That’s right, Zack Wheeler is a top candidate for Comeback Player of the Year. Who did you think I meant?

To say Wheeler’s breakout in 2018 was unexpected would be an understatement. After missing two full years due to a long Tommy John recovery, he struggled significantly in 2017, putting up an ERA over 5 before being shut down in July with a stress fracture.

Wheeler’s performance was so concerning to the Mets that he didn’t even earn a spot on the big league roster out of spring training; only a lingering injury to Jason Vargas opened a spot for him, but once it did, Wheeler was determined to make it stick. Early struggles raised eyebrows, but on the back of improved velocity and a brand new splitter, he busted out in June and hasn’t looked back.

Wheeler finished his season, a little early due to innings restrictions, with a 3.31 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP, and 4.7 WARP, all career-bests. Not only did he return from a series of arm injuries that could have easily ended his career, he’s done it while launching himself into an elite tier of starting pitchers. He has the second lowest ERA of any pitcher in the second half, lower even than Cy Young favorite Jacob deGrom.

If there’s anything the Comeback Player of the Year voters love, it’s triumphant Tommy John returns. Former Met Matt Harvey picked it up back in 2015 with an ace-level season after his own UCL replacement and Greg Holland got the nod in 2017 with the league lead in saves.

Competition for Wheeler on the pitching side of this award (one award is given per league, with pitchers accounting for 64% of National League recipients) is thin this year, as Anibal Sanchez and Patrick Corbin have emerged as the most prominent names taking big steps forward in performance between 2017 and 2018.

Notably, both of these pitchers have been fairly healthy in recent years, not missing the kind of time that tends to garner attention. If the voters want to really lean into that, Johnny Venters would be quite a pick, putting up a 3.06 ERA this year after having not thrown a major league pitch since 2012 and undergoing his second and third career Tommy John surgeries in the interim. His limited time on the mound is probably the biggest knock against him, but it would be hard to argue against recognition of his truly unique achievement in coming back at all.

On the hitting side, there aren’t any standout competitors. The Matt Kemp rejuvenation narrative is somewhat undermined by statistical similarities between his two seasons and breakout years from Christian Yelich and Javier Baez are more about young players coming into their own than a return from injury or underperformance.

Regardless of whether Wheeler walks away with the Comeback Player of the Year trophy, his achievements this season should not be overlooked. He went from an injury-ridden former top prospect riding a bus through the Pacific Coast League to a dominant five-pitch starter who has never looked better. It’s a good time to be Zack Wheeler.

Photo credit: Brett Davis – USA TODAY Sports

What’s more, a few dozen of those human beings, all of whom presumably have families and people who care about them, not only stayed the entire delay, but then also stayed for the duration of the game, just to witness the awesome spectacle of two losing teams playing each other in September. These sick people die-hard fans then saw the Mets put up 13 runs and the game become a complete formality, devout of any drama, and still decided that, yes, it was worth it to stay past midnight to witness the undramatic, irrelevant ending to this game.

And I would like to know why. In fact, I would like to get to know all of these people. What are their goals and ambitions in life? What are the choices that led them to where they were last night: standing in an empty, humid, damp Citi Field on a weeknight in September for the payoff of getting to watch Paul Sewald strike out Peter O’Brien to finish a sporting event that affected nobody and will not make a difference in anything, anywhere. Hell, this game could barely be considered a “sporting event,” because that term presupposes a winner and a loser, and some sort of competition between the two sides. But there were no winners and losers last night. The two teams did not appear in competition. Instead, they formed more of a coexistence, combining forces to get the game over with as soon as possible and go home. The Mets, of course, couldn’t even do this right, because they accidentally scored 13 runs.

The Marlins, on the other hand, were clearly not there to compete, and did not appear the least bit interested or motivated at any point during the entire affair. Even Zack Wheeler, who fired eight shutout innings and threw only 89 pitches to do so, was not very interested in playing baseball:

Mickey Callaway said coming out after eight innings and 89 pitches was essentially Zack Wheeler's call.

"When we talked to him, he was just kind of like, 'I'm done,'" Callaway said.

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) September 13, 2018

So why did the few fans who were there care? Or did they care? What exactly did they get out of this endeavor, anyway? There are so many questions.

But then again, I’m the one spending the time to write the recap here. I guess I care? It doesn’t feel like I do. And, hey, you’re the one reading it. Why did you care enough about this game to read a recap of it?

Maybe we’re all a little crazy.

OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY

There will be a press conference today to announce the plan for David Wright going forward. I’m calm. Don’t worry. Are you worried? Why are you worrying? I’m totally okay.

WHAT’S NEXT:

The straight doubleheader that was supposed to be yesterday will now occur this afternoon, with the first game starting at 3:10 p.m. Jason Vargas and Steven Matz will be the pitchers who get the ball for the Mets today.

Well…..

At least six of the Mets’ hits were bloopers. And I don’t mean lightly-hit base hits that fell in front of the outfielders, either. I mean legitimate duck snorts. You know, the pop-ups with awful launch angles and even worse exit velos that just found grass. The Mets scored a run on a sac fly where the throw home beat the runner by 10 feet, but Yasmani Grandal dropped the ball. They scored a run on a ball deflected off the pitcher into no-man’s land. They scored a run on a wild pitch. They hit no home runs, and only one extra base hit the entire game.

The Mets aren’t usually associated with good fortune, but sometimes, the BABIP Fairy is just smiling down upon you.

But seriously what the hell was that?

Anyway, Zack Wheeler had another solid outing, tossing seven innings of three-run ball while walking two and striking out nine. The gopher ball was Wheeler’s main enemy tonight, as he only yielded the runs via the long ball. Max Muncy got him in the fourth inning for a two-run home run, and Cody Bellinger hit a towering solo shot to right in the seventh, his fourth home run off Wheeler in his career.

Nobody on offense really stood out much since the Mets were just hitting 145-foot Texas-Leaguers the whole game and somehow kept scoring runs. It was something out of Little League. Anyway, Jeff McNeil got two more hits, as did Michael Conforto. Kevin Plawecki had the only double in the game, before he was removed from the game after a hit-by-pitch.

After Wheeler, Relief Ace Seth Lugo locked down the last two innings with nary an issue, and the Mets won 7-3 to suprisingly take the series from the Dodgers. This is probably the best team the Mets have taken a series from all season long.

OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY

Both Wheeler and Plawecki will undergo CT scans for injuries suffered in last night’s affair. Wheeler took a ball off his chest, while Plawecki had the aforementioned hit-by-pitch to the ribs.

WHAT’S NEXT

The still-David-Wrightless Mets return home to take on the Phillies tomorrow at 7:10 p.m. Cy-Young runner-up Aaron Nola will start for the Phillies against Steven Matz for the Mets.

Photo credit: Kelvin Kuo – USA Today Sports

For most of the evening, Wheeler found himself locked in a tight pitcher’s duel with Giants’ lefty Andrew Suarez as both hurlers left the opposing offense befuddled basically all night. Both men tossed seven innings, and of the 14 combined frames the starters pitched, eight were 1-2-3 innings.

The Mets’ first real threat came in the seventh when Jeff McNeil was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Austin Jackson followed with a single. After a Wilmer Flores fly out scooted McNeil to third, up stepped Jay Bruce with a golden opportunity to break the ice in this one and push the game’s first run across. Instead, the veteran bounced into an inning-ending 3-6-3 double play to send the momentum back to the home dugout. And San Francisco would take advantage.

Brandon Belt pulled the first pitch of the home seventh down the right field line for a lead-off double, and he advanced to third base on a groundout. Young Chris Shaw, playing in his first Major League game, then got just enough of a fly ball to center to put the Giants up 1-0.

The Mets briefly threatened in the eighth when Brandon Nimmo doubled with one out against San Francisco’s Tony Watson, but the veteran southpaw was able to get Jose Reyes and Michael Conforto out to end the threat. And in the bottom of that inning, the Giants were able to easily put the game out of reach.

Young catcher Aramis Garcia crushed his first big league bomb to lead off the inning and, before the frame was over, Robert Gsellman, Daniel Zamora, Drew Smith and Jacob Rhame would combine to allow six Giants to score and put the Mets down 7-0. New York went down 1-2-3 in the ninth against Ty Blach to end a disappointing series opener for New York.

Up next, the Mets will send Steven Matz to the bump against fellow left hander Derek Holland later this afternoon.

 Photo credit: Stan Szeto – USA Today Sports

Wheeler allowed six hits and walked three but wasn’t fazed by the traffic on the basepaths, keeping the Nationals at bay in his seven innings of work. He’s now thrown six or more innings in 19 of his 25 starts this season, a remarkable number somehow bested by Cy Young frontrunner and teammate Jacob deGrom, who’s gone six or more in 23 of 26 starts this season.

