Yes, it’s still early, but Cristopher Sanchez is the favorite to win the league’s Cy Young Award and become the first Phillie since Roy Halladay in 2010, and the fifth Phillie overall.

Sanchez will try to expand on his franchise-record 44.2 scoreless inning streak when he makes a home start against the Padres. Sanchez is showing shades of Steve Carlton in his prime with his dominance, as his sinker, changeup and slider have helped him compile 95 strikeouts, which rank second in MLB.

If Zack Wheeler returns to his elite stature, the Phils will have one of the best one-two punches in all of baseball. From what we’ve seen of Wheeler so far with his increased velocity, there’s a good chance it could happen.

One of the major questions facing the Phillies is whether their starting staff can be consistent enough to lead the team on a World Series run.

The Fab Five? ... Since Don Mattingly took over, the starting staff has been on more of a flat track than the roller-coaster route under former skipper Rob Thomson.

No, this wasn’t Thomson’s fault, as pitching guru Caleb Cotham was working his magic since spring training. And it wasn’t from the run support, which certainly hasn’t happened.

Wheeler wasn’t on board yet, and Aaron Nola reverted back to his 2025 struggles after re-energizing himself during the World Baseball Classic.

Don’t forget the disastrous start by Taijuan Walker, who somehow signed a minor-league deal with the Angels.

Wheeler did return, and Jesus Luzardo began to look like the pitcher the Phillies expected in spite of some 90-pitch four inning stints. Rookie Andrew Painter looked every bit like a young pitcher instead of a phenom, not pitching past five innings in his first month and posting a 5.25 ERA.

Fortunately, the staff has leveled off behind Sanchez, and is starting to live up to its preseason billing as one of, if not the best, staffs in baseball.

With the Phils’ right-handed offensive woes, president Dave Dombrowski will be looking for a bat, and there’s a good chance he’ll leave the staff intact.

Top Of The Heap ... The Phils’ front five is among the top five in baseball with a combined ERA of 3.85. Aside from Sanchez’s MLB-leading 1.47 ERA, Wheeler has a 2.27 mark.

What has really distinguished them from the rest – as well as the bullpen – has been their strikeout-to-walk ratio. Heading into the Padres’ series, the starters have recorded 312 strikeouts and just 79 walks. Yes, that’s not a typo.

Overall, the entire staff was tied with the Mets with 551 punchouts and 159 passes.

Jesus Is Just All Right ... Nola had his second-straight solid outing against the Padres with Tuesday’s showing, allowing two runs and four hits with eight strikeouts and one walk. He again looked like a frontline starter, mixing his pitches well and hitting 95.

With Nola seeking his niche and Painter working his way, Luzardo will be the key. To his credit, Luzardo has surpassed six innings in seven of his 12 starts, and has continued to be a strikeout pitcher.

When he is laboring early in games, it has been bad as witnessed by his overall ineffective April.

The 28-year-old lefty, who the team believed was a steal from Miami after acquiring him in December 2024, has pitched to a 3.10 ERA over his last five starts with 27 strikeouts and 10 walks.

Taking out his bad start against Colorado May 8, Luzardo has pitched to a 1.55 ERA with 21 strikeouts, seven walks, and 20 hits over 23.1 innings.

At this time last year, the jury was still out on Luzardo, or many were likely ready to hand over a guilty verdict.

In May, he went 2-1 with a 5.56 ERA, allowing 43 hits in 34 innings with 40 strikeouts and 12 walks.

June and July weren’t any better, before Luzardo hit his stride in August and September when he went 6-2 with a 3.18 ERA with 75 strikeouts and 13 walks over 62.2 innings.

Luzardo is off to a better start this season, and his consistency could be the difference.

New York, New York ... The Mets have shown some spark, but they likely will win around 80 games with their current base. Youngsters Carson Benge and AJ Ewing are fun to watch. One has to wonder if Juan “Solo” Soto (29 of his 56 Mets homers have been solo shots) will opt out after the 2029 season.

Speaking of opt-outs, Bo Bichette can do it after this season. Will Dombrowski chase after him again if Bichette has a productive second half for that missing right-handed bat?

Ben Rice should be in the MVP chat. Before Tuesday, Rice was on pace for 121 runs, 121 RBIs, 38 doubles, 47 homers, 165 hits and 80 walks. The third-year Yankee was hitting .306 with a .397 on-base percentage, a .658 slugging percentage and a league-high 44 RBIs.

