During his first three starts for Triple-A Las Vegas, Mets pitching prospect Zack Wheeler has lacked the effectiveness that helped land him a spot on nearly every prospect list prior to the 2013 season.
That trend continued during his fourth outing Friday against Sacramento (Athletics) as he issued six walks -- matching his total from the previous three games combined -- and struck out just four over 4 1/3 innings.
Wheeler, who reportedly underwent an MRI for a blister on his middle finger last week, was also charged with three hits and four runs as his ERA swelled to 8.31 on the season. The right-hander has yet to complete more than 5 1/3 innings in any of his starts.
"That's a red flag and I don't want to see walks from those guys," Mets manager Terry Collins told ESPN.com on Saturday. "We know one thing with Zack's history, he doesn't walk a lot of guys, so when I saw the six base on balls today, there's got to be a reason for it. He's got good enough zone that if he pounds the zone, he'll get people out."