Though deGrom has taken his performance to another level this season, that number isn’t terribly surprising, as he’s been a fixture at the top of the rotation since 2014. On the contrary, Wheeler was left off the Opening Day roster and began the 2018 season in Las Vegas.

On the offensive side of the ball, Amed Rosario’s looked a whole lot better at the dis since the All-Star break. He got the scoring started Saturday with a solo homer to center in the sixth and filled up the scorebook with two hits, two runs, and the RBI. Jeff McNeil’s hot start to his MLB career continued with a base hit in the first that extended his current hit streak to 10 games. He’s now up to a .337/.395/.481 triple-slash in his first 31 career games.

Actually good free agent signing Todd Frazier launched a 401-foot shot to left for his 15th home run of the season. He’s battled injuries and inconsistent performance all season, but you’d be surprised to know that he’s now at 3.1 WARP for the year. The bulk of that comes from publicly available defensive metrics, which are not nearly as reliable as publicly available offensive metrics, but still, Frazier’s been solid, if unspectacular, and the two-year pact was a worthy gamble.

In the bullpen, Mickey Callaway finally let the kids get a chance, using Daniel Zamora and Drew Smith for a change. Zamora struck out the only batter he faced, Bryce Harper, while Smith worked a scoreless eighth. Zamora probably takes over the Jerry Blevins role if the Mets decide to move on this offseason, while Smith should be penciled in for high leverage work in 2019.

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

Wheeler carved through a very unspectacular San Francisco Giants’ lineup with ease. The only problem: Derek Holland and a plethora of Giant relievers were able to mow down the Mets without much resistance.

But hey, it’s not the 10-strikeout performance from one of the hottest pitchers in all of baseball everyone is talking about – it’s the embarrassing mishap in the 13th and final inning.

Dom Smith, an (I guess) serviceable first baseman, is playing left field for the Mets now. In what may be the funniest combination of left field from start to finish in Jack Reinheimer and Smith – Mickey Callaway really doesn’t have much to work with.

There were a lot of impressive pitching performances by the combo of Wheeler, Robert Gsellman, Jerry Blevins and others who have really been hot as of late for New York. But the lack of experience from Smith did the Mets in and gave the Giants an undeserved 2-1 lead in the top of the final inning, only to be closed out by a 7.43 ERA reliever in Derek Law who shut the Mets out in the last two frames of the game.

The everyday shortstop, Rosario, had circled under the ball, signaled and waited to get out of a jam Tyler Bashlor was in – and while some can argue it’s the outfielder’s ball coming in – you leave it to the guy who has you called off and with a lifetime more experience at his position.

It was as bad as a loss as you could suffer going through the season that Callaway’s squad has gone through.

Unfortunately for the Mets, an ice cold Steven Matz takes the mound today for Game 2 in the series against San Francisco. Matz has allowed an eye-popping 20 earned runs in his last four starts.

New York needs to rebound from this loss because games simply cannot be decided the way they were last night.

Yikes.

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

Last night’s game started out innocently enough. Zack Wheeler looked as bad as he has in a while, struggling to make it through the first two innings while working through tons of traffic on the bases and needing over 50 pitches just to get through the first six outs. He struggled to put guys away and didn’t have much command of his secondaries; ultimately looking a lot like the Zack Wheeler of last season. But because the Orioles are bad, he was able to make it through those two innings with only one run given up.

Wheeler settled down in the third, though, and was able to get through five innings having only allowed the one run. Luckily for him, the Mets were able to build him a 5-1 lead by that point. The team had scored two in the first inning on a Wilmer Flores sac fly and a Todd Frazier single, two more in the fourth on an RBI single by Jose Bautista and a double by Brandon Nimmo, and Frazier added a solo shot in the fifth.

But they were just getting started. The Mets came to bat in the top of the sixth inning. Here’s how that inning went:

Out
Hit by pitch
Double
Triple
Walk
Out
Walk
Double
Walk
Grand Slam
Out.

Nine runs later, the Mets led 14-1. They wound up scoring 16 runs on the night, when Flores cranked a two-run homer in the ninth.

The Orioles are quite bad.

The grand slam was, of course, hit by Kevin Plawecki. He was also the player hit by the pitch earlier in the frame, meaning he was the only Met who actually reached base twice that inning. Now, the entire offensive showing here is far too extensive to give any more of a blow-by-blow, so perhaps we should just highlight these offensive standouts for the night:

Brandon Nimmo: 5-for-5, 3 runs scored, 2 doubles, 3 RBI - He was a home run short of the cycle. After the game, he said he was honored to even have the chance to complete the cycle, because of course he did.

