Zack Wheeler, New York Mets
The 2018 season started in Triple-A for Zack Wheeler. He didn’t stay there very long and is ending the year as a crucial piece to the front of the New York Mets’ rotation. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows until the calendar flipped to June, though.
At the end of May, the right-hander owned a 5.40 ERA with a 23.6% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate through 50.0 innings of work. His 4.01 SIERA suggested better days were ahead, and that certainly happened. Wheeler’s strikeout rate (24.8%) and walk rate (7.1%) haven’t changed much, but he owns a 2.53 ERA and 3.75 SIERA since June 1st (117.1 innings).
The 28-year-old has controlled contact superbly — over this dominant stretch, opposing hitters own a 24.8% soft-hit rate and 23.9% hard-hit rate, compared to 23.0% and 32.2%, respectively, prior to June. His 3.8 fWAR (easily a new career-high mark) is among the top 20 in baseball when looking at qualified starters.
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