Mets rookie Zack Wheeler is different now. That hot mess we saw in mid-June who couldn't get his 98-mph fastball over the plate with any real consistency is beginning to show just how effective his stuff can be when he throws it for strikes.
Obviously, the head-turner was his 12-strikeout effort at San Diego Thursday, but his six starts leading up to it were no worse than competent.
So now, over his last seven starts, he has a 3.00 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings, which is more impressive to me than what Gerrit Cole has done this season. And unlike Cole, Wheeler still has a ways to go before he reaches his career high in innings.
The steady improvement reminds me of Harvey's first stint in the majors last year, when he issued 12 walks over 22 1/3 innings in his first four starts compared to 14 over 37 in his last six. While it's unreasonable to think Wheeler's on-the-job development will go exactly like Harvey's did, it's not so unreasonable to think his 12-strikeout effort is a sign of him getting comfortable with his surroundings.
And once that happens, the sky's the limit.