ALLENTOWN – On a sunny but chilly Saturday at Coca-Cola Park, Zack Wheeler trotted out to mound donning his familiar 45 on his back. Instead of Phillies pinstripes, though, he was in Lehigh Valley’s new America 250th birthday promo jersey.
Despite the different jersey, the results were typical Wheeler-esque.
Wheeler tossed three innings of shutout ball, allowing two hits, a walk and three strikeouts. He threw 38 pitches with 26 going for strikes.
“It went well,” Wheeler said after his start.
“It was the first really competitive game. It was a little chilly out. Trying to work through all those factors and at the end of the day, it went well and it felt good. Coming out healthy is all that matters to me.”
Health, of course, is of the utmost importance for Wheeler, who last toed the rubber on June 20 of last season against the division rival New York Mets throwing five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts.
Then he was shut down due to thoracic outlet syndrome.
Fast forward to a brisk late March Saturday in Lehigh Valley and Wheeler looked as crisp as one would expect.
Wheeler had the option to stay down in Clearwater, pitching in comfortable 70-80 degree weather, but opted to pitch against Triple-A hitters in sub-40 degree weather in Allentown.
“It was really my choice. I wanted to have more competitive at-bats and more competitive situations. I knew it would be cold, but at the end of the day, this is where I probably need to be facing hitters.”
Against a Toledo Mud Hens lineup that included a handful of big leaguers and Tigers’ top prospect Max Clark, Wheeler struck out three batters in the first inning, all with his curveball.
“The spin pitches today — whether it be the curve, sweeper or the cutter — weren’t doing necessarily what I needed them to do, but the curveball had good shape on it. It was moving so much. It was effective today. But it’s something that will come with more reps.”
Wheeler’s fastball averaged 93.3 mph while topping out at 94.3 mph. His velocity dipped a little as the outing progressed, something Wheeler had anticipated.
“It was a tick up from what it has been,” Wheeler said.
“Last inning, it was down just a hair, but probably to be expected. Those first two innings were good. A couple of guys said I was a bit higher out of the stretch, which is good because I’ve felt terrible out of the stretch so far through this process. Happy to come out today with a few different things.”
Have the struggles out of the stretch become a cause for concern for Wheeler?
Not for the veteran arm. He relied on past experiences to make some minor tweaks with Phillies’ pitching coach Caleb Cotham.
“Think it’s feel, rhythm, tempo out of the stretch hasn’t been that good in bullpens, live BPs, whatever it may be. We talked about it, me and Caleb (Cotham). Just thinking back over the years what’s worked for me and we made a little adjustment and today felt a lot better. It was something small, more or less, with my front foot where I come set with my front foot. Sometimes you just need those little reminders along the way. I’ve been doing it for a while. But sometimes the small stuff you need to nail down as you build up.”
Wheeler will look to continue his build-up with his next expected rehab start Friday in Durham and then the following start will come with Double-A Reading.
