Zack Wheeler

At 33 years old, Zack Wheeler has this physical status:

Zachary Harrison Wheeler (born May 30, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He appeared with the New York Mets before. Wheeler attended East Paulding High School in Dallas, Georgia, prior to being drafted.

Wheeler was selected by the San Francisco Giants with the sixth overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft.

Wheeler was later traded to the Mets in 2011, and made his major league debut with the team in 2013.

After the 2019 season, he signed with Philadelphia as a free agent.

Early life

Wheeler was born in Smyrna, Georgia, on May 30, 1990, and was raised by Barry and Elaine Wheeler in Dallas, Georgia. The wheeler's father played amateur baseball for 15 years, while his mother played competitive softball even after having children, going so far as to place a playpen in the dugout during weekend tournaments. Zack was the youngest of three brothers, all of whom played baseball until age 13. Jacob, his older brother, stopped playing sports after suffering a string of injuries in supraventricular tachycardia, while Adam, his middle brother, was a minor league pitcher in the New York Yankees farm system until he suffered a torn glenoid labrum.

When Zack was 13 years old, the Wheeler family moved to Dallas, Georgia. Wheeler attended East Paulding High School, where he played baseball and basketball rather than attending Campbell High School like his brothers. Wheeler won the Georgia High School Association's 4A Region Pitcher of the Year as a junior in 2008, with a 1.31 earned run average (ERA) and 127 strikeouts in 64+13 innings pitched. In addition to a 9–0 record and a 0.54 ERA, he set a school record with 149 strikeouts in 76 innings this year, winning the Gatorade Georgia Player of the Year award in 2009. Wheeler's batting average increased by.280 during his senior year as a designated hitter. Wheeler pitched his first no-hitter against Mill Creek High School in the second round of the 2009 Class 5A state playoffs. East Paulding retired Wheeler's No. 5 in 2015. Jersey is a jersey that has been out of stock.

Personal life

Dominique Wheeler and his wife Dominique have one child together, a son who was born on July 20, 2020, just before the pandemic-shortened 2020 MLB season begins. During the offseason, they stayed in Dallas, Georgia.

Wheeler has a close friendship with former Atlanta Braves quarterback Chipper Jones. When Jones' agents recruited Wheeler out of high school, they were greeted.

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Professional career

Wheeler was selected by the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the first round, sixth overall, of the 2009 MLB Draft. He had decided to play college baseball at Kennesaw State at the time. Wheeler, on August 17, 2009, decided to join the Giants, earning a $3.3 million signing bonus.

Wheeler was drafted by the Augusta GreenJackets of the South Atlantic League to start the 2010 season. He was put on the disabled list early in the year after suffering a fingernail fracture in his throwing hand's middle finger. Wheeler was sent to San Francisco to meet the team's hand specialist after six weeks without playing. He returned to the GreenJackets later in the season, making several relief appearances before re-entering the starting rotation. Wheeler played a 3–3 record and a 3.99 ERA in 21 games with Augusta, with 70 strikeouts in 58+2/3 innings. He appeared at the 2010 All-Star Futures Game in Anaheim, California.

Wheeler was the top prospect in the Giants organization prior to the 2011 season, and he boasted his "best fastball" in the farm system. He was sent to the San Jose Giants, a Class A-Advanced team, with whom he went 7-5 with a 3.99 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 16 starts and 88 innings pitched. He also appeared in the 2011 California All-Star Game.

The Giants traded Wheeler to the New York Mets in exchange for veteran outfielder Carlos Beltrán and cash on July 28, 2011. Brian Sabean, the Giants' general manager, said they decided to trade Wheeler rather than a position player because "[w]e didn't think (Zack) Wheeler was going to influence our situation in the immediate future." Quite frankly, it's either our job or design another Wheeler." He was with the Class A St. Lucie Mets for the remainder of the season, going 2–2 with a 2.00 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 27 innings over six starts.

Wheeler was assigned to the Double A Binghamton Mets of the Eastern League at the start of the 2012 season, with the intention of allowing him to progress through the farm system. He was the protagonist of Binghamton's season-long pitching rotation, leading the Eastern League with a 25 percent strikeout rate. Wheeler went 10–6 with Binghamton, giving up only two home runs in the process. Wheeler's second All-Star pick in 2012 was selected for his second All-Star game pick. Wheeler scored his first complete game shutout in a 1–0 win over the Erie SeaWolves on July 14, 2012. The Mets announced the following day that despite his pitching success in Double A, he was not eligible for a major league promotion, and that either Matt Harvey or Miguel Batista would fill the rotation spot vacated by Dillon Gee.

