Zack Wheeler, starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, showed a noticeable drop in velocity during his latest outing against the Texas Rangers. Despite this, both Wheeler and manager Rob Thomson expressed no major concern about his condition.
After having his start delayed by two days due to shoulder soreness, Wheeler’s pitches were slower than usual in Sunday’s game at Globe Life Field. His sinker averaged 93.0 mph, down from its typical 95.5 mph, with similar declines seen across his other pitches.
Wheeler addressed the issue of soreness: “Honestly, it’s been a while,” he said when asked when he first felt it. “It finally just got to that point to where we wanted to go get an image of it so we could treat, specifically, what needed to be treated and not just guess.” When asked if the treatment worked, Wheeler responded: “Today I felt perfectly normal.”
Manager Rob Thomson commented on the situation by saying: “I’m not concerned,” Thomson said when asked about the velocity. “ … He just looks like he’s a little bit out of sync, that’s all.” Wheeler echoed this sentiment: “I’m not concerned. It’ll come back.”
While diminished velocity is more manageable for some pitchers on the staff such as Ranger Suárez, much of Wheeler’s effectiveness comes from overpowering hitters with his fastball. Wheeler noted: “It’s harder to pitch at that velo than, say 95, 96,” adding that reduced speed leads to fewer swings and misses or foul balls.
Despite these challenges, Wheeler managed five innings against Texas after giving up a home run in the first inning and held them scoreless for the remainder of his appearance. He allowed three walks and three hits while striking out seven batters.
Catcher J.T. Realmuto praised Wheeler’s performance under less-than-ideal circumstances: “That’s the type of pitcher he is,” Realmuto said. “Even when he doesn’t have his best stuff, he’s going to give us a chance to win the game. He’s going to go out there and compete, and he’s going to find a way to get it done.”
Wheeler also struggled with fastball command during this recent stretch—a source of frustration for him and an added challenge for Realmuto behind the plate. Realmuto explained that calling games depends heavily on Wheeler’s fastball command; when it becomes erratic adjustments must be made quickly.
Wheeler said postgame that health was not an issue: “Felt good, felt healthy,” he stated. “Still just a little off, so just got to keep working at that.” He insisted again that current struggles are unrelated to physical problems: “If you’ve been around baseball for a while, you know guys go through different times in the season where guys might not have their best stuff for a few starts in a row,” he said. “That’s just it for me right now. It’ll come back around.”
The Phillies had considered skipping Wheeler’s turn in rotation due to an off-day but will be unable do so during their upcoming stretch of 13 consecutive games without rest.
Looking ahead at possible changes once Aaron Nola returns next week—including potentially skipping one of Wheeler’s starts or moving temporarily to a six-man rotation—Thomson concluded: “Not at this point,” Thomson said regarding any immediate plans or concerns about skipping starts or changing routines. “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. That’ll be the tell-tale sign. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
