DING DONG THAT PITCH IS DEAD…
One of the things that has impressed me about Zack Wheeler is his ability to dig down deep within himself with runners on base or in scoring position. Since his big-league debut on June 18, forever known to Mets fans as Super Tuesday, Wheeler has allowed batters to hit just .114 with runners in scoring position. That ranks third in the majors over that span.
With runners on base, Wheeler is almost as tough — a .162 average allowed — third best in the majors among pitchers who have faced at least 68 batters.
Those are my kind of numbers…
Wheeler may not have hit the ground running like his teammate and undisputed ace Matt Harvey, but at 4-1 with a 3.72 ERA, that’s not exactly chopped liver.
I do have one chief concern and it’s not so much the control issues….
Yes, Wheeler’s control issues are now well known to all and will remain a work in progress, but I’m actually more concerned at how many batters have turned on his vaunted fastballs or any of his pitches that actually make it into the strike zone. Seven home runs in seven starts that have averaged barely five innings, shows that Wheeler still has much work to do.
He gets the start tonight against the Marlins in Miami at 7:10 pm ET. This would be a good time for him to deliver in a big way against the lowest scoring team in the major leagues. Lets see what happens…
