House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves are scouting Mets starter Zack Wheeler

By Alan Carpenter

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 11: Zack Wheeler #45 of the New York Mets reacts after giving up a triple to Brett Gardner #11 of the New York Yankees in the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium on June 11, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 11: Zack Wheeler #45 of the New York Mets reacts after giving up a triple to Brett Gardner #11 of the New York Yankees in the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium on June 11, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 05: Zack Wheeler #45 of the New York Mets looks back to first to hold Joc Pederson #31 of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on September 5, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 05: Zack Wheeler #45 of the New York Mets looks back to first to hold Joc Pederson #31 of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on September 5, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Zack to the South?

Imagine being a major league pitcher and having the chance to make a 40-minute commute to your team’s stadium from the town you grew up in.

Okay, yeah – Dansby Swanson can already say that, but Zack Wheeler hails from Dallas, GA, which is just a bit further out to the West from SunTrust Park.

He was originally a 1st round/6th overall pick of the Giants in 2009 and is now a month beyond his 29th birthday.

Wheeler is still relatively cheap, thanks to 2 seasons (2015-16) lost to injury… so yes… he’s a Met.  However, 2018 and thus far in 2019, he’s essentially showing the skills that convinced the Giants that he was worthy of that draft status.

Here in 2019, his ERA (4.42) is a run higher than last season and the rest of his line is generally down a bit, but those facts don’t seem to be deterring teams from checking in on him.

Of note is Wheeler’s FIP – Fielding-Independent Pitching score.

Now this is noted with caution, as I don’t like the stat, but in this particular case, it’s instructive since the Mets – as a team – are dead last in the majors in their fangraphs defensive fielding score.

Wheeler’s FIP has been in the low-to-mid 3’s for both last year and now…suggesting that he might be in for another Kevin Gausman-like transformation:  make a tweak or two and put an actual defense behind him… then maybe you can see what he could really do.

This year, Wheeler has eaten the innings for the Mets:  only 3 times (of 18 starts) has he failed to complete 6 innings.  One of those was his 1st start of the year – he went 5.

More recently, he’s given up 4 total earned runs in his last 3 starts against the Yankees, Phillies, and Cubs… and hasn’t walked more than 2 hitters in any start since May started.

That is the kind of pitcher the Braves could use.

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