After the 2019 season, the Philadelphia Phillies were in search of a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher to pair alongside Aaron Nola, who was coming off the two best seasons of his career. They ended up with former New York Mets right-hander Zack Wheeler, signing him to a five-year, $118 million contract.
Wheeler struggled with injuries in New York, missing all of 2015 recovering from Tommy John surgery. He showed flashes of brilliance during his Mets tenure, pitching to a 3.77 ERA over 749 1/3 innings.
The Phillies banked on Wheeler reaching his full potential when they inked the deal. He did just that in 2021, recording 14 wins and leading the league in bWAR, complete games, shutouts and innings pitched, finishing second in National League Cy Young voting.
Wheeler established himself as one of the best starting pitchers in the league, earning a three-year, $126 million extension in March 2024 in what would have been the final season of his initial deal. He has earned every penny of that extension, as further proven by the historic run that he is currently on.
Zack Wheeler is on a run of starting pitching dominance that has never been seen in Phillies history
In Wednesday night's 5-1 win over the Colorado Rockies, Zack Wheeler delivered a vintage performance that has become expected of him every time he takes the mound for the Phillies. He struck out 10 Rockies batters and allowed just one run over seven innings. Wheeler also set a regular season career-high with 25 swings and misses on the night.
That extended Wheeler's streak of consecutive starts of at least six innings pitched with two or less earned runs allowed to 13, a Phillies' franchise record, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. His current streak is the longest since Shane McClanahan of the Tampa Bay Rays also had a 13-start streak in 2022, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Scott Lauber.
Wheeler's current deal with the Phillies makes him the highest-paid player on the team, with an annual salary of $42 million. That also makes him the highest-paid pitcher in all of Major League Baseball, and he is arguably the single best starting pitcher in the sport. His talent is appreciated by Phillies fans and teammates alike, with shortstop Trea Turner chiming in on what makes Wheeler so great.
"That's what's tough about him. It's almost like he lulls you to sleep a little bit, and then he's throwing 95 to 98 [mph]," Turner said. "It looks like he's going through the motions, but he's in command of everything, throwing all of his pitches wherever he wants, getting weak contact and throwing strikes. He's the total package. He's been really good for us for a while."
Trea Turner explains what makes Zack Wheeler so successful.
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His command and ability to limit hard contact and make adjustments really are what makes the Phillies' ace so reliable. Wheeler has walked over 50 batters in a season only once with the Phillies, in 2024, when he was once again the runner-up for the NL Cy Young.
No stat speaks to the reliability of Wheeler more than his innings pitched, as he routinely is among the league leaders. He pitched exactly 200 innings in 2024 and topped the league with 213 1/3 in 2021. It has become a given to manager Rob Thomson that the ace of his pitching staff will deliver at least six innings with two runs or fewer.
Wheeler looks to extend his streak even further his next time out when he matches up against the Atlanta Braves next week.