The Philadelphia Phillies have a fairly comfortable 6-game lead in the NL East, thanks in large part to their pitching staff, which is fourth in the league with a 3.69 team ERA and second with 69 quality starts.
Zack Wheeler leads the bullpen with a 13-6 record and a career-low 2.63 ERA and was candid recently when asked about his chances of winning the Cy Young Award.
Speaking to the media recently about his chances of winning the coveted prize, Wheeler said: “It’s just one of those things you go into the season and it’s one of your personal goals to win it … all I try to do every year is, to be the best I can be and I know that will help the team.”
Zack Wheeler was asked about his Cy Young chances in 2024 pic.twitter.com/8KS0tmRDNy
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) September 1, 2024
Wheeler has been one of the best players in baseball since joining the Phillies five years ago and has yet to bring home the Cy Young Award, but one final push in the final month of the season could get him there.
Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves is the current favorite with his NL-leading 15 wins and 2.58 ERA, both within striking distance for Wheeler if he can finish strong.
What will likely be a two-horse race between Sale and Wheeler at this point is one of the few major awards still undecided, unlike the AL MVP and Cy Young awards, which have been outrighted by Aaron Judge and Tarik Skubal. run away
Wheeler gave up just seven earned runs in six starts in August, and if he can repeat that, he could take home some hardware in the offseason.
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