Philadelphia Phillies Might Have a New Ace

The biggest postseason selling point for the Philadelphia Phillies is, unquestionably, the top of their starting rotation.

The triumvirate of Cristopher Sanchez, Zack Wheeler and Jesus Luzardo is a murderer's row for any opponent in a short series, and when it comes to October, if you have a hot pitching staff, anything can happen.

The problem for the Phillies is that neither Sanchez nor Wheeler — particularly the latter — have performed up to par of late.

Sanchez is allowing far too much traffic, and Wheeler has completely lost control of the strike zone. Compounding the issue is that there isn't much time left in the regular season for either pitcher to get things sorted out.

Luzardo, on the other hand, seems to be kicking it into gear just at the right moment.

With Philadelphia in desperate need of a win to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday, Luzardo tossed a seven-inning gem, allowing just one hit while walking three and registering nine strikeouts in a 6-0 victory.

Through five starts in August, Luzardo has pitched to the tune of a 1.31 ERA and 0.874 WHIP while averaging 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

And after a rocky start to the season in which Luzardo's standing was questionable, he may have quietly cemented himself as the Phillies' ace ever since.

Luzardo logged a 2.97 ERA in June. He followed that up with a 2.59 ERA and 0.830 WHIP in July. And he has saved his best act thus far for August.

What's next for Luzardo in September ... and perhaps October?

There is no guarantee Philadelphia makes the playoffs. The NL Wild Card race is pretty tight. But chances are, the Phillies will be playing postseason baseball.

And if Philly does end up qualifying for the playoffs, there is a world that exists in which Luzardo could be the ideal Game 1 starter.

Of course, the rotation schedule is a thing, and if Luzardo is coming off a couple of days rest on Philadelphia's first playoff game, he obviously won't be on the mound.

But let's say all things are equal: is there a pitcher on the staff you trust more than Luzardo at the moment?

On the season overall, the left-hander has recorded 3.09 ERA while racking up 203 strikeouts over 163 innings of work. His 4.06 K/BB ratio is the best of his career, and the frustrating inconsistencies we saw from Luzardo last year and early this season have all but disappeared.

Yes, Sanchez has always been reliable, but he also leads the majors in hits allowed. That's a concern heading into October. Wheeler has looked completely off for over a month now, and there doesn't seem to be any obvious fix.

But Luzardo? The 28-year-old is pitching some of the best ball of his career, and if that momentum can carry over into the playoffs, the Phillies may have a new ace on their hands.