Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
New York Mets top prospect Zack Wheeler is making his MLB debut on Tuesday in the second game of a doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves.
Wheeler will feel right at home as he grew up 30 miles away from Atlanta and will have friends and family in the stands. Mets fans have been waiting a long time for this move since they have not had much else to look forward to aside from Matt Harvey (starting first game of the doubleheader) every fifth game.
The hard-throwing righty was acquired in the 2011 trade that sent OF Carlos Beltran to the San Francisco Giants. Wheeler has spent two full seasons in the Mets minor league system and was inside the top-10 on MLB’s top prospect list at the start of the season. He had a 4-2 record with a 3.93 ERA and an impressive 73 strikeouts in only 68.2 innings before being called up the big leagues.
Wheeler has an impressive fastball that clocks in at 96 mph with an impressive curveball to throw hitters off balance. Some scouts in the Mets organization believed that he had better stuff than Harvey when they were assessed in spring training. He’s worth taking a chance on in all but the shallowest mixers in fantasy and at 40 percent owned in Y! Sports leagues, you’ll likely want to act quickly.
If he has the potential to be anything like Harvey, where he lacks in wins he will make up for it in strikeouts and ERA.
Michael Block is a featured sports columnist for Rant Sports You can Follow him on Twitter @Mike_Block2
