Why Phillies’ Cristopher Sanchez should be Pitcher of the Month over Jacob Misiorowski originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Philadelphia Phillies have seen Cristopher Sanchez go from a fringe roster spot pitcher to maybe the best pitcher in all of Major League Baseball in just a few seasons.
He’s been incredible this season, with a 1.47 ERA, and is the likely Cy Young favorite. But his month of May was a whole lot more impressive, as he didn’t allow a single run to score the entire month across his five starts, one of which was a complete game shutout.
So, he’s the Pitcher of the Month, right? Well, with Milwaukee Brewers Jacob Misiorowski having an equally dominant May, it’s a tough call. But, for ESPN’s David Schoenfield, there is a winner, and it’s just barely the Phillies lefty ace.
Why Cristopher Sanchez should be MLB Pitcher of the Month over Jacob Misiorowski
“Who should win Pitcher of the Month? Misiorowski was the more dominant of the two, tougher to hit, with more strikeouts and less reliance on balls in play,” Schoenfield writes. “He certainly received more headlines and social media clicks with the dynamic nature of his performance. He started one more game than Sanchez, but Sanchez got two more outs. It’s impossible to call, but …. well, zero runs is zero runs. Sanchez gets my vote.”
In May, Sanchez had a 0.00 ERA across 39 innings pitched with 25 hits allowed, no runs allowed, three walks, 45 strikeouts, and a 4-0 record in five starts.
Misiorowski had six starts, going 38.1 innings with a 0.23 ERA, 14 hits allowed, one run allowed, six walks, and 57 strikeouts with a 5-0 record.
While Misiorowski got one more start and had 12 more strikeouts, the work that Sanchez did was arguably more impressive.
MORE: Phillies extending Cristopher Sanchez to his $107 million deal was genius
He didn’t allow a single run all month, and while he had to rely on his defense a bit more, knowing the Phillies’ defense, which has a case as the worst in the league, this feat from Sanchez is all the more impressive.
Between not allowing a run all month, Sanchez’s complete-game shutout of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the rate-statistics favoring him on a per-start basis, Sanchez ever so slightly deserves the Pitcher of the Month honors in May over Misiorowski.
This debate is a tough one, as both pitchers are deserving of this award. If Major League Baseball were willing, they should both be co-MLB Pitchers of the Month.
Seeing Sanchez or Misiorowski not win any accolades for their incredible performances this month would be a frustrating result, regardless of who loses out on the award. They were both just that good.
More MLB news:
- 5 reasons to believe in Jordan Walker’s breakout for Cardinals
- Roman Anthony might’ve been overhyped for Red Sox
- Chase Burns becomes first Reds pitcher with elite stat line since 1922
- Mets projected to still sell at trade deadline by ex-MLB GM
- Ex-MLB GM projects White Sox to sell at trade deadline despite 2026 success