Phillies Ace Is Most Underrated Starting Pitcher in MLB

Injury concerns plagued him early in his career with the Mets, but they are no longer a concern. He did deal with a blood clot in his shoulder that cut his 2025 campaign short and delayed the start of his 2026 season, but when he is on the mound, he has been a workhorse for the Phillies.

Going back even a little further, there hasn’t been a pitcher as consistently productive in the MLB as Wheeler. Since the 2018 season through the present day, he has the most wins, the second most innings pitched and the best fWAR, as shared by Justin Havens on X.

Despite that incredible production, Wheeler flies under the radar because he doesn’t have the accolades and awards that some of his peers do. Since that stretch began, he has made the All-Star team only three times and doesn’t have a Cy Young Award on his resume; he has finished second twice in 2021 and 2024.

Wheeler won’t be adding to that All-Star count this year, either, despite being worthy. Because he is pitching on Sunday, the finale for Philadelphia, he is deemed ineligible to pitch. That makes being named a replacement highly unlikely, but he should have made the roster from the start.

Through his first 14 starts, he has a 9-1 record to go along with a 2.28 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 87 innings pitched. That is the most innings of any pitcher since he made his debut this year. He has nearly as much bWAR, 4.3, in 2026 as he did during his marvelous 2025 campaign, when he had 5.1.

In his Phillies career, he has made 171 starts since the start of the 2020 campaign and thrown 1,066 innings. His raw numbers are impressive with a 2.85 ERA, a 149 ERA+, a 2.98 FIP and a 1.008 WHIP. 

A record of 78-38 has been recorded, as he gives his team a chance to win every time he steps on the mound. Wheeler is one of the best in the game and should be recognized as such.

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