Wheeler set to make 2 more rehab starts before Major League return

PHILADELPHIA -- Zack Wheeler is scheduled to make two more rehab starts before he rejoins the Phillies rotation.

If he makes both, he likely will make his season debut during the series in Atlanta on April 24-26.

“He’s on track,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Friday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.

Wheeler is scheduled to make his fourth rehab start on Tuesday with Double-A Reading, after making his three previous starts with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He is scheduled to make his fifth on April 19, also with Reading. There’s a chance Wheeler could skip the fifth one, but at the moment it doesn’t sound likely. If he only makes four rehab starts, he could pitch for the Phillies as early as April 19 vs. Atlanta at Citizens Bank Park, or the April 20-23 series against the Cubs in Chicago.

“He doesn’t have to have it, but he still has time on the [rehab] clock, so we’ll take advantage of it,” Thomson said.

Wheeler allowed three hits, one run and one walk in 4 1/3 innings vs. Rochester in his third rehab start on Wednesday. He struck out six on 61 pitches.

“Fastball command was great,” Thomson said. “He was really happy with his secondary pitches.”

• Wheeler notches 6 K's in third rehab start as pitch count continues to build

Wheeler’s four-seam fastball averaged 92.9 mph and touched 94.3 mph on Wednesday. It has averaged 92.9 mph in three starts. It averaged 96.1 mph last season with the Phillies before his season ended in August because of a blood clot near his right shoulder.

“I think that's pretty much normal for him this time of his Spring Training, really,” Thomson said about Wheeler’s fastball velocity. “So I'm not really concerned about that. I think that it's still going to go up. Adrenaline will kick in when he gets here. It'll help. But he's still building some arm strength.”

Wheeler has lost 10 pounds during recovery since getting thoracic outlet decompression surgery in September.