In an exclusive interview with rehabbing Mets right-hander Zack Wheeler, Kevin Kernan of the New York Post covered a variety of issues that go beyond the typical reports we’ve been getting on the former top pitching prospect in baseball.
It’s not the usual mundane “Wheeler feels great” blah, blah, blah, push the “publish” button, mission accomplished type articles, we’ve been seeing with agonizing regularity every week since October. We actually have some substance here so pay attention.
For one, Wheeler is reinventing his throwing mechanics. He has altered his arm angle following his March surgery — just like Jacob deGrom did following his Tommy John surgery back in 2010. And according to Kernan, the hope is that it leads to the same kind of success as it did for deGrom. God willing.
The benefits to this are two-fold. One, it results in more downward movement to his pitches, which could lead to an increased groundball rate – always a good thing. But secondly – and primarily – this new delivery will put less stress on his right elbow.
“I want to stay on top of the ball instead of being on the side of it,’’ Wheeler told Kernan as he demonstrated his revamped delivery. “In the past I was just throwing and saying, ‘Here it is.’ My ball moves a lot, and that’s what got me in trouble.’’
This reminds me of something Buffalo Bisons (remember them) manager Wally Backman once told me about Wheeler after working with him for a couple of months.
“This kid is something special. He’s legit. I can see why the front office went after him. He probably can pitch in the majors right now and be better than half of the pitchers up there. He’s just a thrower right now, but watch out when we learns how to pitch. Watch out when that happens.”
Those words always stuck with me and when Wheeler finally made his major league debut over a year later in Atlanta during that Super Tuesday doubleheader against the Braves, I was drooling at how easily he made quick work of them. Wow, we really have something here, I thought with giddiness.
Reading what Wheeler had to say to Kernan, it sounded to me like he is ready to take that next step from thrower to pitcher which has me pretty stoked and excited.
Mind you, it’s not like there was anything wrong with a pitcher who has posted an 18-16 record with a 3.50 ERA and 271 strikeouts in 285 innings before the age of 24 in the major leagues. There are not too many who can boast that.
But imagine Wheeler with a little less walks and a little less line drives – imagine that. Imagine how much more incredible Zack Wheeler could be.
Taking a page out of their Matt Harvey playbook – that’s the playbook all the other 29 MLB teams are now trying to plagiarize – the Mets have slowed Wheeler down and are shooting for a July comeback, which puts him on the same 15-month rehab as TDK.
When that day finally comes, I urge all of you to sit back and enjoy the show.
