The Wheelz Fall Off

Photo Courtesy of @Lets86It

Call it growing pains or simple fatigue, but Mets rookie Zack Wheeler is starting to come unglued as the season comes to a close.  Last night, the twenty-three year old posted a career high with six walks allowed over just five innings pitched during which he threw 107 pitches, allowed four earned runs and only struck out three.

Wheeler has now thrown 95 innings since joining the Mets, in addition to 68.2 in the minors prior to joining the team.  With a total of 163.2 on the year, he has now exceeded his previous career max by 24+ innings and is showing signs of wear.

Wheeler had managed an impressive campaign this season despite early walk concerns.  Despite the fact that his 7-5 record may not be an appropriate reflection on his pitching, Wheeler had managed to limit his walks during the months of July and August, before allowing five or more in two of of his past three outings.

Outside of walks, Wheeler's rookie season has been a successful one.  However, if he is to graduate to elite status he will need to find a way to curb the free pass.  Although he boasts a strike out rate of nearly eight per nine innings, his strike out to walk ratio is only about two to one.  His current ERA of only 3.42 may be a little lucky as Wheeler has been able to limit the damage all year, however control remains a concern for the fireballer as the season comes to a close.