House That Hank Built
Fansided

Is Zack Wheeler a good fit for the 2020 Atlanta Braves rotation?

By Steven Teal

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 15: Pitcher Zack Wheeler #45 of the New York Mets looks on from the dugout during the seventh inning of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field on September 15, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 15: Pitcher Zack Wheeler #45 of the New York Mets looks on from the dugout during the seventh inning of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field on September 15, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
JUPITER, FL – MARCH 01: Pitchers (L-R) Bartolo Colon, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler pose for photos during media day at Traditions Field on March 1, 2016 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)
JUPITER, FL – MARCH 01: Pitchers (L-R) Bartolo Colon, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler pose for photos during media day at Traditions Field on March 1, 2016 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images) /

Former New York Mets pitcher and Georgia native, Zack Wheeler could be a perfect fit for the Atlanta Braves rotation in 2020.

If you’ve paid attention when the Atlanta Braves have faced the Mets during the previous three seasons, you know just how good of a pitcher Zack Wheeler is.

In his five-year big league career he has a 3.77 ERA in 749.1 innings pitched with 726 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.29.

This past season he had a 3.96 ERA in a career-high 195.1 innings with 195 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.26.

FanGraphs had him with a WAR of 4.7 in 2019, which would have been tops in the Atlanta Braves starting rotatoin.

He’s been a great piece for the middle of a rotation that features both Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard in New York. He may not be the top of the line starter that most Braves fans are convinced that we need, but he would be a great option to solidify our rotation.

Wheeler is your prototypical modern day starting pitcher. He features a 95+ mph fastball, a 91 mph slider, along with a decent curveball and changeup. He also occasionally throws a splitter.

I know we already feature a guy with stuff similar to this in Mike Foltynewicz, but Wheeler’s separating factor is how hard his pitches are thrown. I couldn’t imagine trying to catch up to a 91-mph slider.

His slider has more 12-6 movement than it has depth but it’s usually effective when following his 95+ mph fastball that has sinking action on it which results in a lot of ground-ball outs. That’s something that our team could certainly use more of.

Home/Braves News