Zack Wheeler and the chase for NL Cy Young: Can He Catch Chris Sale?

It’s no secret that Zack Wheeler is having yet another dominant regular season as the ace in the Philadelphia Phillies starting rotation.

Wheeler has posted a 15-6 record with a 2.60 ERA, which obviously has him in the Top 3 pitchers being considered to take home the National League Cy Young Award at the end of the MLB regular season.

The Philadelphia Phillies currently hold onto an eight game lead over the New York Mets in the NL East. In the National League and in all of Major League Baseball, the Phillies have a one-game advantage over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

They are 30-games over the .500 mark and Zack Wheeler has been leading the way for an already dominant pitching staff.

As for Chris Sale and the Atlanta Braves? I’m not sold.

Look, I’m not here to say that Chris Sale is undeserving of the Cy Young or recognition. He most certainly is. However, the Atlanta Braves as a whole have been riddled with injuries and currently aren’t even positioned in one of the three NL Wild Card spots available.

The Braves trail the New York Mets by one game in the NL Wild Card for the third and final spot in the postseason and trail the Phillies by nine games in the NL East. Of course, team statistics don’t matter when talking about the NL Cy Young so let’s look at Sale vs Wheeler this season.

Chris Sale: 16-3, 2.38 ERA, 27 GS, 166.2 IP, 44 ER, 35 BB, 213 SO, 1.00 WHIP

Zack Wheeler: 15-6, 2.60 ERA, 29 GS, 179.2 IP, 52 ER, 49 BB, 199 SO, 0.97 WHIP

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Zack Wheeler has three more starts on the docket:

• Tuesday in Milwaukee
• Sept. 22 in New York against the Mets
• Sept. 28 at home vs. Washington

I think we can scratch the September 28th start against the Washington Nationals. The Phillies should have the NL East and ideally, the NL locked up by their final series of the regular season. If they’re in that position, we might see the Phillies ease up on Wheeler’s workload, saving him for Game 1 of the NL Division Series on October 5, 2024.

Basically, Wheeler will be highlighted against two postseason teams in the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets (Wildcard) to make his final case to take home the NL Cy Young Award.

Those two starts could bring Zack Wheeler’s record to 17-6 on the season and if he performs well and eats up even more innings and strikeouts while keeping the Brewers and Mets off the scoreboard, that could would obviously help.

Chris Sale will start against the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 14th. From there, depending on how the standings are shaping up for Atlanta, Sale could potentially start against the Reds or Marlins before making one final start against the Kansas City Royals.

The Reds and Marlins don’t mean much but two starts against the Dodgers and Royals could present a problem for the Sale and the Braves, opening the door even more for Zack Wheeler to become the NL favorite.

Cy Young or not, Zack Wheeler’s been a major reason why the Phillies are in prime position to make yet another deep run this October. The Phillies will have an off-day today before opening up a weekend series at Citizens Bank Park against the New York Mets.

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