Philadelphia Phillies 2022 Fantasy Baseball Preview – Pitchers

Things got a little hairy thanks to Major League Baseball’s 99-day lockout of its players, but we’ll soon be (hopefully) treated to another season of Philadelphia Phillies baseball around these parts. And with new action on the field, of course, comes the opportunity for baseball lovers and stat geeks everywhere to try their hand at fantasy baseball once again.

Just like everything in the betting/fantasy landscape nowadays, there are a myriad of ways to play. But I like to stick to the tried and true method of assembling and guiding a team for the whole year and leaving the daily stuff to others. And so let’s kick off this two-part series by taking a look at what the Phillies might have to offer your fantasy team over the course of the 162-game marathon of a baseball season.

The Philadelphia Phillies’ pitching staff offers a wide range of fantasy outcomes for 2022.

We’ll begin by looking at the pitching staff and seeing just where you could expect to nab these players in your drafts, based on their projections for 2022. For drafting purposes, we will assume a 12-team, 23-round draft for a league that uses standard pitching categories (wins, saves, strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP).

Zach Wheeler

Few, if any, saw the kind of breakout season that Zack Wheeler had in 2021 coming. It was no doubt a career year, one that the Phillies unfortunately wasted, so you will have to pay a premium for his services this season. Wheeler was a top-30 starter heading into last year but has now bullied his way into the top-10. As such, you’ll have to be ready to use a late-second/early-third round pick to get him. There are some health concerns after he fell behind in his offseason throwing program, so be careful. But there are no sure things in fantasy baseball, so you might as well roll the dice with the expectation that he’ll be healthy and effective enough to give you a 3.50 ERA and around 200 strikeouts.