Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler endured his roughest outing of the season against the Seattle Mariners, with the veteran right-hander openly addressing his recent struggles during NBC Sports Philadelphia’s broadcast.
“It’s been a while,” Wheeler admitted. “To be completely honest, and as humble as I can be, it’s been a while. That’s what makes it so frustrating. I haven’t gone through a stretch like this in a long time, and I really don’t have much to say.”
Wheeler’s recent numbers highlight just how difficult the stretch has been. Over his last six starts, he has allowed 24 runs, 23 of them earned, in just 24.1 innings. As a result, his season ERA has climbed significantly, rising from 2.16 to 3.40 during that span.
Phillies’ Zack Wheeler on Rough Mariners Start
Zack Wheeler endured one of his worst starts since signing with the Philadelphia Phillies ahead of the 2020 season. The right-hander surrendered eight runs on nine hits, five walks, and four strikeouts in four-plus innings. Four of those hits left the ballpark.
“Tonight they were taking real good swings,” said Wheeler. “First, I’m going to check off the box of ‘Hey, am I doing something to where other teams are seeing it?’ At this point you got to check off all the boxes and it’s not where I want to be.”
The natural topic for Wheeler has been his health. The right-hander had a start in Miami in which his velocity ticked down 2 MPH, and he lasted just three innings.
His velocity had a dip in this game, sitting at 93.9 and 94.0 MPH in his last two innings. However, that can also be easily explained with the sheer number of high-pressure pitches Wheeler had to throw with a lot of traffic on the bases.
Wheeler said that he is healthy, which is adding to the frustration behind his struggles.
“That’s why it’s so frustrating right now. I’m on a rough stretch and I feel fine. Got to really dig in.”
Wheeler plans to sit in and dig deeper into his recent starts to try to get stuff figured out. Most likely those conversations will happen with pitching coaches Caleb Cotham and Mark Lowy. Catcher J.T. Realmuto might provide some potential input on what he’s seeing behind the plate.
Zack Wheeler on Past Few Starts
The string of poor starts sparks concern about Zack Wheeler. He’s going through perhaps the toughest stretch of games in his Phillies tenure. The right-hander said that he’s been scuffling with executing his pitches.
“All I can throw for a quality strike is a fastball right now, and it’s not fully consistent. When you’re pitching with one pitch, it’s pretty hard up here.
At his best, Wheeler can command six different pitch types. He throws a four-seamer, sinker, cutter, sweeper, curveball, and a splitter.
“Just got to get ahead of guys, getting into the count. A little below where I want to be with that, just build my confidence back to being able to throw all your pitches. Just pitching, maybe thinking a little bit more out there and…just getting back to where I need.”
Wheeler has struggled with avoiding free passes. In his last six starts, the 36-year-old has walked 13.4% of hitters. Getting the confidence to use his arsenal should help alleviate that issue.
The Phillies will need Wheeler to finish the season strong. His importance to their postseason rotation is critical, if they’re looking to make a deep postseason run.
