Zack Wheeler's Command Issues Worry Phillies Fans

We are back once again with the 97.3 ESPN Phillies Mailbag. We take your questions each week and talk about them on The Sports Bash with Mike Gill. Tune in Tuesday afternoons to hear your questions answered on the air.

When are people going to actually bring up Zack Wheeler's thorasic outlet syndrome surgery as a possible issue? It seems nobody is willing to admit there realistically could be a serious problem. Doing research on pitchers who had it, I will tell you long term results aren't good.
~Frank

There is no doubt that Zack Wheeler is having one of the toughest stretches of his career.

That is not good.

But I would caution jumping to a conclusion that the poor performance is related to his recent health issues, from which he returned at the end of April.

Casella also noted in his next tweet: "His velocity is still there, but his command is not."

I said the same thing about Andrew Painter time and time again. If the velocity is down, I would be worried. If it's the command, that could be worked out.

Wheeler said after the loss that his fastball was the only pitch that he could "get guys out" right now. I think that's a good sign.

If there was a concern with Wheeler's arm, he would not have been left out to pitch so long. He was not overly-laboring. He was not in any kind of pain. So they let him throw his usual course of pitches so that they could hoepfully let him work through some of the command issues.

I think the Phillies will continue to do that: pitch through this and get his command back. All but two of his last seven starts were games the Phillies could have won. But unless he is hurt or unable to make his pitches, I would not worry about Wheeler's health.

Might the Braves be feeling the surging Phillies nipping at their heels?
~Ed
The Atlanta Braves are currently losing momentum rather quickly. The Braves have gone 3-7 in their last 10 games, while the Phillies went 9-1. That has the Phillies 3.5 games behind the Braves in the National League East.

The Phillies continue tonight in Seattle, while the Braves start a three-game series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.

I would tend to still favor Atlanta as division winners. The Phillies might pull even at some point, but the Braves have their nine final games against teams around the .500 mark or less. I think the Phillies will have a bigger challenge, with three against the Rays and Brewers, both likely fighting for home field advantage.

But the two teams have seven games left head-to-head. If the Phillies can do more than simply win the series - such as dominate the Braves - that could be a different story.

Will it ever get better than Sunday afternoon?
~Andrew

I would say YES! The Phillies could win a World Series. When all is said and done, I think that if the Phillies can win a World Series, this will be a distant memory. But here are some significant stats about Sunday.

When Trea Turner grounded out to end the bottom of the 8th inning, the Phillies' win probability was at just 1.5%.
Phillies also scored six runs in the 9th in the 2022 Wild Card series against the Cardinals (Phillies Tailgate)
Was the first Phillies walkoff home run since June 9, 2023 - also by Kyle Schwarber

Filed Under: Andrew Painter, Phillies, Zack Wheeler

Categories: Articles, Phillies

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