Wheeler looks to keep improbable first-half rolling against former team

PHILADELPHIA -- When Zack Wheeler underwent his season-ending thoracic outlet decompression surgery last September, the Phillies insisted they fully expected the perennial Cy Young contender to be his usual self in 2026.

"We figure that he'll come back ... and be the Zack Wheeler of old," president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said at the time.

Even so, it's hard to imagine anyone expected this out of Wheeler.

After missing less than a month to begin the season, Wheeler seemingly hasn't missed a beat since returning to the mound. He's quickly put any concerns -- whether from the surgery itself or his underwhelming rehab outings back in April -- to rest.

Is it possible that Wheeler -- whose next start comes Sunday night vs. the Mets -- isn't just the "Wheeler of old," but somehow better?

Through 10 starts, the right-hander is 6-1 with a 2.01 ERA -- by far Wheeler's best ERA through 10 starts in any season of his 12-year career. It's more than a half-run better than his second-best stretch to begin a season (2.52 in 2021 and '24).

And the even crazier part? Wheeler doesn't think he's reached his potential yet.

"Just kind of a few inconsistent starts in a row," Wheeler said. "Just command-wise, just not as sharp as what I'm used to."

To that point, Wheeler has issued three walks in two of his three starts this month. But his overall walk rate is still below his career average, and slightly below his incredible 2024 season when he finished as the NL Cy Young runner-up.

Despite his self-proclaimed command issues, Wheeler has completed at least six innings in each of his past nine outings after going five in his season debut -- and that was by design.

Opposing hitters are slashing just .174/.233/.321 (.554 OPS) against Wheeler. Each of those numbers would be a single-season best for the 36-year-old righty.

The Phillies are 8-2 in games started by Wheeler.

“As long as I keep getting decent results, we're on a good road,” Wheeler said. “But I just need to sharpen up a little bit.”

Either way, it’s safe to say the Wheeler of old is fully back.