There is no doubt the Phillies have one of the best starting rotations in baseball heading into the 2025 season. In fact, MLB.com ranks the Philadelphia Phillies pitching staff — rotation and bullpen — as the second-best in the league, just behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
One through five, the Phillies have a star-studded rotation that is beaming with talent and immense potential. The rotation consists of Zach Wheeler, MLB’s fWAR pitching leader over the last five years; Aaron Nola, who leads MLB in innings pitched over the last five seasons; Ranger Suárez, who was square in the Cy Young discussion early last year; up-and-coming star Cristopher Sánchez, and newcomer Jesús Luzardo.
As talented as the lineup and the bullpen are, the starting rotation might be the strongest unit on the team. There will be plenty of friendly competition within the starting lineup on who is the best, but manager Rob Thompson will surely be keeping a close eye all season long, so he is best equipped if and when the Phillies enter the playoffs.
It would be wrong not to mention the depth beyond the top five of the Phillies’ starting rotation. Much-maligned veteran Taijuan Walker will begin the year in the rotation. He's right in the middle of a four-year deal with the Phillies and is coming off of an atrocious year that saw him removed from the rotation. No. 1 organizational prospect Andrew Painter is waiting in the wings. He's finally healthy and eager to prove that he deserves a chance to show his stuff at the MLB level.
Phillies starting rotation power rankings heading into the 2025 season
No. 5: Jesús Luzardo, LHP
Newcomer Jesús Luzardo comes over from division foe, the Miami Marlins. He spent the last three-plus seasons with the Marlins and was with Oakland two years prior to that. While he has gone through some periods of his career with injuries, when he's on the mound, it's clear he has electric stuff.
He features a four-seamer, slider, changeup and sinker. According to Baseball Savant, he falls in the 80th percentile in whiff rate and 83 percentile in offspeed run value. However, he has struggled recently with his fastball run value (30th percentile) and xERA (22nd percentile), among other categories.
His best season came in 2023 when he pitched 178 2/3 innings with a 3.58 ERA, 1.215 WHIP and 208 strikeouts. He was hurt for most of 2024, ending with just 66 2/3 innings pitched. He’s had a K/9 rate of above 9.00 every season he’s been in the majors with the exception of his injury-riddled 2024.
The Phillies hope he can find his rhythm in the stable organization that is the Phillies and with a plethora of strong, consistent and "professional" arms in their pitching staff.
No.4: Ranger Suárez, LHP
Fan favorite and cool as a cucumber, 29-year-old Ranger Suárez has all the potential in the world. He doesn’t feel pressure and loves the big moments. Last season, until a back injury hindered him, he was a legitimate Cy Young candidate who was gaining a ton of attention.
He ended 2024 with 150 2/3 innings pitched over 27 starts, with a 3.46 ERA and 1.201 WHIP. He punched out 145 batters while surrendering just 41 walks and was awarded his first All-Star selection. But Suárez really earns his love with his playoff resume. In 10 playoff appearances, he has a 1.43 ERA and 40 strikeouts in just 37 2/3 innings.
The left-hander is a master at inducing weak contact and batters to roll over on balls. He ranks in the 90th percentile in ground ball rate, 83rd percentile in hard-hit rate, 89th percentile in average exit velocity and 88th percentile in barrel rate.
Although he's starting the year on the IL, if Ranger Suárez can stay healthy the rest of the year, there’s no reason we won’t see his name in the Cy Young award mix again this season.
No. 3: Aaron Nola, RHP
Aaron Nola might as well be known as ‘Ol Reliable at this point. He is the longest-tenured Phillie with 10 years under his belt in Philadelphia and had been the true ace of the staff for a long time before Zack Wheeler came along.
It's a common saying that availability is the best ability, and Nola surely does that well. He has not been below 180 innings pitched since 2017 (aside from the shortened 2020 season) and he leads the league in innings pitched over the last five years with 850. He leads the second-place pitcher (teammate Wheeler) by 30 2/3 innings.
Other than being an innings eater, he’s been as solid on the mound as you can be. He ended last season with a 3.57 ERA, 1.199 WHIP and 197 strikeouts. His 2023 season was a down year for Nola, but in 2022, he registered a 2.58 FIP and 0.961 WHIP, finishing fourth in Cy Young voting.
Nola has the pedigree to be the best pitcher on this staff, but it just shows how good the rotation is that he comes in third right now.
No. 2: Cristopher Sánchez, LHP
This one may be a bit of a surprise if you look at the team on paper, but if you’ve been following closely over the last year, it's clear that Cristopher Sánchez is geared up for a stellar 2025. The 28-year-old lefty had a breakout season for the Phillies in 2024. He ended the season with 181 2/3 innings, a 3.32 ERA, a 1.244 WHIP and two complete games that led the league. The innings were a career-high by 82 1/3, and he was elected to the All-Star Game for the first time in his career.
Sánchez broke into the league with the Phillies in 2021 when he started just seven games and has progressively taken the next step every year since. That year, he threw just 12 2/3 innings. He started 15 games in 2022 with 40 innings, increased to 99 1/3 innings in 18 starts in 2023 and then had a full workload in 2024 with 31 starts.
He has devastated batters with his sinker and changeup which he throws 47.3 percent and 35.7 percent of the time. According to Baseball Savant, Sánchez ranks in the 100th percentile in offspeed run value, 98th percentile in chase rate, and 95th percentile in ground ball rate. He has elite stuff and not just compared to the Phillies pitcher but to the rest of the league as well.
No. 1: Zack Wheeler, RHP
It should come as no surprise that Zack Wheeler tops this list as the Phillies' best pitcher heading into 2025. In fact, Wheeler likely tops the power rankings list for starting pitchers in all of baseball. As mentioned, the 34-year-old right-hander has accumulated the most fWAR of any pitcher in all of baseball over the last five years with 22.7, a full 3.5 more than the next-best pitcher, Corbin Burnes.
The Phillies rewarded his greatness last offseason with a three-year, $126 million contract that kicks in this year and makes him the top-paid player on the Phillies. He has been the ace of this staff for quite some time and has been rewarded with his second straight Opening Day start.
In 2024, Wheeler came in second in NL Cy Young voting behind Chris Sale. He ended the season with 200 innings, a 2.57 ERA, 16 wins and a league-leading 0.955 WHIP. It was his second time coming in the runner-up in the Cy Young voting as a Phillie, with the other coming in 2021.
Wheeler seems like he is just getting better and better, and there is no one better to top this list than the Phillies' most trusted pitcher.