The Philadelphia Phillies’ star players must play like it this upcoming season. The New York Mets have made significant upgrades to their lineup and pitching staff this offseason, and the reigning back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers added some more firepower to their roster.
The Phillies are falling behind the top competition in the National League, and not to mention, the Atlanta Braves will be a force again in 2026 if they can avoid the injury bug. The Phillies have a star-studded team of their own, but the core group has failed to win when it matters most.
Cristopher Sánchez gets well-deserved recognition in MLB Network’s Top 100 list among Phillies stars
It’s easy to forget how good the Phillies are with the pure talent the Mets and Dodgers added this offseason. The Phillies had the second-best record in the majors in 2025 and are the reigning back-to-back NL East champions.
Not only did the Phillies have an incredible regular season in 2025, but they featured some of baseball’s top players. Trea Turner won the NL batting title, Kyle Schwarber was the NL MVP runner-up and Cristopher Sánchez was the NL Cy Young runner-up.
Schwarber (No. 17), Turner (No. 25), and Sánchez (No. 29) joined Bryce Harper (No. 32) and Zack Wheeler (No. 51) on MLB Network’s Top 100 Players Right Now list as the Phillies’ representatives. The Phillies were tied with the Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox with the third-most players (five) to make the list as a team.
The four veterans are perennial Top 100 players, but this is Sánchez’s first time being recognized on the list. Not only is he on the list, but he was ranked as the 29th best player in the majors heading into the 2026 season.
Sánchez has been snubbed countless times in personal achievements and recognitions over the last two years. He was named an All-Star and finished 10th in NL Cy Young voting in 2024 after a breakout year, but he wasn’t named to either of the All-MLB Teams or represented on MLB Network’s Top 100 Players Right Now list heading into 2025.
The snubs didn’t end there. Sánchez established himself as a legitimate ace after a career year in 2025, in which he led the majors in bWAR (8.0), but he wasn’t selected as an All-Star. Not only was he not an All-Star, but Sánchez was the NL Cy Young runner-up and was named to the All-MLB Second Team instead of the First Team.
Sánchez is finally getting the recognition that he deserves on a national level by being ranked as a top 30 player in baseball heading into 2026. The Phillies will need the left-hander to replicate his 2.50 ERA and 212 strikeout performance from a season ago to compete with the Mets and Dodgers as World Series contenders.