The Philadelphia Phillies rotation has established itself as one of the best in Major League Baseball over the last week with all five starters impressing as the Phillies have won seven of their last eight games.
The stellar performances of co-aces Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola should come as no surprise to Phillies fans. The sheer dominance of Ranger Suárez, Cristopher Sánchez and unexpected fifth starter Spencer Turnbull has helped a Phillies team that was hovering around .500 a week ago make a full-scale turnaround that currently has them sitting at 15-9 and just 2.0 games behind the Atlanta Braves for first place in the NL East.
It's still hard to fathom the scope of what Phillies pitchers accomplished last week versus the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox. In 44 1/3 innings, Phillies starters collectively allowed only three earned runs and 22 hits while striking out 48 and only walking eight. Digging further, we saw a 112-pitch complete-game shutout from Suárez, followed by Turnbull and Wheeler flirting with no-hitters. Production from the starting rotation is off the charts right now.
Phillies starters, past 6 games:
— John Foley (@2008Philz) April 21, 2024
44.1 IP, 22 H, 3 ER, 8 BB, 48 K
0.61 ERA, 0.73 WHIP 🔥
Nola: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
Suárez: 9 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
Sánchez: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
Turnbull: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Wheeler: 7.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
Nola: 8…
5 starters who will be in the Phillies' 2025 Opening Day starting rotation
Will the Phillies starting pitching staff remain this dominant all year long? Probably not. But the early results are pointing to a rotation No. 1 through 5 that could be in the discussion for being among the best in the majors all season.
That has opened up a big question: Who will be in the Phillies rotation in 2025? Let's take a look at some very likely possibilities.
No. 1: Zack Wheeler
The first pitcher will come as a surprise to no one. When the Phillies extended Zack Wheeler on a $126 million, three-year deal during spring training, they locked up their ace until the end of the 2027 season. He's not going anywhere anytime soon.
The move looks like a win for both parties. By extending Wheeler, the Phillies have seemingly increased their competitive window to win a World Series for another three seasons.
In his five-year career with the Phillies, Wheeler is 44-28 with a 3.02 ERA and 713 strikeouts in 660 2/3 innings pitched over 106 starts. The hard-tossing right-handed pitcher was unbelievable in the playoffs in 2023, with a 3-0 record and 35 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings pitched. Wheeler's nasty splitter left White Sox hitters hacking at the plate on Saturday.
Zack Wheeler, Nasty 86mph Splitter. ✌️ pic.twitter.com/fjPWS0y4xK
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 20, 2024
So far in 2024, Wheeler's record has been a bit misleading. Currently sitting at 1-3 with a 2.30 ERA, 38 strikeouts and a 0.89 WHIP in 31 1/3 innings pitched, Wheeler has been a victim of poor run support in four of his first five starts this season. Mark it as a safe bet to pencil Wheeler in again as the Opening Day starter in 2025.
NEXT: How will the No. 2 through 4 spots shake out on Opening Day 2025?