Wheeler's final Cy Young argument a compelling one
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WASHINGTON -- Zack Wheeler isn’t afraid of a challenge, so this spring he said publicly that he wanted to win the National League Cy Young Award.
He reiterated his goal earlier this month.
Wheeler made his closing argument in Saturday afternoon’s 6-3 loss to the Nationals at Nationals Park. He allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings, striking out 11 and walking two. He made one mistake: a 2-2 sinker down the middle to James Wood, who cleared the left-field fence by a few rows in for a two-run home run in the sixth.
The loss locked the Phillies into the NL’s No. 2 seed in the postseason. They will play the winner of the No. 3 (Brewers) vs. No. 6 (Braves/Mets/Diamondbacks) Wild Card Series in the NL Division Series.
Wheeler finished the season 16-7 with a 2.57 ERA. He is the first Phillies pitcher since the mound moved to its current distance in 1893 to go six-plus innings and allow two or fewer runs in 11 consecutive starts.
He finished the season strong.
Did Wheeler do enough to win the Cy Young? The only pitcher who can make a strong case against him is Atlanta’s Chris Sale. Sale leads MLB in wins (18), ERA (2.38), FIP (2.08) and fWAR (6.4). He leads the NL in strikeouts (225). But Sale has not pitched since Sept. 19, when he lasted five innings in Cincinnati. The Braves have not said when exactly he will pitch again, despite fighting for their postseason lives this weekend.
There is speculation that Sale is not healthy. His four-seam fastball has averaged 94.8 mph, but it dipped below 90 mph in his final two innings against the Reds.
Wheeler ranks behind Sale in wins, ERA, ERA+ (159), FIP (3.13), strikeouts (224) and fWAR (5.5). But he bests Sale in WHIP (.096 to 1.01), opponents’ batting average (.192 to .216), on-base percentage (.253 to .269) and OPS (.581 to .588).
But in an era where starters are lucky to get through a lineup three times, Wheeler is a throwback. He finished Sunday with more innings pitched than Sale (200 to 177 2/3), more quality starts (26 to 18) and more starts of six or more innings (26 to 19).