Zack Wheeler is currently on a rehab assignment. (Cheryl Pursell)
PHILADELPHIA — Zack Wheeler's time rehabbing with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs is likely over, but he's not yet ready to return to the Phillies.
With Triple-A Lehigh Valley headed to St. Paul Minnesota next week, Wheeler will continue his rehab stint with Double-A Reading. The Fightin' Phils will be in Somerset, NJ next Tuesday, when Wheeler will make his fourth rehab start. He's slated to make a fifth start in Somerset on Sunday, although that's not etched in stone.
Zack Wheeler will pitch for Double-A Reading Tuesday. Five or six innings, 80-85 pitches. He’s scheduled to pitch again for Reading on Sunday, although that’s not etched in stone. @OnPattison pic.twitter.com/lpgJLlzucY
The plan is for Wheeler to pitch between five and six innings, and/or 80-85 pitches on Tuesday.
Rob Thomson came away impressed with Wheeler's third rehab outing, which saw him strike out six, while allowing three hits and one run over 4 1/3 innings pitched against the Rochester Red Wings on Wednesday.
"I watched the tape, it was really good — a lot better," Thomson said. "61 pitches, he got a fifth up, which was good. Fastball command was great. I talked to him today, he was really happy with his secondary pitches, slider, curveball and he threw a couple good splits. He's on track."
Wheeler made his first rehab appearance on March 28. Pitchers can be on rehab stints for up to 30 days. The Phillies aren't yet at the point where they need to make a decision. But if all things are equal, you'd rather Wheeler pitch for the Phillies than the Fightin Phils or IronPigs. So what would he have to show in the fourth rehab outing Tuesday for that to be enough?
"I think just looking at his stuff ... looking at velocity ... seeing how he feels ... looking at command ... all that stuff," Thomson said.
The training staff for the Phillies will have the largest voice in when Wheeler returns, but it stands to reason that Wheeler — who has a 2.91 ERA in six seasons in red pinstripes — will have some input as well.
As far as the things Thomson mentioned, the velocity might be the thing to watch the closest in his fourth rehab outing. Prior to a blood clot ending his season last year — and eventual surgeries to remove the blood clot and to correct thoracic outlet syndrome — Wheeler averaged 96.1 mph on his fastball last season. Across his first three rehab outings, he's sat more in the 92-93 mph range, which Thomson was asked about Friday.
"He touched 94 a few times the other day, which is good," Thomson said. "And I think that's pretty much normal for him this time of year. This would be his Spring Training, really. I'm not really concerned about that. I think it's still gonna go up. Adrenaline will kick in when he gets here, that will help. But he's still building some arm strength."
If Wheeler makes two more rehab outings and then returns to the mound for the Phillies five days after pitching for Reading Sunday, that would put him on track to make his season debut in Atlanta on Friday, April 24. Then again, if he pitches well enough on Tuesday that it's determined he doesn't need another rehab outing, perhaps he could return for the final game of a nine-game homestand that the Phillies will begin Friday, with a Sunday Night Baseball matchup with the Braves at Citizens Bank Park looming on April 19.
