It was inevitable that Zack Wheeler was going to be named June's National League Pitcher of the Month. The veteran right-hander mowed down opposing hitters on a historic level and came away with some ridiculous numbers.
Unfortunately, Wheeler's incredible June stole the spotlight from a pair of deserving Philadelphia Phillies teammates. Fellow starters Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez had stellar months of their own. In a normal month, you can envision either of them being awarded the monthly honor handed down by the league.
Zack Wheeler named NL Pitcher of the Month for June
However, Wheeler's June was far outside of the ordinary as he continued to solidify his place as a Cy Young favorite. The right-hander's historic month culminated with a beautiful eight-inning, 10-strikeout shutout of the San Diego Padres on Monday. After going 2-1 with a 0.58 ERA in five starts, Wheeler is only the fourth Phillies pitcher to post a 0.60 ERA or under with 30 or more innings pitched in a month since 1912, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
His other June numbers are just as ridiculous. Wheeler led all NL starters with 1.4 fWAR. He posted an 0.87 WHIP, with 12.19 K/9 (42 strikeouts in 31 innings) and held opposing hitters to a .179 average. It's not even like he was just getting lucky. His MLB-best 1.57 FIP and second-best 2.30 xFIP highlighted his absolute dominance.
Wheels rolled through June 🔥 pic.twitter.com/L105xveyfx
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 3, 2025
Phillies teammates Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez had cases for Pitcher of the Month honors
Wheeler's teammates deserve an honorable mention, as Suárez and Sánchez helped lead the Phillies' rotation to the best ERA (2.35) and fWAR (4.0) in the majors in June.
Suárez compiled the third-highest fWAR with 1.1 and went 3-2 with six quality starts, five of which saw him complete at least seven innings. He finished second among NL starters with a 1.30 ERA and fourth with an 0.86 WHIP. The pending free agent left-hander and his 56.3 percent ground ball rate held opponents to a .196 average.
Ranger Suárez's 2Ks in the 5th. pic.twitter.com/mrLbNfKIml
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 29, 2025
Sánchez went 2-1 in his five starts, and finished second to Wheeler with 1.2 fWAR. His 1.85 ERA ranked fourth among NL starters, while his 0.91 WHIP ranked seventh. He held batters to a .200 batting average.
On the season, the Phillies starting pitching has been everything it was advertised to be — and maybe has been even better than most people thought. The rotation ranks first in the NL and second in the majors with a 3.30 ERA and has pitched the most innings at 491 while leading the majors with 9.70 K/9 and 529 strikeouts.