Why Cristopher Sanchez is still Phillies' team MVP despite awful start vs. Royals originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Philadelphia Phillies have had a wild 2026 season, as they came back from 9-19 to being 51-41, and just 2.0 games out of the NL East division lead. But the individual players are the story for the Phillies this season.
Bryce Harper's return to being elite, Brandon Marsh being an All-Star, Kyle Schwarber's home-run leading season, and Zack Wheeler's incredible return from injury are all great. Cristopher Sanchez turning into a Cy Young caliber ace is the best story so far.
Bradford Doolittle of ESPN called Sanchez the first-half MVP for the Phillies, and that's even with his awful start against the Kansas City Royals in mind. The reason why he's the MVP and not any other star is simple: his body of work this season is just that impressive.
"First-half MVP: Cristopher Sanchez (139 AXE)," Doolittle writes. "This updated AXE includes Sanchez's head-scratching shellacking Monday at Kansas City, an egg-laying that bolstered Jacob Misiorowski's front-runner status in the Cy Young conversation."