It was once again a very good season for the Philadelphia Phillies as they won the National League East and had one of the best records in the league.

Throughout the season, the Phillies were a quality team this year as there weren’t too many holes in the roster. Philadelphia enters October fairly healthy and could make some noise.

Last season, the Phillies lost a tough seven-game series to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Championship Series, and this year the goal is not only to win the NLCS, but also the World Series.

Philadelphia was supported by an excellent pitching staff all season long as both their starters and their bullpen arms were very good.

Recently, Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter listed the Phillies’ top five pitchers in this order: Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Christopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez and Jeff Hoffman.

“In the final season of his original five-year, $118 million contract before his extension kicks in next year, Zack Wheeler is putting the finishing touches on one of the best nine-figure deals ever given to a starting pitcher. With a 2.56 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 213 strikeouts in 193.2 innings, he is Chris Sale’s biggest competitor in the NL Cy Young race. It was extremely difficult to keep Matt Strahm off the list as the 2024 All-Star has a 1.93 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 11.3 K/9 in 64 innings. For the sake of argument, call him “5A” alongside Jeff Hoffman, with that tandem forming a much-improved Philadelphia relief corps.”

Without Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves, Wheeler would be the Cy Young leader in the National League. However, Sale is also having an excellent season and will likely take home the award, but Wheeler has been a pretty clear No. 2 behind him all season.

The emergence of Christopher Sanchez will be important for Philadelphia in the postseason, as he arguably had the second-best season of any starter in Philadelphia.

Compared to years past, the Phillies should also have a lot of confidence in their bullpen. While only Hoffman made the rankings, Philadelphia has a talented and fairly strong bullpen this season.

As the Phillies prepare to play baseball in October, they have one of the most talented pitchers in the league. With good balance in the starting rotation and bullpen, Philadelphia will be a tough team to beat in a series.