Wilmer Flores: 2-for-5, 1 run scored, HR, 3 RBI,  – Wilmer continues to be a steady offensive contributer with consistent playing time. Who the heck would have thunk it?

Todd Frazier: 3-for-6, 2 runs scored, double, HR, 4 RBI – Yeah that’s a nice line and all, but why exactly was he DHing?

Jose Reyes: 2-for-5, 2 runs scored, triple, double – Hey cool sure whatever.

The Orioles are really not a good team.

OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY

David Wright went 0-for-3 with a walk and played seven innings at third base, while Jay Bruce went 2-for-4 in their rehab assignments with Port St. Lucie.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Mets go to the City of Brotherly Love to do battle with the Phillies in what will be a five-game series this weekend, beginning with a straight doubleheader today. Corey Oswalt will get the ball in game one at 4:05, while Steven Matz will toe the rubber in Game 2. The Phillies have not announced their starters for the doubleheader as of yet.

Photo credit: Evan Habeeb – USA Today Sports

On Friday night, the 28-year-old turned in his latest masterpiece, holding the Marlins to just two runs across seven innings, while allowing only four hits and racking up eight punch outs. While his rotation mate Jacob deGrom’s inability to earn consistent victories (through no fault of his own) has generated quite a bit of press, Wheeler won his fifth straight start on Friday, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

The game started out uneventful, with both sides going quietly in the first two frames, but New York used some two-out magic in the third to open the scoring. Jeff McNeil singled to start the rally, and then scampered to 3rd on an opposite field single from Wilmer Flores. Aided by some slick body contorting from Flores to avoid the inning ending with a runner being hit by a batted ball, Michael Conforto then snuck a ground ball up the middle to score McNeil and give the Mets a 1-0 lead.

Wheeler, meanwhile, was cruising, zipping through the first four innings without allowing a hit. Just when your mind started drifting a few innings ahead of itself and fantasizing about a special kind of night, Martin Prado brought you back to earth with a leadoff single in the fifth, but Wheeler easily navigated his way through the mini threat.

In the sixth, the Mets were able to bust the game open, and knock Miami starter Jose Urena out of the game in the process. Conforto led off the inning with a walk, and two batters later reached third on a hit from Todd Frazier. Somewhat surprisingly productive pick-up Austin Jackson then plated Conforto with a run scoring single up the middle, a hit that sent Urena to the showers. On came Drew Rucinski out of the Marlins’ bullpen, and he was unable to put out the fire. His first pitch hit Kevin Plawecki to load the bases, and, two batters later, Amed Rosario drove in two with his third hit of the night, completing a three-run frame that put the Mets up 4-0.

Wheeler kept dominating into the seventh, where he struck out the first two batters, but then a brief blip put a damper on his night. Rafael Ortega singled to center, an at-bat that pushed Wheeler over the 100-pitch mark, and Miguel Rojas followed with a long two-run homer to break up the shutout attempt and end Wheeler’s 23-inning scoreless streak. The blast cut the New York lead in half, and while Wheeler did strike out J.T. Riddle to end the inning, he looked visibly irritated as he walked off the mound.

While the Marlins temporarily had climbed back into the game, that development was exceptionally short lived.

In the next half inning, the Mets were able to get those two runs right back when Todd Frazier and Jackson both singled and then scored on a Plawecki hit against Miami righty Javy Guerra.

Seth Lugo pitched a 1-2-3 eighth for New York before Jerry Blevins and Drew Smith combined to finish off the 6-2 victory in the ninth.

Tonight the Mets will look to win for the fourth time in five contests, when they send righty Corey Oswalt to the mound against Dan Straily.

Photo credit: Jason Linlove – USA Today Sports

Other organizations reportedly worried the velocity gains weren’t for real and that he would soon regress back to his normal self, but the Mets were confident this new Wheeler was for real. For another night, at least, he was, tossing seven shutout innings Saturday and striking out nine Braves en route to a 3-0 victory.

The offense racked up nine hits against Kevin Gausman, who made his debut for Atlanta after coming over via trade with the Baltimore Orioles mere minutes before the 4 p.m. deadline. He allowed all three of the Met runs on the evening, exiting after five innings of three-run ball.

New friend Jeff McNeil was perfect at the dish Saturday as he picked up four hits in his four at-bats. McNeil should’ve been up a while ago, but it’s nice to see him enjoy some immediate success in the big leagues.

