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Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Jesus Luzardo has not been as advertised this season after signing his lucrative contract in the offseason (five years, $135 million). Through his first six starts, Luzardo is 2-3 with a 5.50 ERA and has a 1.28 WHIP.
Despite his recent struggles, Luzardo’s last start against the San Francisco Giants provided some optimism. The 28-year-old tossed seven shutout innings, where he struck out eight and walked none.
Luzardo’s latest start shows why the panic button should not be pressed.
Patience and not panic should be used with the Philadelphia Phillies, Jesus Luzardo, and not panic
According to MLB.com’s Thomas Harrigan, Luzardo was listed as a player to “exercise patience” with, even though he's gotten off to a slow start.
“Luzardo has been one of the most confounding pitchers of 2026, part of an overall disappointing start for a Phillies team that is 13-20,” wrote Harrigan. “The left-hander has recorded a 5.50 ERA through six starts, but he’s been missing bats, limiting walks and minimizing hard contact. All of his ERA-adjacent performance metrics look great, too: He owns a 3.25 xERA, a 2.76 FIP and a 2.94 SIERA. Poor luck and sequencing have been Luzardo’s biggest issues, but even with Philadelphia’s poor defense likely to remain an obstacle, his BABIP (.352) and LOB% (56.4%) -- two stats that can be especially noisy in small sample sizes -- aren’t going to be this bad all year.”
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With the calendar turning to May and Luzardo having the confidence of his last start — Luzardo was the first Phillies starter to toss seven innings this season — Luzardo may have turned a corner.
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