“Obviously Wheels today, went out and did what kind of Zack does every time he goes out there.”
That was the opening message from Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper after the team completed a four-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants behind his three-run home run and another tremendous start from ace Zack Wheeler.
Really since the start of the 2021 season, every fifth day for the Phillies it’s been “Wheels up” and a strong likelihood of a win. That was no different in Monday’s matinee against the Giants, as Wheeler struck out 11 batters over seven innings, while allowing just four hits and an unearned run against the team that drafted him with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft.
That type of performance shouldn’t just be another day at the office, but it kind of feels that way. Wheeler already has three double-digit strikeout performances in 2024. Among qualified starting pitchers, Wheeler is tied with Tyler Glasnow of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the most strikeouts with 63. He’s second to Glasnow in innings pitched (49 1/3). Wheeler’s 1.64 ERA is the top mark among NL pitchers, and the fourth-best in baseball. And according to FanGraphs, his 1.8 WAR is the top mark among all pitchers.
Wheeler explained to Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia during Spring Training that part of the reasoning of adding a splitter to his already-loaded repertoire was because he thought “this could put me over the top, hopefully get a Cy Young.” Well, Cy Youngs aren’t won in early May, but Wheeler certainly seems to be on a good trajectory to accomplish his goal of winning the top pitching award, which he’s twice finished in the top five of voting for, including a close runner-up to Corbin Burnes in 2021.
Monday, though, it was Wheeler’s fourseam fastball, what he called his “bread and butter,” that carried him. According to the Phillies, Wheeler got 13 whiffs on his fastball, marking only the sixth time in his career he’s gotten that many swings and misses on the pitch.
Is Wheeler able to tell in the bullpen before the game whether he’s going to have his A+ fastball on a given day?
“I mean, some days it feels good, and the velo is 93ish. Some days it feels terrible and the velo is 96, or whatever it may be,” Wheeler said. “So it’s just basically how it’s flying out of my hand. If it’s true, if I can see that going directly to the glove side and not having any tail, that’s where I want to be and that’s where I felt today.”
What does he mean by wanting his fastball to be “true”?
“Straight line, for the most part,” Wheeler said of what he’s looking for from his fastball. “I mean, you obviously don’t want it to be too straight because that gets hit. But back in the day, my ball used to tail a lot more, [it was] more of a two-seam.
“Sometimes it plays. Sometimes I have that [tail] in the game and it plays and it is what it is for that day,” Wheeler continued. “But I just want that true four-seam spinning right and getting to the spot.”
J.T. Realmuto is in his fifth season catching Wheeler, and previously faced Wheeler when he pitched for the New York Mets. Realmuto sees a pitcher who has found the perfect balance between having an excellent fastball, but knowing how to locate it and mix in other pitches.
“He always had plus stuff, I just feel like he’s more of a pitcher now than he was in the past,” Realmuto said. “He used to be more of a thrower, and just kind of challenge you in the middle of the zone, and came at you with two or three pitches. Now he’s got five or six pitches that he uses on both sides of the plate.
“He can just kind of toy with the hitters a little more than he used to be able to and kind of mess with their heads,” Realmuto added of Wheeler. “[He can] get them looking for something and throw something else. He just really pitches now, which is a lot of fun.”
And toy he has. Wheeler appears on track for his second All-Star selection, and a strong run at the NL Cy Young Award. There was some sticker shock when the Phillies rewarded Wheeler with a three-year/$126 million extension during Spring Training, but if Wheeler keeps pitching this well, it may turn out to be the second consecutive team-friendly deal the righty has signed.
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