Zack Wheeler throws three scoreless innings in rehab start with Lehigh Valley

ALLENTOWN — Zack Wheeler didn’t have to subject himself to this.

In planning out where to pitch in a game for the first time since having a rib removed to relieve a compressed vein 186 days ago, the Phillies ace could have opted for the warmth of Clearwater, Fla., where the A-ball season will begin in a few days.

But Wheeler, whose recovery is already tracking ahead of schedule by several weeks, wanted a bigger test. And so, he took the mound here on Saturday in a 46-degree chill, then threw cold water all over a lineup of triple-A batters.

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“It was really my choice,” Wheeler said after holding Toledo, the Tigers’ triple-A club, to two hits and one walk on 38 pitches in three scoreless innings. “I wanted to see more competitive at-bats and more competitive situations. I knew it was going to be cold, but at the end of the day, this is probably where I need to be facing hitters.”

Everyone got what they came for.

Wheeler threw each of his pitches — four-seam fastball, sinker, sweeper, cutter/slider, and curveball — to a lineup that included outfielder Wenceel Pérez and top Tigers prospects Max Clark and Jace Jung. His fastball sat 92-94 mph, slightly better than in spring training, before dipping in the third inning. His curveball was especially sharp.

And the IronPigs, the Phillies’ Lehigh Valley-based triple-A affiliate, got to stage “Rehab Ribs Night,” complete with a barbecue buffet that began an hour before the game and ran through the middle innings.

“It’s a little aggressive,” Wheeler said, smiling. “Made my bone hurt a little bit, and it’s not even there. No, whatever can help these guys out. It’s minor league baseball. They run a bunch of promotions. Whatever makes a little bit of money, I’m here for it, I guess.”

Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering followed Wheeler into the game. He threw 10 pitches, including two of his newly minted splitters, in a scoreless fourth inning.

Wheeler and Kerkering returned to Philadelphia after the game but will rejoin the IronPigs next week in Durham, N.C. Kerkering expects to make a few more appearances. Wheeler will start Friday night, then make at least one more minor-league start for double-A Reading.

And after that? It’s possible he could join the Phillies’ rotation.

Certainly nothing that happened in his first start for Lehigh Valley suggested otherwise.

“Yeah, it went well, obviously,” Wheeler said. “Felt good. It was the first really competitive game and a little chilly out, so I was trying to work through all those factors. At the end of the day, coming out of it healthy is really all that mattered to me.”

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Wheeler produced seven swings and misses, four of which came off his curveball. He struck out Perez on a curveball to open the game and got Trei Cruz to chase a breaking ball in the dirt to end the first inning, probably his best pitch of the game.

But despite the results, Wheeler said he wasn’t necessarily satisfied with the spin on his offspeed pitches.

“Whether it be the curve, sweeper, or even the cutter, they weren’t doing necessarily what I needed them to do,” Wheeler said. “But the curveball, it had good shape on it and it was moving so much that was effective. It’s something that’ll come with more reps and the higher intent and stuff.”

Jung had the only hard-hit ball against Wheeler, a scalded single to right field that was 109 mph off the bat. Otherwise, he got mostly soft contract. All three strikeouts came in the first inning.

Wheeler, who lost considerable weight after the surgery, said he’s still about 10 pounds lighter than normal for this time of the season. Maybe it has something to do with why he didn’t feel as comfortable pitching out of the stretch in spring training.

But he was encouraged by his effectiveness out of the stretch. Two of his higher velocity readings — a 94-mph sinker and a 94.3-mph four-seamer — came out of the stretch to Eduardo Valencia in the first inning.

Wheeler credited a recent mechanical tweak with pitching coach Caleb Cotham in the way he comes set with his front foot.

“Just kind of thinking back over the years, what’s worked for me, we made a little adjustment and today I felt a lot better, more in sync-wise,” Wheeler said. “Sometimes you just need those little reminders along the way even though I’ve been doing it for a while. Sometimes it’s the small stuff that you kind of need to nail down as you build up.”

If you blinked, you missed Kerkering.

He began the season on the injured list after missing most of spring training with a strained right hamstring. He also is introducing the splitter to complement his fastball-sweeper tandem. It remains a work in progress.

“I think I’m comfortable right now that I can go into a big league game and throw a split,” Kerkering said. “I think tweaking it here, knowing what guys see, kind of judging their swings and trying to reevaluate from there, I think that’s what’s helpful.”