Results tagged ‘ Zack Wheeler ’
Wheeler: “I don’t think I’m the savior at all”
Zack Wheeler just held a 14-minute introductory press conference, a day before he is slated to make his big league debut at Turner Field. Here’s a sampling of what was said:
What kind of turnout are you expecting tomorrow?
“From what I hear and see, it’s going to be a huge turnout. I grew up in Smyrna and that’s about 30 minutes away from here. I moved out to where I live now [Dallas, Ga.] my eighth grade year. I’ve got both sides coming, so it’s going to be a lottttt of people.”
How do you feel about people expecting you to be the savior here?
“I don’t think I’m the savior at all. We’ve got great arms here and we’ve got great players. We might not be doing too well right now, but I know the talent of these guys and hopefully we can turn it around soon. I’m just trying to come up here and help the team any way I can.”
Can you enjoy this considering how much the Mets are struggling?
“Obviously you’re getting pulled up to the big leagues so it’s going to be a good time in your career, a good time in your life. You can enjoy it. I’m up here trying to help the team any way possible, good or bad.”
What did you learn at Triple-A Las Vegas?
“It was definitely an experience just seeing balls fly and the ground’s really hard, so some balls get through the infield. I think it makes you battle a little bit more, puts a little bit more pressure on you. That’s what I took away from that league is it puts you in situations that you might not be in sometimes, like those ground balls getting through one after another, then you’ve got to stay out there and just battle. You get out of it sometimes, and sometimes you don’t, so it might boost your confidence a little bit. That’s what I take away from that league.”
How do you feel about following in Matt Harvey’s footsteps?
“That’s the thing. He set the bar so high because he just took off once he came up here. Some people expected it. Some people didn’t. I’m just going to go out there and do the best that I can. People can take it how they want it. Hopefully I’ll do well and just be up there with him.”
Why did you choose uniform No. 45?
“Just growing up, I think I’ve always had 12 or 21 or something like that. And then Adam [Wheeler], the one who played baseball, my brother, he always had 45 for some reason. I don’t even know why he had it, but I just grew up liking it. I took it over when I was about 12 or 13.
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Zack Wheeler preparing for call-up
From Twitter:
Thanks everybody for the support along this road to the show. It’s an honor to be called up by the @Mets Big thanks to my family and friends
— Zack wheeler (@Wheelerpro45) June 15, 2013
And the great fans of NY. It’s going to be very exciting for many years to come. Thanks again everybody.
— Zack wheeler (@Wheelerpro45) June 15, 2013
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Mets PR guru flies across country to prep Zack Wheeler
Here’s the latest evidence that Mets top prospect Zack Wheeler is nearing his big league debut: Mets vice president of media relations Jay Horwitz flew across the country on the team’s off day Monday to meet Wheeler face to face in Fresno, Calif.
The Daily News first reported Horwitz’s five-flight, 6,000-mile journey, which included a middle seat in coach and a 30-minute meeting with Wheeler lasting barely more than 24 hours all told. His mission: to assure Wheeler in person that everything will be taken care of once he arrives in New York, which could happen as soon as next weekend.
Once the trip became public Friday morning, Horwitz tweeted about it:
Set a personal record this week with five flights since Sunday. Have got enough frequent flier miles now for a two-week trip to Mexico.
— Jay Horwitz (@Jay_HorwitzPR) June 7, 2013
You may recall that the Mets were also cautious with Matt Harvey when he first came up last summer, shielding him from interview requests in the days between his first few starts. It was not until Harvey proved adept beyond his years with the media that the team loosened his shackles.
Wheeler’s personality is quite different than Harvey’s. He is quieter and more laid-back, so how that plays in New York City remains to be seen.
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Who should come out of the rotation when Zack Wheeler arrives?
No one seems to want to come out of the rotation, with Dillon Gee and Jeremy Hefner both pitching well of late. Obviously Matt Harvey and Jon Niese are here to stay, and the Mets have four million reasons to keep Shaun Marcum in the rotation as well.
What would you do?
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Why Zack Wheeler will not pitch for the Mets in April
Mets manager Terry Collins reiterated Tuesday that despite all the injuries to the rotation, Zack Wheeler is not a consideration to slide into the Opening Day rotation.
