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Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler is tired of being an afterthought for Major League Baseball.
Wheeler, who entered his start Sunday against the Detroit Tigers with a 9-1 record, 98 strikeouts and a 2.28 ERA, was noticeably absent from the NL All-Star roster when it was announced July 6 and as replacements were named after players were injured.
After complaining about his snub following his July 7 start, Wheeler was approached by MLB about being an All-Star replacement. Wheeler declined because he felt disrespected by the league.
Wheeler has been one of the best pitchers in the league despite missing the first month of the season. Given his performance this season and the game being in Philadelphia, it seemed like a no-brainer that Wheeler would make the NL All-Star team.
After being passed over for a selection, Wheeler struck out a career-high 14 batters while allowing one earned run in seven innings in a win over the Cincinnati Reds on July 7.
Following his dominate performance against the Reds, Wheeler made it clear what he thought of not being picked by MLB to represent the NL.
"I feel like that was kind of a reminder, you know, for whoever needs to be reminded," Wheeler said to reporters in the Phils' locker room in Cincinnati. "So, you know, it's ... it pisses me off. It's kind of BS."
Wheeler's reaction stems from an MLB rule that the league will add pitchers only if they agree to pitch in the game. The way the Phillies rotation lines up, Wheeler would have been unable to pitch in the All-Star Game.
"You know, maybe if I wasn't necessarily right in there, I wouldn't be saying this, but I feel like I've earned it," Wheeler said. "... Just because I pitch on a certain day doesn't mean that I get, you know, I can't pitch in the All-Star Game or even be there or get, you know, the recognition for it, you know they could have done it a few different ways. ... I didn't necessarily have to get chosen right away but, you know, I feel like I was right there.
"So maybe they put me in and automatically just shoot me right back out and put somebody else in. You know, there's certain ways to do it."
"I think it's kind of a BS rule that, you know, just because I pitch on a certain day, I, you know, get punished for it," he said.
Garrett Stubbs had some fun with Wheeler's comments from July 7 and had T-shirts made for the team with the "reminder" quote on them.
Wheeler has ranked among the NL's best starters since making his first start of the season on April 25 after undergoing thoracic outlet decompression surgery in September.
What's holding Wheeler back is his lack of innings, which currently disqualifies him from an ERA title.
To qualify, a player must pitch at least one inning for every scheduled game their team plays which would place Wheeler just five innings shy as the Phils are 51-41 before play on July 8.
If he were to qualify, Wheeler would rank fifth in MLB in ERA behind only Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers, Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees, Eduardo Rodriguez of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves.
In WHIP – which tracks walks plus hits – Wheeler would be fourth in MLB, trailing only Misiorowski, Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Drew Rasmussen of the Tampa Bay Rays.
While his 98 strikeouts aren't among the league leaders due to his lack of innings, Wheeler's K/9 rate of 10.14 would rank just outside MLB's top 10 and right behind fellow Phillies All-Star ace Cristopher Sanchez.
During his 12-year career with Philadelphia and New York Mets, Wheeler was named to the NL All-Star Game three times (2021, 2024 and 2025) – all as a member of the Phillies.
He's finished runner-up in the NL Cy Young award twice, including in 2024 to Sale and in 2021 to then-Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Wheeler rejects MLB All-Star offer. Phillies pitcher felt disrespected
Continue reading...
Wheeler, who entered his start Sunday against the Detroit Tigers with a 9-1 record, 98 strikeouts and a 2.28 ERA, was noticeably absent from the NL All-Star roster when it was announced July 6 and as replacements were named after players were injured.
After complaining about his snub following his July 7 start, Wheeler was approached by MLB about being an All-Star replacement. Wheeler declined because he felt disrespected by the league.
Wheeler has been one of the best pitchers in the league despite missing the first month of the season. Given his performance this season and the game being in Philadelphia, it seemed like a no-brainer that Wheeler would make the NL All-Star team.
What did Zack Wheeler say about his All-Star snub.
After being passed over for a selection, Wheeler struck out a career-high 14 batters while allowing one earned run in seven innings in a win over the Cincinnati Reds on July 7.
Following his dominate performance against the Reds, Wheeler made it clear what he thought of not being picked by MLB to represent the NL.
"I feel like that was kind of a reminder, you know, for whoever needs to be reminded," Wheeler said to reporters in the Phils' locker room in Cincinnati. "So, you know, it's ... it pisses me off. It's kind of BS."
Wheeler's reaction stems from an MLB rule that the league will add pitchers only if they agree to pitch in the game. The way the Phillies rotation lines up, Wheeler would have been unable to pitch in the All-Star Game.
"You know, maybe if I wasn't necessarily right in there, I wouldn't be saying this, but I feel like I've earned it," Wheeler said. "... Just because I pitch on a certain day doesn't mean that I get, you know, I can't pitch in the All-Star Game or even be there or get, you know, the recognition for it, you know they could have done it a few different ways. ... I didn't necessarily have to get chosen right away but, you know, I feel like I was right there.
"So maybe they put me in and automatically just shoot me right back out and put somebody else in. You know, there's certain ways to do it."
"I think it's kind of a BS rule that, you know, just because I pitch on a certain day, I, you know, get punished for it," he said.
How did the Phillies react to Wheeler's comments and snub?
Garrett Stubbs had some fun with Wheeler's comments from July 7 and had T-shirts made for the team with the "reminder" quote on them.
Where does Zack Wheeler ranks among NL starters?
Wheeler has ranked among the NL's best starters since making his first start of the season on April 25 after undergoing thoracic outlet decompression surgery in September.
What's holding Wheeler back is his lack of innings, which currently disqualifies him from an ERA title.
To qualify, a player must pitch at least one inning for every scheduled game their team plays which would place Wheeler just five innings shy as the Phils are 51-41 before play on July 8.
If he were to qualify, Wheeler would rank fifth in MLB in ERA behind only Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers, Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees, Eduardo Rodriguez of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves.
In WHIP – which tracks walks plus hits – Wheeler would be fourth in MLB, trailing only Misiorowski, Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Drew Rasmussen of the Tampa Bay Rays.
While his 98 strikeouts aren't among the league leaders due to his lack of innings, Wheeler's K/9 rate of 10.14 would rank just outside MLB's top 10 and right behind fellow Phillies All-Star ace Cristopher Sanchez.
During his 12-year career with Philadelphia and New York Mets, Wheeler was named to the NL All-Star Game three times (2021, 2024 and 2025) – all as a member of the Phillies.
He's finished runner-up in the NL Cy Young award twice, including in 2024 to Sale and in 2021 to then-Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Wheeler rejects MLB All-Star offer. Phillies pitcher felt disrespected
Continue reading...