Michael Conforto has looked a lot better at the plate as of late and added two hits in his four at-bats Saturday. The Mets rushed him back from offseason shoulder surgery to get his bat in the lineup, but he’s finally looked healthy and its showed in his performance. Regardless of offseason additions, this team very well could put up a fight with a healthy Conforto alongside Brandon Nimmo in the 2019 lineup.

The newly acquired Bobby Wahl wasn’t sharp but didn’t allow a run in his second appearance with the Mets. Robert Gsellman, who’s been used quite frequently thus far, made his second appearance of the series, securing four outs for the save on the evening. It’d be nice if John Ricco and Mickey Callaway followed through on their promise to examine the young talent on the roster instead of overworking veteran relievers who figure to be a key part of the 2019 roster.

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

Yup, we’re still here, for whatever reason. Zack Wheeler took the mound against Joe Musgrove mere hours after Jacob deGrom got screwed out of yet another win. Austin Jackson was getting the start in FF because the recently resurgent Michael Conforto has a sore thumb, leaving us less than optimistic for a better offensive performance this time around.

Game Recap

In what, once again, could be his last start as a Met, Wheeler was brilliant. He allowed plenty of baserunners, as he is wont to do, but also racked up the strikeouts while keeping the Pirates off the board. Wheeler danced around baserunners in every inning except the fourth, but struck out seven en route to six shutout innings, lowering his ERA on the season to 4.11.

The Mets have never seen a great pitching performance they didn’t want to squander, and they did their damnedest to deGrom Wheeler. Joe Musgrove made the Mets look bad, keeping them hitless for the first four innings and inducing a plethora of weak ground balls. Notably, Jackson was not the problem, despite our pregame consternation. He was the Mets’ first base runner in the second (a walk) and managed the Mets’ first hit leading off the fifth.

Wheeler has been watching deGrom get screwed over all season, and he seems to have learned his lesson. Doing his best Thanos-in-Avengers-1-post-credit-scene impression, Wheeler did it himself, driving in Guillorme with a double into the right field corner to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. That gave Wheeler doubles in back-to-back starts. As a fun aside, Jose Reyes has two doubles since June 26 in 55 at-bats.

Totally unnecessary digs on Reyes aside (editor’s note: they are necessary), the Mets squandered several opportunities to add to their lead. Singles from Jackson and Kevin Plawecki put two men on with one out in the top of the seventh, but Luis Guillorme managed only a ground out. Conforto was intentionally walked as a pinch-hitter and Amed Rosario grounded out to strand the bases loaded. They loaded the bases again in the eighth on a walk and two hit batters, but two foul pop-ups wasted that opportunity as well.

Thankfully, the Mets bullpen made those missed opportunities irrelevant. Seth Lugo tossed two scoreless innings and Anthony Swarzak closed things out with a perfect ninth, giving Wheeler’s three straight wins for the first time in his career. It’s also the first time the Mets have won 1-0 in Pittsburgh with the pitcher driving in the only run since they did so twice in one day in 1969 – Jerry Koosman and Don Cardwell were the starters for that doubleheader.

The win puts the Mets at 44-59, and they’ll have an off day today before heading to Washington on Tuesday. We’ll see if there’s anybody missing or any new faces on Tuesday as the trade deadline approaches.

Thoughts from the Game

I really don’t think the Mets should trade Zack Wheeler. Yes, he’s an injury waiting to happen, but he’s looked like a different, blossoming pitcher over the last month. More importantly, the Mets’ starting pitching depth isn’t great, and mid-rotation starters can be expensive, prohibitively-so for the Mets and their laughable budget. Unless a team shows up offering multiple top 10 prospects that can help the Mets soon, it seems like holding Wheeler to give things another go next season is the better move.

In bullpen observations, Anthony Swarzak finally looks healthy. Oblique injuries linger, so it’s not entirely surprising that he’s struggled for much of the year after getting hurt in spring training. The Mets are going to need to rebuild their bullpen almost entirely for next season with Jeurys Familia and Jerry Blevins gone and Robert Gsellman struggling so mightily, but Swarzak returning to 2017 form would be a big help.

Other Mets News

It’s not directly Mets news, but the Yankees traded a reliever with a sub-0.5 ERA at Double-A this season for $1.5 million in international slot money. This is relevant since the Mets got $1 million in slot money in the Familia trade and attempted to sell it as a big get. In reality, it’s a relatively inconsequential, low value piece and the market demonstrating as such makes an already weak return for Familia appear even worse.

Photo credit: Charles LeClaire – USA Today Sports