Phillies Star Pitcher Pulls Off a Feat The Franchise Has Not Seen This Decade

Atop the to-do list for the Philadelphia Phillies heading into the offseason was to upgrade the backend of their starting rotation.

It seemed like overkill already having Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez with top prospect Andrew Painter waiting in the wings. But after how poorly Taijuan Walker performed in 2024, it made sense to find at least one more starter.

The team landed on Jesus Luzardo, acquiring him in a trade with their National League East rivals, the Miami Marlins.

It was not cheap to acquire him, trading two prospects to the Marlins: shortstop Starlyn Caba and outfielder Emaarion Boyd. Some speculated this would be a deal the Phillies could soon regret because of how highly touted a prospect Caba is.

With another top prospect, Aidan Miller, looking capable of handling shortstop, Philadelphia felt comfortable making the deal.

Luzardo has certainly made it worthwhile, providing the team with incredible value on the mound as an early NL Cy Young Award contender.

The talented lefty has taken his performance to another level thanks to the work the coaching staff has done with him.

Through his first nine starts, Luzardo has gone 4-0 with a 2.00 ERA. He has thrown 54 innings and has 57 strikeouts. His ability to limit walks and home runs has been impressive, culminating in an MLB-high 2.5 WAR.

It has also led to one of the best starts to a tenure by a pitcher in franchise history, as shared by Matt Gelb of The Athletic (subscription required).

“Luzardo is the first Phillies pitcher with a 2.00 ERA or lower in his first nine starts with the Phillies since Aaron Harang in 2015 (1.82 ERA), according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The last lefty to do it was David West in 1994 (1.87 ERA),” he wrote.

He has been everything the team could have hoped for and more, showing some similarities to an all-time great.

Upon being acquired by Philadelphia, it was never a matter of talent. Oozing with potential, injuries or inconsistency on the mound is what kept him from maximizing his talent.

Neither of those hindrances have arose with the Phillies, whose coaching staff deserves a lot of credit getting the most out of him with some adjustments to his repertoire and pitch sequence.