The Philadelphia Phillies have built their identity around one undeniable strength over the past several seasons: an elite starting rotation.
No matter how turbulent things become during the course of a season, Philadelphia has consistently relied on its starters to stabilize the team. Few rotations across Major League Baseball can match the Phillies’ group, and Zack Wheeler has been at the heart of that success.
After spending the first six seasons of his MLB career with the New York Mets, Wheeler joined Philadelphia in free agency before the 2020 campaign. Since arriving, he has elevated his game to another level and established himself as one of baseball’s premier starters.
Even with that sustained excellence, Wheeler is rarely mentioned when discussions turn to the game’s best pitchers. Despite compiling an elite resume year after year, he remains one of the most overlooked aces in baseball, and the numbers make a compelling case.
Zack Wheeler continues to prove he deserves more recognition
Injuries limited Wheeler during portions of his Mets tenure, but durability has become one of his defining traits in Philadelphia. Although a blood clot in his shoulder ended his 2025 season early and delayed his return to begin the 2026 campaign, he has remained a dependable workhorse whenever he has taken the mound.
Looking at the bigger picture, few pitchers have matched Wheeler’s consistency over the last several years. Since the start of the 2018 season, he leads Major League Baseball in wins, ranks second in innings pitched, and owns the highest fWAR among all pitchers, according to Justin Havens on X.
Despite those accomplishments, Wheeler’s trophy case doesn’t fully reflect his dominance. During that span, he has earned only three All-Star selections and is still searching for his first Cy Young Award after finishing runner-up twice, in 2021 and 2024.
His All-Star total will remain unchanged this season, not because of his performance but because of scheduling. Since he is slated to pitch in Philadelphia’s Sunday finale before the break, he is ineligible to appear in the All-Star Game, making a replacement selection unlikely. Still, his performance warranted an original roster spot.
Through his first 14 starts of 2026, Wheeler owns a 9-1 record with a 2.28 ERA and 98 strikeouts across 87 innings. He has thrown more innings than any pitcher since making his season debut and has already accumulated 4.3 bWAR, nearly matching the 5.1 bWAR he posted during his outstanding 2025 campaign.
Since joining the Phillies in 2020, Wheeler has made 171 starts and logged 1,066 innings. Over that stretch, he has recorded a sparkling 2.85 ERA, a 149 ERA+, a 2.98 FIP, and a 1.008 WHIP.
His 78-38 record underscores just how consistently he gives Philadelphia a chance to win every time he takes the ball. Wheeler has firmly established himself among the game’s elite pitchers, and his body of work deserves far more recognition than it has received.