Phillies' Zack Wheeler Takes Next Step Toward Return

Zack Wheeler said earlier in Spring Training that his rehab goal is to keep checking off boxes until he’s ready to get back in the Philadelphia Phillies rotation. The ace still has a ways to go, but he checked off another box and took a major step in his recovery process on Saturday.

For the first time since Wheeler’s surgery, he faced hitters in a live bullpen session. The right-handed pitcher threw around 20 pitches to hitter Otto Kemp, Rafael Marchan, and Garrett Stubbs. 

All in all, it was a successful workout for Wheeler, but he acknowledged that he still has a way to go. The Phillies pitcher doesn’t want to get ahead of himself or entertain the idea that he might be ahead of schedule in his rehab.

“I think I'm probably just on track,” said Wheeler after the session. “You guys know me by now. I really don’t try to get too excited about certain things, and like I said before, just kind of take it day by day.”

Even after this outing, there are some areas that Wheeler knows he must continue to work on post-procedure. For example, his fastball velocity was reportedly in the 93 mph range.

Wheeler admitted this is one area he still needs to work on. 

“We'll just look forward to the next one and try to crisp it up a little bit more, try to get the velo up, just a tick more, and we just look for each time out with the velo, maybe just a tick higher. 
So that's usually how it goes during spring.”

There’s still no official target date for when Wheeler could be back in Philadelphia’s rotation. 

That said, manager Rob Thomson did mention earlier in Spring Training that the starting pitcher was beginning a six-to-eight week throwing program. Counting out from when the Phillies skipper said that would put a potential return around early to mid-April, if all goes well. 

Before Wheeler or the Phillies even think about having him back on the mound, the veteran needs to pitch in a live game first; that is the next box to check in his recovery.

We’ll have to wait and see what the next few weeks hold for both Wheeler and the Phillies. It certainly seems like the veteran is progressing well in his rehab, but Wheeler still has a way to go to catch up in Philadelphia’s rotation. 

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