Milwaukee Brewers’ Free Agent Target: SP Zack Wheeler
By Paul Bretl
As the Milwaukee Brewers look to improve their roster this offseason, one free agent that GM David Stearns should target is starting pitcher, Zack Wheeler.
If we rewind to last offseason, many thought that bringing in a high-caliber starting pitcher was almost a must if this Milwaukee Brewers team was going to get back to the NLCS and hopefully push through to the World Series. But instead, they would rely on their top pitcher from 2018 in Jhoulys Chacin as well as a trio of youngsters.
Unfortunately for the Brewers, that plan didn’t pan out and from game to game we never truly knew what to expect from the starting pitchers. Chacin was eventually released, while Corbin Burnes struggled with the home run ball and spent a good portion of the summer in the minors, and Freddy Peralta was relegated to the bullpen.
To help bolster the rotation they would have to sign Gio Gonzalez who was in the New York Yankees minor league system and trade for Jordan Lyles at the deadline. In total, the Milwaukee starting pitchers would finish with a 4.40 ERA which ranked as the 9th best in the NL and is a little lower than where it was at for a majority of the season since a fantastic month of September helped bring it down.
Luckily with how creatively Craig Counsell manages his pitching staff, they were an effective unit at the end of the season and got the Milwaukee Brewers to their second postseason appearance in a row. However, with the starting pitchers rarely going more than five innings, it put a lot of stress on the bullpen and once again, adding a starting pitcher this offseason that can consistently give their team six to seven innings each outing should be a must.
Enter the 29-year-old Zack Wheeler who has spent his entire big league career with the New York Mets and was a name mentioned quite a bit around the trade deadline, but is now a free agent.
Wheeler underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015 and returned to action in the 2017 season. Over his last two full seasons, Wheeler has averaged nearly 190 innings each year. And during that span, he’s also totaled a 3.65 ERA with an even lower FIP of 3.37, along with a 1.194 WHIP, and he’s only allowed 36 home runs.
On the mound, Wheeler is a hard thrower and has a five-pitch repertoire consisting of a fastball that reaches around 97 mph and is used 50 to 60 percent of the time. Along with a low-90s slider, as well as a curve and a change-up. He will also occasionally sprinkle in a split-finger fastball.
Wheeler has very good command and walked on average just 2.3 batters per nine innings pitched in 2019. He also works low in the zone which helps him generate a groundball 43.2 percent of the time. That is also a big reason for his low home run count which will benefit him well pitching in the hitter-friendly confines of Miller Park.
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With the current state of free agency in baseball and teams unwilling to hand out big contracts, it is difficult to know at this point what kind of contract Wheeler will receive on the open market. With that said, this offseason the Milwaukee Brewers need to be willing to allocate some of their spending money to the starting pitching position.