Phillies Starting Rotation Incorrectly Not Ranked No. 1 Amongst Playoff Contenders

The Philadelphia Phillies rotation should still be ranked No. 1 amongst the playoff teams.

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The biggest strength that the Philadelphia Phillies had entering the 2025 MLB regular season was their starting rotation.

Entering play on Sept. 8, the group certainly hasn’t been undersold. The Phillies, regardless of who has taken the ball, have consistently sported the best starting rotation in baseball. However, their outlook changed drastically a few weeks ago when their ace, Zack Wheeler, went down with an injury.

Dealing with a blood clot near his right shoulder, his season came to an unexpected end. Durability had not been an issue for him during his tenure with the Phillies, but his campaign would be cut short. There is no denying how big of a blow that is to the team’s outlook the remainder of the season.

Wheeler was putting together another Cy Young Award worthy year. He finished the campaign making 24 starts, recording a 2.71 ERA across 149.2 innings with 195 strikeouts. Despite not pitching since Aug. 15, he still leads the NL in punchouts. His loss cannot be understated, but the team’s rotation might be underlooked heading down the stretch.

Phillies still have best rotation in baseball even down Zack Wheeler

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In a recent piece over at The Athletic (subscription required), Eno Sarris shared rankings of each playoff team’s starting rotation. Three-man rotations were used because that is normally what teams turn to in October. Philadelphia’s group of Cristoper Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo and Ranger Suarez was ranked No. 2, behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Of course, losing a player of Wheeler’s caliber will ding their ranking. But Sanchez has performed like an ace himself this year and will be receiving Cy Young consideration. Luzardo and Suarez both have dominant stretches as well. Outside of pitch tipping issues, they have been incredibly consistent.

What sets this group apart from the Dodgers is that they are dependable when it comes to durability. The trio of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell are dominant but their availability is almost always in question. Similar sentiment can be used with Shohei Ohtani. Projections for the Los Angeles trio are through the roof, but can they pitch enough to actually provide that production?

Phillies record in games started by each Starting Pitcher this season:

19-8 Cristopher Sanchez
16-8 Zack Wheeler
15-13 Jesus Luzardo
13-8 Ranger Suarez
9-9 Taijuan Walker
5-8 Aaron Nola
2-4 Mick Abel
1-0 Tanner Banks
0-1 Joe Rosspic.twitter.com/uY0ckTut0p

— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) September 4, 2025

The Phillies finishing second behind the Dodgers without Wheeler speaks volumes to how good this rotation is. That isn’t even taking into consideration Aaron Nola, who has struggled but has the skills to turn things around in an instant. Don’t forget top prospect Andrew Painter still waiting in the wings at Triple-A as well.

Philadelphia’s projections took a hit without Wheeler, but they still have more than enough firepower to be in the top ranked rotation entering the postseason.