The Phillies had a strong regular season in 2025, and it wouldn’t have been possible without some superlative individual efforts. But like their experience in the postseason, two of their stars will have to overcome some fierce competition to win the big trophies.

Designated hitter Kyle Schwarber was named a finalist for the National League Most Valuable Player award, and Lefty Cristopher Sanchez is one of three finalists for the NL Cy Young award.

Schwarber, a 3-time All-Star, played his best season by far, leading the NL in home runs with 56 and RBI with 132, both career highs. The closest he had ever come to winning an MVP award was last season, when he finshed 15th in the voting. He is also a finalist to win the NL Silver Slugger.

Standing in Schwarber’s way are the other two nominees, both of whom had very strong seasons. Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers is in pursuit of his third straight MVP, and fourth in five years. He finished just behind Schwarber with 55 homers, and added 102 RBI and 146 runs scored, a mark which led the majors. He also started in 14 games, striking out 62 in 47 innings.

Juan Soto had a very good inaugural season with the Mets, leading the NL in walks (127), stolen bases (38), and on-base percentage (.396). He added 43 homers and 105 RBI, and scored 120 runs.

Like Schwarber, Sanchez also had a career year. The 28-year-old reached new personal bests in wins (13), innings (202), ERA (2.50), and strikeouts (212). He led NL pitchers in bWAR (8.0) and finished in the top five in ERA, innings, and Ks. Sanchez finished 10th in Cy Young voting last season.

The other nominees along with Sanchez are Pirates ace Paul Skenes and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers. Skenes led all of MLB with a 1.97 ERA, and finished just ahead of Sanchez with 216 strikeouts. Yamamoto, the World Series MVP, was largely unhittable, leading MLB in hits allowed per 9 IP (5.8), and striking out 201 in 173 innings.

The Cy Young awards for both leagues will be announced Wednesday, November 12, while the MVP awards will be announced the following day.