Phillies' Top 5 RH starters: Zolecki's take

Few people love a good debate like baseball fans, and with that in mind, we asked each of our beat reporters to rank the top five players by position in the history of their franchise, based on their career while playing for that club.

Here is Todd Zolecki’s ranking of the top right-handed starting pitchers in Phillies history.

• Phillies' Top 5: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | LF | CF | RF | Bench | LH SP | Relievers

1. Robin Roberts, 1948-61
Key stat: 28 consecutive complete games from 1952-53

Phillies fans know Roberts, but late in life he joked that the most famous Robin Roberts was the co-host of “Good Morning America.” The humble right-hander never minded.

But the hitters who faced Roberts in his prime never forgot him.

“He was that top pitcher at that time,” Willie Mays said.

In an era that included Warren Spahn, Early Wynn, Whitey Ford, Bob Lemon and Don Newcombe, Roberts pitched as well as anybody. He won 199 games in the 1950s, second in the National League only to Spahn’s 202. He led the league in strikeouts (1,516), complete games (237) and innings pitched (3,011 2/3). His 30 shutouts ranked second to Spahn’s 33. His 3.32 ERA ranked fourth. He started for the NL in the 1950, '51, '53, '54 and '55 All-Star Games, a true measure of his stature and dominance in the league.

Roberts won 20 or more games in six consecutive seasons from 1950-55. He won 28 games in '52, the first pitcher to win 28 games in a season since Dizzy Dean in 1935. No pitcher has won 28 in the NL since.

Roberts never won a Cy Young Award, but that is only because the award first came into existence in 1956. Roberts won The Sporting News’ Pitcher of the Year Award in '52 and '55. He finished in the top 10 in NL MVP Award voting five times in the decade.

“I just assumed that I was going to pitch a complete game,” Roberts said. “I did a lot of times. And in the ones I came out, they pinch-hit for me late in the game. So a number I could have finished, but didn’t. But there also were a number of them I shouldn’t have finished, and I did.”

2. Zack Wheeler, 2020-present
Key stat: two-time NL Cy Young runner-up

Wheeler is one of the greatest free-agent signings in Phillies history. He not only finished runner-up for NL Cy Young in 2021 and '24, but he got Cy Young votes in '23 and '25, when he finished the season on the injured list. Wheeler not only has produced in the regular season, but he has produced in the postseason, going 4-3 with a 2.18 ERA in 12 appearances (11 starts).

3. Aaron Nola, 2015-present
Key stat: MLB-best 9.7 bWAR in 2018

Nola will go down as one of the greatest homegrown pitchers in Phillies history, finishing third for NL Cy Young in 2018 and getting Cy Young votes three other times in his first 11 years in the big leagues. Nola provided combined durability and production in an era where it has become exceedingly rare for pitchers to make 30 starts, much less pitch 200 innings. Nola made 30 starts six times over seven seasons (2018-24) and pitched 200-plus innings three times.

Wheeler and Nola’s prowess bumped Jim Bunning and Roy Halladay, who had shorter stints with the Phillies, despite their Hall of Fame resumes.

4. Grover Cleveland “Pete” Alexander, 1911-17, '30
Key stat: Won the pitching Triple Crown three consecutive seasons from 1915-17

It is difficult to compare pitchers from different eras, particularly those pitchers from the early 20th century. It seemed like everybody back then started every other day and threw a complete game every start. Consider these three seasons from Alexander from 1915-17, when he led the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts each time: 31-10 with a 1.22 ERA and 241 strikeouts in ‘15; 33-12 with a 1.55 ERA and 167 strikeouts in ‘16; and 30-13 with a 1.83 ERA and 200 strikeouts in ’17.

Alexander would make $50 million a season if he pitched today. (Maybe that’s a little low?)

“His sinking fastball seemed fashioned from cement,” Roger Kahn wrote in the book “The Head Game: Baseball Seen from the Pitcher's Mound" “No one consistently hit it into the air.”

Apparently minimizing launch angle was a thing back then.

5. Curt Schilling, 1992-2000
Key stat: 2.59 ERA in four postseason starts in 1993 established him as big-game pitcher

Schilling won World Series with the Red Sox and D-backs, but it started with the Phillies in 1993. He had a 1.69 ERA in two starts in the NL Championship Series against the Braves. After Schilling got hit hard in Game 1 of the World Series against the Blue Jays, he pitched a five-hit shutout in Game 5, extending the series another game.

“I wanted the ball,” Schilling said. “I wanted the responsibility. I’ve said before, if you don’t want the ball in these situations, why show up? You want your teammates to count on you at times like this.”