SAN DIEGO -- It’s a good time for Zack Wheeler to rest.
He has been one of baseball’s best pitchers in the first half of 2025. Arguably, Wheeler has been the best in the National League. There was an excellent chance that he would have started Tuesday night’s All-Star Game in Atlanta, if he wanted to pitch. But Wheeler declined, preferring to rest as he prepares for what he hopes will be a long postseason capped by a World Series championship.
Wheeler made his final start before the All-Star break in Saturday’s 5-4 loss to the Padres at Petco Park. He allowed four runs in six innings, allowing a pair of home runs to Jackson Merrill.
It was only the third time in Wheeler’s career that he allowed two homers in a game to a batter. He allowed two to Cody Bellinger on June 19, 2017, and two to Buster Posey on April 20, 2021.
“His fastball looks like it's at your belt line when it's at your head,” said Merrill, who homered on two fastballs. “It's one of the best fastballs I've ever seen. I said out there, it was probably the best fastball I've ever seen.”
It was the first time Wheeler allowed more than one earned run in a start since he allowed six against the Braves on May 29. He had allowed a combined three earned runs in his last six starts.
That’s how dominant Wheeler has been. He finished the half 9-3 with a 2.36 ERA.
“Just consistency,” Wheeler said about his first half. “Start in and start out, for the most part I’ve been consistent. It’s always kind of my thing … is just be the best version of myself every time out.
“Baseball is hard. Some days you’re going to have days like today. It stinks, but it is baseball and you’re in the big leagues. You’re going to get hit around a little bit sometimes. It’s part of it.”
The Phillies’ rotation has been nearly as good as Wheeler. It will enter the break as the best rotation in baseball, and it really isn’t even close.
That rotation entered Saturday with the best ERA and strikeout rate of any rotation in the Majors. It was tied with Kansas City for the most innings pitched. It had an MLB-best 13.1 WAR, according to FanGaphs. The Royals (9.3 WAR) were a distant second.
The Phils’ rotation’s first-half WAR is fourth among all rotations in the 21st century:
- 2011 Phillies: 15.6 WAR (91 games)
- 2019 Astros: 13.5 WAR (99 games)
- 2003 Yankees: 13.3 WAR (93 games)
- 2025 Phillies: 13.1 WAR (94 games through Friday)
- 2013 Tigers: 13.0 WAR (94 games)
“Everybody’s done well,” Wheeler said. “We’ve stayed healthy, for the most part. I think it’s probably the biggest thing with any rotation -- it’s just the health aspect of it. We’ve been able to do that for the most part.
“Going back to the consistency thing, [Cristopher Sánchez], every time out, you feel like he’s going to deal. Every time out, Ranger [Suárez] feels like he’s going to deal. We always just try to feed off each other. It’s a good competition. It’s how we make each other better.”
Sánchez was not named to the NL All-Star team, although the league contacted Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and manager Rob Thomson about the possibility. Essentially, Sánchez would have made the NL squad if he had not been scheduled to pitch on Sunday.
Sunday’s start will make him unavailable to pitch on Tuesday.
But the Phillies told Sánchez that they would exercise the All-Star bonus in his contract anyway.
“It just means a lot,” Sánchez said through an interpreter. “That’s why I love everybody here. I love everyone on this team. We’re one. … Everyone here knows I’m an All-Star. They’ve shown it by supporting me here, all my teammates. The league knows it, too. I’ve got to pitch tomorrow. So by doing that I’m most likely out of being able to pitch Tuesday.”
The league also asked Suárez about joining the NL team, but he said on Friday that he declined because he prefers to rest, like Wheeler.
“A break is always nice, no matter when it is,” Wheeler said. “It’s the heat of the summer. Things finally might be catching up to you a little bit. So, yeah, it’s nice to have a few days off. Just kind of do a little reset and get ready to go for the second-half push.”