On Monday, Zack Wheeler made his first start of the spring, and got roughed up for six runs in 1 2/3 innings.
Wheeler threw a perfect first inning, but struggled into the second and was lifted with two outs in the frame, having faced 11 batters and recording five outs during his outing.
“I’ve still got to go out there and prove myself, but at the same time I’m going out there and working on what I need to work on to get better and prepare for the season,” Wheeler said afterwards, according to the New York Post.
Terry Collins said last week he wouldn’t judge Wheeler’s early spring performance, rather he believes more in what he showed during the second half of the 2014 season.
Still, Collins said Wheeler needs to be accountable for the lack of command he had on Monday.
“That is not an excuse for the fact he didn’t have his command in the second inning,” Collins explained. “As I’ve, we’ve seen thus far in this camp, when you walk guys the gates are going to open up.”
Like a lot of pitchers in their first spring start, Wheeler seemed to hit a wall once he reached the 30-pitch mark, and his start just crumbled to the ground after that. He did hit two batters, although it was clear he was working those hitters inside earlier in those counts. I commend the approach – he just needs to execute better and I am confident with more innings and arm strength, outings like this won’t happen too often.
A lot of fans seemed overly concerned about this start from Wheeler on Monday. I get it, considering Wheeler has struggled with command and efficiency early in his career. But remember, pitchers at this stage of camp are working on comfort, footwork, pitch feels, and pitch execution. In Wheeler’s case (and in Jon Niese’s‘ case the day prior), he was throwing a lot of off-speed pitches in very unusual counts, which really indicated he was focusing on his change-up and curveball during this start. The good news is he was throwing his fastball 94-96 mph and that’s close to where it needs to be. The point is, the stuff is there – he was just trying to iron out the cobwebs for the most part.
Just Mets 