– Asked about the chances the Phillies could acquire another superstar this offseason, Dave Dombrowski has often reminded people that the team already has a roster full of stars.
Two of those stars are Zack Wheeler and Bryce Harper, and they both earned All-MLB honors on Thursday, as revealed at the second annual All-MLB Weekend presented by MGM Rewards in Las Vegas.
Wheeler was named to the First Team as a starting pitcher, while Harper earned a Second Team spot at first base. They were both named to the All-MLB Team in 2021 as well, with Harper making the First Team and Wheeler the Second Team.
All-MLB honors recognize the best players at each position across the big leagues, with fans voting to determine who will be placed on the First and Second Teams.
Wheeler finished the season 16-7 with 200 innings pitched, a 2.57 ERA, 224 strikeouts and 6.1 bWAR. He led qualified NL starters in WHIP (0.96), opponents’ batting average (.192), opponents’ on-base percentage (.253), opponents’ OPS (.581), opponents’ wOBA (.256), quality starts (26) and starts of six-plus innings (26). Wheeler was second in the NL in ERA, strikeouts (tied) and wins behind NL pitching Triple Crown winner Chris Sale. Sale also had 6.4 fWAR to lead the NL, while Wheeler finished second with 5.4 fWAR.
“He’s a Cy Young,” Harper said in September. “I don’t think anybody in baseball is better than him at this point. I don’t think anybody is in the National League, either. The people down in Atlanta probably think the same thing about the guy throwing down there [Sale], but I thought [Wheeler] got robbed of it three years ago. I believe he earned it this year.”
Harper batted .285 with 30 home runs, 87 RBIs, an .898 OPS and a 149 OPS+. He was also a Gold Glove finalist at first base in his first season playing the position.
Wheeler is a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award alongside Sale and Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes, who also were All-MLB First Teamers. Harper is likely to get some NL MVP votes, although Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani is a heavy favorite to win the award.