On the mound, Will Warren is on his way to an all-star season with his 7-1, 3.22 ERA, 70 strikeouts, and 19 walks in 64.1 innings.

The Miz ... Baseball’s 100-mph man is seemingly throwing faster than a speeding bullet.

He’s Jacob Misorowski with a 6-2 mark, a 1.65 ERA, and a major-league leading 108 strikeouts. “Miz” had a 38.3 scoreless streak in May with a 0.23 ERA. He also threw 241 pitches over 100 mph.

Back in the day, Nolan Ryan was a novelty. Now, he would have company.

Series’ Staffs ... How does the Phillies’ World Series staff stack up with the current staff?

In 1980, the Phils’ staff of Steve Carlton (24-9, 2.34), Dick Ruthven (17-10, 3.55), Bob Walk (11-7, 4.57), Randy Lerch (4-14, 5.16), Nino Espinosa (3-5, 3.77) and Larry Christenson (5-1, 4.03) produced an overall 3.43 ERA with 585 strikeouts and 336 walks.

The 1983 Phillies — remember them? — featured one of the Phillies’ best tandems with Carlton (15-16, 3.11). Cy Young winner John Denny (19-6, 2.37), Charlie Hudson (8-8, 3.35), Marty Bystrom (6-9, 4.60), and Kevin Gross (4-6, 3.56) compiled an overall 3.20 ERA with 668 strikeouts and 269 walks.

In 2008, Cole Hamels (14-10, 3.09), Jamie Moyer (16-7, 3.71), Brett Myers (10-13, 4.55), Joe Blanton (9-12, 4.69), Adam Eaton (4-8, 5.80), and Kyle Kendrick (11-9, 5.49) amassed a team ERA of 4.19 with 656 strikeouts and 312 walks.

This staff has the potential to be better than any of them.

Readers Write

Big Three Can Make The Difference..if..

Dear Jeff,

Sanchez, Wheeler and Luzardo (if he is consistent) can carry them. They can use Painter and Nola together if needed, but it honestly doesn’t matter if the team doesn’t hit and score runs.

What the Phillies need is plate discipline and righties that can definitely hit.

Melissa Hager

Lehighton

They Have It

Dear Jeff,

Yes, the Phillies have a good enough starting staff to contend.

Rick Bennett

Tamaqua

No Doubt

Dear Jeff,

Is this even a question? Absolutely!

First round of the playoffs (if the Phillies are a wild-card team) is a best-of-three series with Sanchez and Wheeler going, two of the best five pitchers in baseball now.

When they make it to the next round, they could technically throw Wheeler and Sanchez again, and, gosh, they could pitch Joe Biden in Game Three and still win a series.

Playoff schedules are structured differently than the regular season. There are more days off, which means you don’t need a five-man rotation. You could technically get through the playoffs with three starting pitchers. And when you have two studs, they could ride through the playoffs and into the World Series

Tyler Scheuer

Newtown Grant

“Tyler’s Amazing Balancing Act”

Knock On Wood ... Keep an eye on Gage Wood at Reading.

The Phillies’ top 2025 pick recently made his home debut, throwing four innings with four strikeouts and zero and allowing one run and three hits. Wood hit 99, and he was consistently in the 90s.

In his two starts for Reading, Wood has 10 strikeouts and one walk over seven innings with a 2.57 ERA. Over his 10 starts between Clearwater and Reading, Wood has thrown 33.1 innings with a 3.24 ERA with 50 strikeouts and 13 walks.

Wood will likely spend the summer at Reading, and he would be worth the trip.

Time Passages ... In each column, I will look back at a former player, manager, or game from our favorite pastime.

Who remembers outfielder Geoff Jenkins? Many may not because Jenkins only spent one season with the Phils in 2008. He was signed as a free agent and played in 115 games, hitting .246 with nine homers and 29 RBIs. The Phillies released him at the end of the season, and it was his last major-league stop.

The left-handed-hitting Jenkins made his mark with Milwaukee, where he played 10 seasons over 1,234 games, and hit 212 homers with 704 RBIs and a .277 average.

Overall, Jenkins played in 1,349 games with 221 homers, 733 RBIs and a .275 average.

Your thoughts are always welcomed and will be published: email them to tnsports@tnonline.com