Phillies first half award winners: Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, and more

ByJohn Town|
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 10: Maikel Franco #7 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrates a 7-3 win against the New York Mets after their game at Citi Field on July 10, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 10: Maikel Franco #7 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrates a 7-3 win against the New York Mets after their game at Citi Field on July 10, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 09: Zach Eflin #56 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches in the second inning against the New York Mets during Game One of a doubleheader at Citi Field on July 9, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Comeback Player of the Year: Zach Eflin

I will end this article on a positive note, taking a look at a great success story this year. Zach Eflin showed promise his first two seasons, but injuries and inconsistency have kept him from fulfilling that promise. Now, that is starting to change.

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Eflin started the year in Triple-A as Ben Lively won the fifth spot in the rotation, but an early injury to Lively had Eflin back in the majors in May. He became a mainstay the rest of the first half up until the last day when a finger blister forced him to the disabled list. It shouldn’t impede him for long.

In 12 starts this year, Eflin has logged 68.2 innings, posting a 3.15 ERA, 3.03 FIP, 1.08 WHIP, and 4.79 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The only pitcher who has better numbers than Eflin in the rotation has been Aaron Nola. That isn’t a bad person to be second-best to.

2018 has been a breakout season for Eflin so far.

He has given no reason to think he will fall off in the second half, and the team will need him at his best for the coming playoff push.

Next: Phillies should remain cautious in reliever market

Runners-up: Maikel Franco, Nick Pivetta, Vince Velasquez