Philadelphia Phillies: Numbers don’t lie, Zack Wheeler is an Ace

A common debate that’s taken place amongst Philadelphia Phillies fans – what exactly defines an “Ace” in baseball?

Is it just the top pitcher on a team’s respective staff? Do they need to be an All-Star? A World Series champion? A top 10 pitcher in all of baseball? Top 15?

Whatever your own personal definition may be, we’ve gotten to the point in Zack Wheeler‘s career where he’s begun to tick off almost every box imaginable. He’s by far been the Phillies best starting pitcher since signing back in 2020, he’s currently a top three MLB player in terms of WAR, and he’s well on his way to his first career All-Star appearance. Any other potential qualifier withstanding for the moment, Wheeler has not only established himself as an Ace this season, but he’s established himself as one of the best pitchers in the world.

Wheeler has made ten starts for the Phillies this year, and he’s been exceptional in almost every single one of them. He currently possesses a 2.38 ERA and a 0.941 WHIP, a 10.3 K/9 rate, and an innings pitched total of 68.0, which leads all of baseball as of May 24th.

Expanding upon the sample size just a bit, Wheeler’s dominance started the second he made the switch from the New York Mets to the Philadelphia Phillies during the 2020 offseason. Across the 21 starts he’s made while wearing red pinstripes, Wheeler has recorded a 2.65 ERA and a 1.058 WHIP.

For the sake of comparison, Aaron Nola recorded a 3.58 ERA during that same timeframe. I’ll let you make your own conclusions in regards to what that means.

The Philadelphia Phillies have themselves an Ace in Zack Wheeler.

When comparing Wheeler to the rest of Major League Baseball as a whole, his value becomes even more impressive. According to Baseball Reference, Wheeler’s 3.0 WAR currently has him tied for the second most valuable player in all of baseball. His 2.8 pitching WAR also ranks second. Even if you’re hesitant to label Wheeler a true Ace due to his lack of in-season accolades, he’s still outperforming a majority of pitchers around the league, which should absolutely count for something.

From a non-statistical standpoint, what makes Wheeler so special is his ability to consistently command his high-velocity fastball. Showcasing an average four-seam velo of 97.2 MPH this season (career high), Wheeler has been able to go after opposing batters no matter the situation. This allows Wheeler to keep stress off his defense with a high strikeout rate, while simultaneously   allowing himself to go deeper into ballgames by keeping the pitch count on the lower side.

This “attack” mindset is one that Cy Young favorites like Jacob deGrom and Gerrit Cole typically employ on the mound as well.

There’s still a lot of baseball to be played this season, but as things currently stand, Wheeler is undoubtedly the Ace of the Phillies staff. Argue all you want if the team has more than one Ace on the roster, but Wheeler’s status shouldn’t be up for debate anymore. He should be a heavy favorite to make the NL All-Star Game this season, and might even see some serious Cy Young consideration if he keeps pitching at his current pace.