The Phillies’ Zack Wheeler will make his fourth rehab start on Tuesday. Will he need a fifth?

The Zack Wheeler Comeback Tour will hit the road again Tuesday, with the Phillies’ ace going to Somerset, N.J., for a five- or six-inning start for double-A Reading.

And then?

It might depend on Wheeler’s power of persuasion.

The Phillies have the rehabbing righty penciled in for a final tuneup next Sunday — also for Reading, also in Somerset against the double-A Yankees — according to manager Rob Thomson. It would be Wheeler’s fifth start in his return from surgery 6½ months ago to relieve a compressed vein.

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Wheeler’s minor league assignment can last for up to 30 days, which would enable him to squeeze in a fifth start. Unless he and the Phillies agree that he doesn’t need it.

“That would be almost like a normal spring training,“ Thomson said Friday. ”He doesn’t have to have it. But he still has time on the clock, so we’ll take advantage of it if we can.”

If Wheeler believes he’s ready after one more start, he could slot into the Phillies’ rotation as soon as next Sunday at home against the Braves. Otherwise, if he starts once more for Reading next Sunday, he would likely return during an April 24-26 series in Atlanta, coincidentally his hometown.

Wheeler’s first three starts came for triple-A Lehigh Valley. He threw 61 pitches in 4⅓ innings Wednesday night, allowing one run on three hits and a walk, with six strikeouts.

Thomson watched video from that game and met with Wheeler on Friday. He said Wheeler was pleased with his fastball command and secondary pitches. His sweeper, in particular, was effective.

But Wheeler’s velocity on all pitches remains down by about 3 mph from last season. His fastball, which averaged 96.1 mph before the surgery, is averaging 92.9 mph, topping out at 94.3 mph.

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“He touched 94 a few times the other day, which is good,” Thomson said. “And I think that’s pretty much normal for him this time of year. This is his spring training, really. So, I’m not really concerned about that.

“I think it’s still going to go up. Adrenaline will kick in when he gets [to the majors]. That’ll help. But he’s still building some arm strength.”

It’s likely Wheeler will take Taijuan Walker’s spot in the rotation, although the Phillies haven’t announced their plans. In that case, Walker would move into a multi-inning relief role.

Entering the weekend, the Phillies hadn’t scored a run in 20 consecutive innings, their longest scoreless stretch since last June.

Maybe a visit from the Diamondbacks would be the cure.

The D’backs were scheduled to start three right-handed pitchers against the Phillies beginning Friday night and also have an all-righty bullpen. So, Thomson shuffled the batting order, moving lefty-hitting Brandon Marsh up to the cleanup spot and dropping struggling Alec Bohm to the No. 7 spot.

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It’s only a temporary adjustment, Thomson said. The Phillies won’t want to bunch four consecutive left-handed hitters — Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Marsh, and Bryson Stott — in the Nos. 2-5 spots when they face a team that has even one lefty reliever.

But if three games in the lower part of the order helps Bohm shake an 8-for-43 start, it will have been worth it.

“It’s just him getting back to being himself, using the field,” Thomson said. “We had 10 or 11 pull-side ground ball outs the other day [in San Francisco]. I think guys are trying to do a little bit too much, swinging early in the count. We need to work counts, work over pitchers, chew up pitches, use the field, just keep moving the line.”

J.T. Realmuto returned to the lineup three days after taking a foul ball off the right foot. The Phillies initially thought he would need another day or two to recover. “It’s remarkable,” Thomson said. “He could barely walk the other day and came in today and said he was fine.” ... Top pitching prospect Gage Wood has allowed one run on three hits with 15 strikeouts in 7⅓ innings over two starts for low-A Clearwater. ... Walker (0-2, 9.31 ERA) is scheduled to start at 1:05 p.m. Saturday against D’backs righty Brandon Pfaadt (0-0, 6.75).