They say that availability is the best ability. The other best is probably being able to play baseball. The good news for the Philadelphia Phillies? Their aces have both!
Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly looked around the league for the best starting pitching duos, Philadelphia's Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola came out on top.
Wheeler and Nola are two of the best pitchers in the league, while also being two of the most durable.
Since the start of the 2020 season, they are No. 1 and No. 2 in the MLB in innings pitched. They're also top-10 in FIP and strikeout percentage. Bumping it up a little bit, they're top-five in SIERA, WHIP and strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Simply put, ever since the two were put in the same rotation, they've been unstoppable. It hasn't been cheap for the Phillies, though, as they are spending just under $300 million to keep them together until at least the 2028 season.
In 2024, Wheeler has been better than ever and is on track to potentially win his first Cy Young. He has an ERA of 1.93 and incredible 2.44 FIP.
Nola isn't having 2018 levels of success but does look like his vintage self.
The craziest part is that Ranger Suarez, their third pitcher, would be most staff's ace this season. He leads Philadelphia in ERA, BB/9 and WHIP. He's walked just five batters in 41 innings pitched.
It's not like he came out of nowhere, he had a dominant 2021 season, but hasn't had the same consistency that Wheeler has had.
The 28-year-old won't be an unrestricted free agent until 2026, so they could have this trio for another season after this.
The Phillies have the best pitching staff in baseball and it doesn't look like that will be changing any time soon. With Andrew Painter and Mick Abel in the pipeline as two top-50 prospects in baseball, the future of Philadelphia pitching is as good as the present.
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