Phillies news and rumors 3/7: Zack Wheeler hopes new pitch can lead him to first Cy Young

Zack Wheeler is learning a new pitch. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)

Believe it or not, Phillies ace Zack Wheeler regressed in a key area last season and he’s hoping a new pitch can not only put him back on track, but make him the undisputed best pitcher in the National League in 2024.

Wheeler, who signed a three-year, $126 million extension earlier this week, is incorporating a splitter into his repertoire to improve against left-handed batters.

Wheeler’s 2023 platoon splits were drastic relative to previous seasons. Right-handed batters posted a .548 OPS with 22 extra-base hits against Wheeler last season. Lefties fared much better, posting a .722 OPS with 35 extra-base hits. It was the first time hitters on one side of the plate collectively had an OPS above .700 against Wheeler in his Phillies career.

He has thrown a few changeups in the past. Wheeler even said in his first media availability of the spring that he wants to throw it more often this year, but pitching coach Caleb Cotham concluded that his arm action isn’t conducive to throwing an effective changeup.

“I think it just opens up the book a little more to lefties,” Wheeler told reporters, including NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Corey Seidman, after his first spring start in Clearwater. “They did a lot better off me last year than righties did. Me and Caleb had a lot of discussions this offseason about it. This could put me over the top and hopefully get a Cy Young. That’s what I want to do. If I can take care of lefties like I do righties, hopefully it will take care of itself.”

The pitch mix lefties see against Wheeler could be different in 2024. Four-seam fastball and cutters combined for 77.9% of pitches lefties saw against Wheeler in 2023. Wheeler has one of the best four-seam fastballs in the game and if he throws the splitter enough to keep lefties honest along with the cutter, his numbers should improve against them this season.

He threw two splitters in his 30-pitch outing against Baltimore on Tuesday. One was fouled off by Heston Kjerstad. The other dipped too low and missed J.T. Realmuto’s glove.

It’s a work in progress. It’ll be interesting to see the pitch’s evolution over the next few weeks.

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