Mike’s Met Of The Month, August 2018: Zack Wheeler

MLB: Washington Nationals at New York Mets

The New York Mets played .500 ball in August, and they had a lot of contributors along the way. The offense was surprisingly productive, with Amed Rosario (.286/3/16/7 steals), Jeff McNeil (.330/1/8), Austin Jackson (.304/1/11), Todd Frazier (.255/6/20), and Wilmer Flores (.287/2/14) delivering for the Mets. The Mets did a lot of work thanks to their pitching, however, meaning the race for the Met of the Month Award came down to their two best starting pitchers, Jacob deGrom and Zack Wheeler. In an extremely close race, Wheeler ended up taking home the Met of the Month honors for the second straight month.

Mike's Met Of The Month, August 2018: Zack Wheeler
Aug 25, 2018; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

In six August starts, Wheeler went 4-1 while leading the team with a 1.13 ERA for the month. deGrom was also excellent in August, going 3-2 with a 1.24 ERA over six starts, but the continued emergence of Wheeler as a top of the line starter put him over the top. The Mets dangled Wheeler prior to the July 31st non waiver trade deadline but ended up holding on to him when they didn’t receive satisfactory offers from other teams. Wheeler has made the Mets look good for not selling on him at that point, continuing to pitch extremely well while several contending teams (like the Milwaukee Brewers) are kicking themselves for not offering more to land Wheeler’s services. With only a month left to go this season, Wheeler’s coming out party has to be one of the biggest positives for the Mets in an otherwise lost 2018 season.

Previous Mets Of The Month:

April: 2B Asdrubal Cabrera

May: SP Jacob deGrom

June: SP Jacob deGrom

July: SP Zack Wheeler

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