Mets star Marcus Stroman is campaigning for Phillies ace Zack Wheeler to win the NL Cy Young
Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler is pitching like he never did in his five seasons with the New York Mets.
He has a career-best 2.78 ERA over 32 starts (tied for his career-most), and leads MLB in complete games (3), shutouts (2), innings pitched (213 1/3), strikeouts (247), and batters faced (849). In August, he became the first pitcher to reach 200 strikeouts, and this month, he was the first to throw 200 innings, two milestones he’d never reached in a season before.
Current Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman had an amazing season himself, but when asked about his pick for National League Cy Young, his answer was the former Met.
Earlier this week, Stroman – one of the best MLB players to follow on Twitter – tweeted that given the choice between Max Scherzer, Corbin Burnes, and Wheeler, he’d pick the Phillies ace:
Who y’all got!? This is a tough one! I say Wheeler. However, there’s no wrong answer! https://t.co/ZSSG6tnRPb
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) September 27, 2021
Wheeler is the CY Young in my eyes. Scherzer and Burnes have had historic seasons and are more than deserving though! https://t.co/6nEsLggTD3
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) September 27, 2021
Wheeler was the first pitcher in MLB to reach both 200 strikeouts and 200 innings pitched, and currently leads all pitchers in both categories, as he has for most of the season. It’s also his first season reaching 200 in either metric. If he had more run support and a bullpen that wasn’t leading MLB in blown saves, he’d probably have a better record than 14-10.
When a follower replied to Stro asking for his reasoning in choosing Wheeler, the Mets star gave a complimentary and fact-based response:
He’s the definition of a workhorse. He has 30+ more IP, leads in IP, and leads in strikeouts. He goes the deepest into games out of any starter consistently. Few games this year he let up some runs in the 8th and 9th. If he had the bullpen of MIL or LAD, he would be the Cy Young! https://t.co/2zq4jOm3Cc
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) September 27, 2021
Stroman’s Wheeler campaign continued on Wednesday when he retweeted the Phillies beautiful campaign for their ace:
This is why I personally picked Wheeler for the CY! Burnes and Scherzer more than deserving as well! https://t.co/DRZde75fQC
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) September 30, 2021
Stroman and Wheeler overlapped in the former’s first year with the Mets in 2019, which ended up being the latter’s last. This season, Stroman has a 3.02 ERA over an MLB-leading 33 starts. His ERA is his best in any season in which he pitched in more than four games.
While it’s frustrating for Mets fans to see their former pitcher having the best season of his career with their division rival, there’s something really great about seeing a pitcher who had an incredible season supporting a fellow pitcher.