Wheeler was promoted to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on August 1, 2012, the day after striking out 11 batters in a game against the Harrisburg Senators. After a string of injuries befell members of the Mets' starting rotation, inning limits were placed on the team's top prospects, with Wheeler limited to 150. On September 1, five innings into a match against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, he was shut down. Wheeler played in 149 innings between Binghamton and Buffalo, posting a 3.2 ERA and leading Minor League Baseball with 148 strikeouts. Wheeler was supposed to start the 2013 season with Buffalo, according to Mets general manager Sandy Alderson, and he would most likely make his major league debut the same year.

Wheeler and other Mets Triple-A prospects began pitching in 2013 for the Las Vegas 51s of the Pacific Coast League, which was also known for its extraordinary batting and, as a result, a difficulty for pitchers. Wheeler struggled at the start of the season, posting a 6.34 ERA in his first three starts with Las Vegas, but he found his rhythm after striking out eight batters in 6+2/3 innings against Reno Aces on April 30. Wheeler's averaging of 3.93 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 68+223 innings and 13 starts in Las Vegas during the season.

In the second game of a doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves, Wheeler made his major league debut on June 18, 2013, pitching six shutout innings. In the 6–1 victory, the Wheeler earned seven strikeouts and gave up four hits. Wheeler won by 4–1 over the San Diego Padres two months later on August 15, when he hit a career-high 12 batters. He became the youngest Mets pitcher to post at least 12 strikeouts in a game since Doc Gooden in 1986. Since suffering shoulder stiffness in his last game, the Mets suspended Wheeler down for the season on September 21. Wheeler's rookie season saw him win 7–5 with a 3.42 ERA, and 84 strikeouts in 100 innings.

Some sports journalists expected Wheeler to be the Mets' ace with the news that Matt Harvey will miss the 2014 season to recover from Tommy John surgery. His pitching was inconsistent in the first two months of the season, with pitch command issues resulting in a significant number of walks and a poor record against left-handed batters. Wheeler pitched a complete game shutout against the Miami Marlins on June 19, 2014, facing only 28 batters and allowing only three hits. Despite the Mets' 2014 season being largely disappointing, and being practically barred from postseason contention by September 20, Wheeler's debut was seen as a bright spot. He set an 11-2011 record, with a 3.54 ERA and 187 strikeouts in 185+13 innings of work in 32 starts, with a 3.54 ERA and 187 strikeouts.

Wheeler had to torn the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in March 16, 2015, a strain that was diagnosed after he started feeling pain during spring training. Wheeler had to pull a tendon in the same elbow during the previous season, according to reports that he had undergone platelet-rich plasma therapy to hasten the healing process. On March 25, the wheeler underwent Tommy John surgery for the torn ligament. Following Matt Harvey's recovery from the same injury in 18 months, the Mets expressed an eagerness to stretch Wheeler's recovery time, with a target return to the rotation in July 2016.

In his return from Tommy John surgery, Wheeler suffered a string of setbacks. In early April 2016, he underwent a second surgery to remove an undissolved stitch in his elbow, and the Mets pushed his return to the MLB All-Star break. After suffering elbow pain, he was scratched from a Gulf Coast League rehab start in late June. Wheeler was then forced to stop in mid-August after being diagnosed with a strained flexor tendon, which needed another platelet-rich plasma injection. Wheeler's season was over for the remainder of the season, according to Mets boss Terry Collins.

On January 11, 2017, Wheeler agreed to a one-year, $800,000 contract with the Mets, avoiding arbitration. On April 8, he made his first major league appearance in over two years against the Miami Marlins, allowing five runs and six hits in only four innings. He had a superb first inning with his fastball speeds up to 97 mph (156 km/h), but as the game progressed, his speed slowed to 93 mph (150 km/h). Bellinger's worst two starts in his career came in June, first when he gave up eight runs in 1+2/3 innings against the Chicago Cubs and then later, helping Bellinger set a new record for first-run games in a player's first 51 major league games.

