Phillies drop 3 page report on Zack Wheeler’s case to win the National League Cy Young Award over Chris Sale

Drew Smith
September 30, 2024
Phillies
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The Philadelphia Phillies dropped a PR release of Zack Wheeler, making his case to win the 2024 National League Cy Young Award over Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale.

Make no mistake, Zack Wheeler was dominant in 2024, finishing the year throwing 200 innings with a 2.57 ERA, 6.1 bWAR, and 224 strikeouts. He ranked first in the National League in the following categories:

Zack Wheeler NL Rankings:

0.96 WHIP (1st in NL)
26 QS (1st in NL)
.192 AVG (1st in NL)
.253 OBP (1st in NL)
.581 OPS (1st in NL)
.256 wOBA (1st in the NL)

Wheeler ranked second in the National League with 200 innings pitched. He lead Sale in that category, who finished 10th, by 22.1 innings- recording 67 more outs. Wheeler also had the most 6.0 inning starts in baseball (26) and made 25 starts where he pitched 6.0 innings and allowed 2 ER or fewer – also the most in Major League Baseball.

Wheeler finished the season with 11 straight starts of 6.0 IP+ and 2 ER or fewer, becoming the first pitcher to finish a season on that type of streak since Jake Arrieta did in 2015 – the year that he won Cy Young with the Chicago Cubs.

As for Chris Sale, he made 17 starts of 6.0 IP and 2 ER or fewer, which ranked just 9th among all MLB pitchers this season.

In 9 starts against the best teams in the National League, Wheeler posted a 1.55 ERA (10 ER, 58.0 IP) with a .088 WHIP to go along with 63 strikeouts and 8 walks (7.88 SO/BB ratio)

Chris Sale made 9 starts against the NL’s best and posted a 2.44 ERA (14 ER, 51.2 IP) with a 1.16 WHIP to go along with 66 strikeouts and 14 walks (4.40 SO/BB ratio).

Zack Wheeler and the Phillies are done with the regular season. They will begin the NLDS on Saturday, October 5th.

The Atlanta Braves might have to pitch Chris Sale in the second-game of a doubleheader against the New York Mets today – if necessary to clinch a spot in the National League Wild Card.

Breakdown: Mets and Braves enter Monday’s doubleheader needing just one win to secure one of the two available NL Wild Card spots >>

Making a case for Zack Wheeler over Chris Sale is tough right now. The best option would be to rely heavily on the “workhorse” angle and hope for the best.

There’s still a slight glimmer of hope that Sale will be forced to pitch Game 2 of the doubleheader today against the Mets and if he manages to screw things up and the Braves miss the playoffs because of it, Wheeler could slide in the top spot and take home in the NL Cy Young Award on the final day of the 2024 regular season.