“There’s a reason why we sent him out,” Collins said. “He needs to go to Triple-A. He needs to face hitters in Triple-A. … He needs to go work on his stuff, and he needs to be able to do what he did toward midseason [last year], and that is pound the strike zone. Thus far, in the games he’s thrown over there, they said he’s been a little wild.”
The unspoken reason, of course, is service time. Should Wheeler accrue enough of it to become a Super Two player after the 2015 season, he would suddenly become eligible for free agency after the 2018 season as opposed to 2019 — at a time when the Mets could be highly competitive.
What’s more, Super Two status would give Wheeler four years of arbitration eligibility as opposed to the usual three. Should he develop into the type of ace that everyone expects, that would ultimately cost the Mets million of dollars and increase their starting point for free agency negotiations (which, of course, would begin a full year sooner). It’s an escalating factor, because arbitration salaries are based heavily upon what players made the previous year.
A prime example is Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, who made $4.2 million as a Super Two player in 2009. By his fourth year of arbitration eligibility he was up to $15 million, blowing away MLB’s previous arbitration record. He and the Phillies then had a higher number to use as a reference when Hamels signed a $144-million megadeal last summer.
In other words, starting Wheeler in April as opposed to June could damage the team’s future payroll flexibility, at a time when they might otherwise be highly competitive in the free-agent market. The counterargument is that increased ticket sales in April and May would make up some of that money. The reality is that they would not come close.
It’s an awfully high cost for a team projected to lose close to 100 games, just for a few extra starts from Wheeler — who may not be 100 percent big league-ready anyway — in 2013. So criticize the Mets for being cheap on numerous occasions over the past few years if you want, but do not blame them for it here. This move is not cheap; it’s simply prudent.
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The scene: Santana, Wheeler throw off flat ground
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Beltran returns; Wheeler does not
The last time Carlos Beltran addressed the media at Tradition Field, he spoke about Jon Niese’s nose job and his own decision to sign with the Cardinals.
He made the trip again Wednesday, in a game that was supposed to pit him against Zack Wheeler until the latter suffered a minor oblique injury. Instead, Beltran talked about…
The pressures of signing a multi-year mega-deal, as he did in 2005 and David Wright did this winter:“Sometimes you really want to do more than to help the team because you feel like it’s on your shoulders. But with David I believe it’s going to be a little bit different. He’s been with the organization for a long time, so there’s nothing he needs to change. There is nobody he needs to impress. So he just needs to go out there and play the game.”
His own career renaissance with a playoff contender: “What really has rejuvenated me is being healthy. When you’re healthy, you’re playing games, you’re competing, it keeps me going. And of course the opportunity of playing in meaningful games in October has always helped. I was very happy to have the opportunity to play in the playoffs again, and it was fun. Even though we lost, for me, it was a good experience.”
The trade that sent him to San Francisco in exchange for Wheeler:“It worked out better for them, because I thought I was going to go to the playoffs and it didn’t happen. But it is what it is. I took the chance of going to a team that was fighting for a playoff spot and it didn’t work out for me, but it worked out for the Mets.”
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Meet Zack Wheeler, and other scenes from live BP
After facing Zack Wheeler during live batting practice today, Justin Turner and John Buck both made Stephen Strasburg comparisons due to the late life on Wheeler’s fastball. That’s high praise for a pitcher who was cut from a dozen or so travel teams in his youth, rebounding to become one of the top prospects in all of baseball.
Here’s Wheeler during his live BP session today:
And here’s the group of teammates that gathered to watch:
A reminder that you can check out other scenes from spring training on Instagram.
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MLB.com Top 100 Prospects: Mets score high
MLB.com unveiled its Top 100 prospects list tonight, and the Mets did quite, quite well for themselves. Catcher Travis d’Arnaud clocked in at sixth overall, while right-handed pitchers Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard ranked ninth and 29th, respectively.
The Mets were the only team in baseball to land two prospects in the Top 10.
I caught up with d’Arnaud and Wheeler earlier today to discuss the rankings and their thoughts on Spring Training; you can check that out here. You can also see MLB.com’s full Top 100 here.
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