When Wheeler was placed on the 10-day disabled list with biceps tendinitis, he had been feeling sore in the arm since the Texas Rangers' June 7 start, and several sports journalists wondered if he should have been pitching in those games. Injuries continued to follow Wheeler into the second half of the season. After suffering a stress fracture to the humerus, he returned to the disabled list on July 24. On August 24, he was declared out for the season. Wheeler made a 3–7 record in 2017 with a 5.21 ERA.

Although Wheeler was healthy entering the 2018 season, the Mets' offseason signing of All-Star Jason Vargas led to rumors that Wheeler will be moved out of the starting rotation and into the bullpen. Wheeler began the season with Las Vegas following a disappointing spring training result. After Vargas' place on the disabled list, he was called to fill Vargas' spot in the rotation, and his appearance against the Washington Nationals on April 18 demonstrated Wheeler's ability to remain in the major league rotation. His pitching was particularly strong after the All-Star break, in which he led the MLB in WHIP with 0.81 and had the second-lowest ERA with 1.32. By mid-September, the Mets were debating whether Wheeler should be cut for the season, as his 187+13 innings pitched were more than double his 2017 totals. Wheeler's manager Mickey Callaway announced on September 19, 2018, that the team had finished pitching for the season. He went 12-7 for the year, with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP in 29 starts.

As he was supposed to become a free agent after the 2019 season, there were rumors that the Mets would attempt to release Wheeler before the July 31 deadline, but the Mets instead decided to keep him, with then-general manager Brodie Van Wagenen saying, "We think he's a good pitcher." We're interested in him being a Met for the long run." Wheeler made strides in the second half of this year as compared to the previous season. He allowed just one earned run in each of his final five starts after going into the All-Star break with a 4.69 record. With 195, the wheeler also set career highs in innings pitched, 195-1,33%, and strikeouts. In 31 starts, he had an 11-08 record and a 3.96 ERA.

Wheeler was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as a free agent in a five-year, $118 million deal on December 9, 2019. On July 25, 2020, less than a week after his son Wesley's birth, he made his team debut with a 7–1 victory over the Miami Marlins. When trying to put on a pair of jeans on a day of jeans, Wheeler's fingernail became partially disconnected from the nail bed. He returned to the pitching rotation a week later, with a fake fingernail pitching with a fake fingernail, and underwent surgery on October 12. Wheeler finished the pandemic-shortened 2020 season with a 4–2 record and a 2.92 ERA in 11 games and 71 innings. He was the first pitcher in Phillies history to allow three or fewer runs in each of his first ten starts with the team, and he only allowed three home runs, the fewest of any pitcher in 2020 with a minimum of 70 innings.

Wheeler made his Phillies debut in 2021. Wheeler struck out ten batters in 7 innings in his first appearance for the Phillies, his first appearance for the Phillies in his season. In addition,, he became the first Phillies pitcher to have two or more hits and RBIs in a single game since Ben Lively in 2017. Wheeler struck out a career-high 14 batters on May 29, making him the third batter in Phillies history, after Steve Carlton and Curt Schilling, to strike out 10 or more batters in three straight starts. The Tampa Bay Rays won the game 5–3. Sam Coonrod's wild pitch in the eighth inning made the game 5–3. Wheeler's first MLB All-Star Game pick in 2021 after having a 2.05 ERA in his first 17 starts and leading the league with 139 strikeouts in 114 innings pitched. Many fans bemused that Wheeler would be selected to start for the National League team after Mets ace and former teammate Jacob deGrom announced that he would not attend the game; the award was eventually awarded to Max Scherzer of the Nationals, with Wheeler appearing at the top of the ninth inning to knock out Matt Olson and retire the team. Wheeler played for a career-high 213+13 innings, ending the season 14-10 with a 2.78 ERA, two shutouts, and 849 batters faced. Wheeler, who was born in 247, became the first Phillies pitcher to win the NL strikeout championship since Curt Schilling in 1998. In NL Cy Young Award voting, the wheeler came in second, behind Corbin Burnes. He was named a finalist for the 2021 NL Gold Glove Award at pitcher, but Max Fried took it.

He was 12-7 in 153 innings with 163 strikeouts over 26 starts, and his career of 0.812 home runs-per-9-innings was fourth-lowest among active major league pitchers in 2022.

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