Bryce Harper sends timely message to Zack Wheeler after Cy Young snub

Phillies ace Zack Wheeler should have won the 2021 NL Cy Young

Zack Wheeler didn’t win the Cy Young Award last night, but his Philadelphia Phillies teammates made sure he knew his worth.

Right around the time Wheeler was snubbed, Bryce Harper posted an Instagram Story for his “brotha,” calling him “a dawg, a workhorse, and an absolute stud,” all very accurate ways to describe Wheeler’s stellar season.

Harper is waiting on an award announcement of his own; he’s considered the favorite to win NL MVP for the second time in his impressive career. He and Wheeler are the main reasons their team stayed in postseason conversation deep into September, and finished with a winning season for the first time since 2011.

Wheeler posted career-bests in ERA (2.78), FIP (2.59), and WHIP (1.008) over 32 starts, which matches his career-high set in 2014 and not replicated until this year. He lowered his hit and walk rates while skyrocketing his strikeout and SO/W rates, setting new personal bests in each metric.

The “Workhorse” part of Harper’s compliment is evident in Wheeler leading MLB in complete games, shutouts, innings pitched, and batters faced. He also led the National League in strikeouts and had led MLB right until Robbie Ray’s last start, when he edged Wheeler by exactly one strikeout.

The NL Cy Young race was close to the point of frustrating. Wheeler came in second to Brewers standout Corbin Burnes, despite besting him in numerous categories.

Here’s how they stacked up:

Burnes: 5.6 WAR, 28 starts, 2.43 ERA, 167 IP, 234 SO
Wheeler: 7.6 WAR, 32 starts, 2.78 ERA, 213 1/3 IP, 247 SO

Pitcher wins and losses are an outdated stat, but Wheeler still had 14 to Burnes’ 11.

But ultimately, the fact that we’re even able to compare a pitcher with 213+ innings to one who didn’t even crack 170 is crazy.

Wheeler and Burnes each had amazing seasons, but Wheeler stood out because he carried his pitching staff. Burnes was backed by one of the best bullpens in baseball; he had Josh Hader and Devin Williams waiting in the wings. It enabled the Brewers to not overuse and tire out Burnes; the Phillies did not have that luxury with Wheeler, and that’s one of the reasons why he led all MLB pitchers in innings and batters faced. The Phillies bullpen tied the MLB single-season record by blowing 34 saves. They ruined countless Wheeler starts and played a huge part in costing the Phillies’ a shot at the postseason.

It was frustrating to watch an amazing season like Wheeler’s go to waste because he didn’t have enough backup. There’s no way to change that now, but hopefully, it motivates the front office to go all out bolstering the bullpen this winter so that next year will be better.