Even though it’s only Spring Training, it was still jarring to see Zack Wheeler struggle in his start on Tuesday. Since joining the Phillies for the 2020 season, Wheeler hasn’t struggled very often. He’s arguably been the best pitcher in baseball during that time, but despite that success, it’s felt like Wheeler hasn’t gotten the appropriate amount of respect from the national media.
He only made the All-Star team two of those four seasons, and in the 2021 game, he was given a token one-batter appearance in the final inning. In 2022 he was excluded from the team despite having a 2.