Quote (Trust100Percent @ Dec 4 2019 09:56pm)
Wtf, he's had one good season, where is the appeal?
🤞
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Wheeler, 29, was the third-best starting pitching option available after mega-arms Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg, and receives what will likely end up being the third-largest pitching contract given out this offseason. He’ll turn 30 next May.
Wheeler’s Major League career has been a play in three acts: The first, a solid emergence with a 3.50 ERA (100 ERA+) in his first two seasons; the second, two consecutive years forfeit to injury and a partial 2017 season spent trying to reacquaint himself with top-level hitting; the third, a 60-start wave of improvement in 2018-19 that landed him the third-largest free agent contract the Phillies have ever handed out.
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A big part of Zack Wheeler’s appeal is, undoubtedly, Raw Stuff. Think about what drew the Astros to trade for Gerrit Cole two years ago, in spite of modest career numbers to that point: In an oversimplification, a hard fastball and a plus secondary pitch came pre-loaded, and with the right adjustments, Houston was able to unlock something special.
Now, the Phillies turning Wheeler into the next Cole based on stuff alone is a stretch, and hardly likely, but there’s buzz around Wheeler that his best may be yet to come. Maybe the Phillies, with a new-but-seasoned pitching coach in the fold in Bryan Price, can find enough for Wheeler to take the next step.