had seven players featured on the list: starting pitcher Zack Wheeler, first baseman Bryce Harper, shortstop Trea Turner, starting pitcher Aaron Nola, starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez, designated hitter Kyle Schwarber and catcher J.T. Realmuto.

They came in at Nos. 9, 11, 29, 45, 79, 81 and 89, respectively. The only team who had more players ranked in the top 100 was the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had nine. Also, having seven players make the cut were the New York Yankees.

Wheeler is held in incredibly high regard by the panelists, as only one starting pitcher, Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates, was above him. He was ranked No. 5 overall.

However, there are some players around the league who believe that Wheeler was snubbed despite his lofty ranking.

One of those players is San Diego Padres All-Star third baseman Manny Machado.

He was one of 15 MLB players who offered their take on the top 100 rankings. In his opinion, there is no one better on the mound right now than the Philadelphia ace.

"Zack is the No. 1 pitcher in the league right now, by far,” Machado said via MLB Insider Buster Olney of ESPN, as he also believes that 2024 American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers, who slotted in right behind Wheeler at No. 10, should be higher on the list as well.

While that could be viewed as a slight by some to Skenes, who won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 2024, finished third in the Cy Young Award voting (behind winner Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Wheeler), and started the 2024 MLB All-Star Game for the NL, Machado made sure to give him his flowers also.

"There is a lot of hype around Paul [Skenes]. But he is nasty. I'm glad we missed him last year."

Wheeler is certainly deserving of the praise that Machado has bestowed upon him, as he is right in the mix as the best starting pitcher in baseball despite not having a Cy Young Award on his resume. He has been the runner-up twice.

He is off to an incredible start in 2025, cementing his lofty status among the top 100 and high regard that he is held in by his peers.

Through two starts and 13 innings, Wheeler has a 1.38 ERA with an MLB-high 18 strikeouts. He has allowed only five hits and issued two walks. Both runs that have come against him are via solo home runs.

A prestigious Cy Young Award has evaded him up to this point, but he looks like he will be right in the mix to win it again in 2025 with the hot start he has gotten off to.

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