On Saturday, the Phillies announced that Zach Wheeler would be missing the remainder of the season with venous thoracic outlet syndrome, an injury that requires surgery and has a timetable of 6-8 months for a full recovery. The good news, Wheeler had the blood clot successfully removed. The bad news, the Phillies need to find a way to replace their Cy Young caliber ace for the final stretch of the season and into the playoffs.
Win It For Wheeler
No MLB team ever wants to lose its ace, especially a team that has World Series aspirations. For the Phillies, this situation is a new one. Since Wheeler signed with the Phillies, he has been a staple of the rotation, especially in the playoffs. Over the last three years, Wheeler has been great in the playoffs and was the best thing we had to ensure a win in a series. You knew if Wheeler was taking the mound, the Phillies had a decent chance to win the game. Now, with Wheeler gone for the season, it’s going to be extremely hard to replace an arm like his. Luckily for the Phillies, they have three arms I would trust in a playoff series, which is more than a lot of other teams have.
With Wheeler being gone, I could see the Phillies rolling out a staff of Christopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez, and Aaron Nola for a playoff series. Getting a first-round bye is massive for this team, as the National League gets the extra day off in between games this year (the leagues alternate each year). With that extra day, the Phillies will only need three arms for the NLDS. Game one starter is easily Christopher Sanchez, with game two belonging to either Ranger Suarez or Aaron Nola. If Rob wants back-to-back lefties, he will go with Ranger. If he wants to mix a righty in there, he will go with Nola. Despite his injuries and inconsistency, I trust Nola to show up and perform in the postseason. Like Wheeler, he has pitched well in the playoffs, and let’s not forget he was our ace at one point. My stance may change by season’s end, but I wouldn’t mind if Nola got the ball in a game two scenario.
Ranger Suarez is cool, calm, and collected every time he steps on the mound, no matter the game. Having him pitch in a game two or three is not a terrible situation to be in. The Phillies are very fortunate this year to have a plethora of starting pitching, and if the offense can pick up the pitching, this team can still make noise in the postseason. If Suarez can close out an NLCS to send us to the World Series circa 2023, I would absolutely trust him starting a playoff game for us. He has found his groove in his last two starts, striking out 10+ in both. If that’s the Ranger, the Phillies get in the postseason, I will feel extremely confident this team could win a series even without Zach Wheeler.
Offense Steps Up
Losing your ace means you’re going to need more contributions from key players on offense. JT Realmuto has been on fire since June, leading all catchers in batting average since then. Bryce Harper has been swinging a hot bat, and Bryson Stott has been thriving in the nine hole. Rob Thompson moved Stott to 9th in the order a few weeks ago, and I have loved it ever since. Not only is Stott hitting more, but Trea Turner has been great since having Stott before the order turns around to him. Turner is hitting .300 and is the current NL leader in hits with 160. On top of Turner playing great defense this year, he is having his best season as a Phillie so far.
Kyle Schwarber had a down weekend against the Nationals, but still has 45 homers and 109 RBI. He is second in home runs in baseball and leads the majors in RBI. Schwarber has been elite this year, and the Phillies will need his offense to remain consistent as we head down the stretch.
Upcoming Week
The Phillies have a massive week coming up, starting tonight against the divisional rival New York Mets (69-61). The Phillies are currently 7 games up on the Mets as we enter play this evening. The Phillies have an opportunity to bury the Mets this week if they can take 2/3 or even sweep them. It’s the biggest series of the season for this team, right off the heels of the Zach Wheeler news. I would like to think this Phillies team has the toughness and resilience to take at least 2/3 from the team that ended their season last year. It’s also ironic that it’s against Wheeler’s former team. After a three-game series against the Mets, the Phillies head back home for a four-game series against the Atlanta Braves (59-71). Another division rival that will be gunning for the Phillies despite being 10 games out of a playoff spot. The Braves would love to play spoiler and take some games from the Phillies.
This Philadelphia Phillies team enters the biggest week of the season without its ace. It’s time to see what this team is made of and how battle-tested this team truly is. If the Phillies could take 5/7 games overall, it would be an extremely successful week.
Prediction of the week: Who else picks up this team other than Bryce Harper? Harper and Schwarber power the Phillies this week, both clubbing 3 home runs apiece. A big week means I get to predict big.
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