PORT ST. LUCIE — Zack Wheeler is just fine with life as the “other guy” with electric stuff in this Mets rotation.
In a spring training camp during which Matt Harvey’s return from Tommy John surgery is taking center stage and Jacob deGrom’s next act following his surprise NL Rookie of the Year emergence will be pondered, Wheeler is allowed to blend with his surroundings.
But in truth, the right-hander is just as important a building block in this heralded Mets rotation as Harvey and deGrom.
“I don’t have to have the attention,” Wheeler said Sunday. “I am not one of those guys. If I have it, so be it, but if I don’t, I couldn’t care less.”
But the Mets realize what they have in the 24-year-old Wheeler. Now they would like to see it for a complete season.
Last year, Wheeler went 11-11 with a 3.54 ERA and 1.327 WHIP over 32 starts. But his ERA dropped by nearly a full run in the second half of the season, as he became less predictable with his pitch selection and more confident.
Manager Terry Collins was so impressed with the improvement, he is strongly considering tabbing Wheeler as his Opening Day starter on April 6 in Washington. For now, Collins will only concede that Harvey has been eliminated from consideration for the Opening Day nod.
“From what I saw, this guy is stepping up,” Collins said of Wheeler. “I told [pitching coach] Dan [Warthen], we’ll decide who the Opening Day starter is, but this kid’s name is involved, because what I saw in the second half, the numbers he put up in the second half, he deserves to be considered for it.”
After a solid rookie campaign in which he went 7-5 with a 3.42 ERA over 17 starts, Wheeler suspects hitters made adjustments against him in the first half of last season. But Wheeler then made his own changes and began to see a difference in the results.
“I was being a little too predictable at certain points,” Wheeler said. “Fastball in fastball counts, and changing it up here and there, I think that definitely helped me going to the second half.”
This spring, his checklist will contain two items.
“Just cut down on pitches per inning is something I have really worked on in spring training,” Wheeler said. “And I think it’s more throwing toward a third of the plate instead of the corners. The ball moves a lot as it is, so just try to get that early contact and try to trust my stuff a little bit more.”
Collins’ excitement about this rotation stems largely from its depth. Just the notion Wheeler and his plus-stuff gets lost behind Harvey and deGrom leaves the manager laughing.
“It’s a pretty nice guy to have lying in the weeds, a pretty good weapon,” Collins said. “We’ve got [Wheeler] who has probably got as pure of stuff as anybody in the rotation and is getting better. The fact that he throws hard, everybody expects him to zoom to the top, but it takes a little time. We preach patience, and guess what: It’s time.”
Behind Wheeler, the Mets have finesse pitchers in Bartolo Colon, Jon Niese and Dillon Gee. But then comes a new wave of young guns that includes Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Rafael Montero.
Wheeler, now in his third major league spring training, has become used to the buildup regarding the organization’s young pitchers, and can savor the fact he doesn’t have to fight for a job this spring.
“Knowing that I have a spot makes you a little bit more comfortable,” Wheeler said. “It allows you to just really concentrate on maybe stuff in between days of pitching: trying to prepare yourself instead of going out there and really stressing out every fifth day.”