With Jacob deGrom out, ex-Met Zack Wheeler making case for Cy Young Award with Phillies

PHILADELPHIA — Jacob deGrom’s extended second-half absence because of injury is a blow to the Mets’ playoff chances, yes, but it also means the race for the National League Cy Young Award is wide open with less than two months to go.

Milwaukee’s Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta have been excellent. So, too, have Kevin Gausman of the Giants and Walker Buehler of the Dodgers, plus the latter’s new teammate, Max Scherzer.

But perhaps better than them all is a pitcher Mets fans know well: Zack Wheeler.

Wheeler, 31, ranks seventh among qualified NL pitchers with a 2.57 ERA — higher than it had been, actually, after a few recent rough starts. He leads the league with 170 strikeouts and leads the majors with a 2.49 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching, which is like ERA but is based only on outcomes in a pitcher’s control, homers, walks, strikeouts and hit batsmen).

And maybe most impressively for a pitcher who missed two whole seasons because of Tommy John surgery and ensuing rehab complications, Wheeler has thrown 147 innings, most in the majors. He’ll add to that total when he faces his old team Sunday.

What is the biggest difference between this version of Zack Wheeler and the Mets version of Zack Wheeler?

"I don’t know that anything is necessarily different about me," he said Friday afternoon, before the series opener between the Mets and Phillies. "Except the whole consistency thing."

By that Wheeler means being consistently good. He has lasted at least six innings in 18 of 22 starts. He has allowed three or fewer runs in 17 of the 22.

Raise the standard, and Wheeler still meets it. He has gone seven innings 14 times and given up two or fewer runs on 12 occasions.

"All around, every time out, being consistent," Wheeler said. "And also going deep into games. That’s my big thing, trying to go deep into games. Helps you, helps the bullpen, helps everybody. I think it’s throwing first-pitch strikes, getting ahead of guys. It makes it so much easier. All that fits into the consistency. As long as you do that, you should be good."

Wheeler is one reason the 2021 Phillies have been solid, loitering on the fringe of the playoff picture until a recent hot streak put them smack in the middle of it. They were a half-game back of the Mets in the NL East at the start of Friday.

Their big move at the trade deadline last week was acquiring righthanded starter Kyle Gibson, who faced the Mets on Friday, and righthanded reliever Ian Kennedy from the Rangers.

Gibson, who had an All-Star first half and has had a questionable start to his second half, was someone the Mets at least briefly considered trading for. The Phillies expect him to add a level of stability — and veteran presence — to a rotation that desperately needs it.

Kennedy once a upon a time was a big-time Yankees prospect, grouped with Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain in a triumvirate that was supposed to bring much pitching success to the Bronx.

A decade and a half later, Kennedy was having a good year as Texas’ closer before joining Philadelphia, which badly needed bullpen help. He got off to an unfortunate start with his new team — four runs in 2 1/3 innings across three games — but his presence along with Gibson’s has helped, Wheeler said.

"They have the professionalism about them, how they carry themselves and how they perform," he said. "When you get guys like that, it helps on the field and off the field. Kennedy, he’s a starter-turned-reliever/closer and he’s having a great year. To have him down there and maybe give them different perspectives about pitching in general probably helps."