Cristopher Sánchez’s Cy Young case: why the Phillies left-hander is in the mix

The Cy Young Awards will be announced Wednesday, and the case for Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez is built around volume plus run control, not one isolated stretch. MLB’s season profile of the finalists lists him as an NL Cy Young contender for the second consecutive year, with a body of work that led major indicators like wins and overall pitching value while also ranking at or near the top in multiple categories.

According to the MLB breakdown, Sánchez went 18-7 in 33 starts with a 2.91 ERA. He led MLB in wins and bWAR (8.1), and also topped the National League in quality starts (22), starts (33), and complete games (one) along with shutouts (one).

The same report places Sánchez near the top on outcome and peripherals: he was second in strikeouts (231), fWAR (6.2), and innings pitched (207). It also says he finished third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.13), fourth in walks per nine innings (1.96), and sixth in ERA, which frames him as both a strikeout generator and a pitcher who limited free passes relative to other contenders.

Sánchez’s season-long run of preventing damage is described through a scoreless span, where he produced 50 2/3 innings without allowing a run from late April into early June. MLB notes that this was the longest such stretch in Phillies history and the fifth-longest single-season streak since 1893 (with the mound moved to its current distance), and it was the longest by any left-handed pitcher.

In the same finalist comparison, MLB also credits Sánchez with broader context: he won NL Pitcher of the Month honors in May, started for the NL in the All-Star Game in Philadelphia, and posted back-to-back seasons of 8.0-plus bWAR, a feat MLB says had not occurred for a pitcher since Justin Verlander did it in 2011 and 2012, and had not occurred for a left-hander since Randy Johnson (1999-2002).