It’s no secret that the Philadelphia Phillies’ rotation is one of the best in Major League Baseball.
With a league-best 2.65 starting pitching ERA and 9.1 fWAR from starters, the Phils are blowing the opposition away on the bump. And according to one panel of experts, two of those starters may be on their way to a feat rarely seen before in the sport’s history.
In the latest poll of baseball writers conducted monthly by MLB.com, Phillies teammates Zack Wheeler and Ranger Suárez were chosen to finish first and second in the National League Cy Young Award. Voters were asked to rank their top choices for the award one through five using a combination of performance so far and future predictions.
Of 33 voters, 15 voted for Wheeler to take home the hardware, whereas 14 sided with Suárez. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Tyler Glasnow, who leads MLB with 116 strikeouts, finished in a distant third with three first-place votes.
If it sounds rare that a pair of teammates might have a chance to go one-two in the Cy Young voting, it’s because it’s only been done five times in the history of the award, according to MLB researcher Sarah Langs. The award was first introduced in 1956.
Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole of the Houston Astros were the most recent pair to accomplish the feat in 2019, whereas Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling did it in back-to-back years from 2001-2002. The other two instances were both achieved by Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers, in 1958 and 1974.
Wheeler was chosen as the frontrunner despite having slightly less sparkling stats than his teammate Suárez. With a career-best 2.23 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 80.2 innings, he might well be on his way to doing so if he can simply maintain his current production.
Suárez, meanwhile, has been one of the surprise stories of baseball, blitzing his way to a league-best 10 wins on the mound. He also leads MLB in ERA (1.81), WHIP (0.85), and ERA+ (2.23). At age 28, Suárez has never made an All-Star team or received a Cy Young vote, but both of those are well on their way to changing in 2024.
Healthy competition is one of the best things an MLB rotation can have, as not only Wheeler and Suárez have had great numbers all season, but Aaron Nola and Cristopher Sánchez as well. Whoever finishes behind their teammate in the Cy Young voting might feel slighted, but if it helps the Phillies take home their first World Series since 2008, it’s doubtful either would complain.
