Zack Wheeler

Zachary Harrison Wheeler (born May 30, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the New York Mets. Wheeler was born to a baseball-playing family in Smyrna, Georgia, but moved to Dallas, Georgia, shortly before starting high school. There, he pitched for East Paulding High School, leading the team to a state playoff appearance in 2009 and pitching a no-hitter against Mill Creek High School. The San Francisco Giants selected Wheeler sixth overall in the 2009 MLB draft, and he elected to sign with the team rather than honor his previous college baseball commitment for Kennesaw State. Wheeler played for the Giants' minor league teams in 2010 and 2011 before he was traded to the Mets in July 2011. Wheeler then rose through the Mets' farm system, making his major league debut in 2013. Wheeler's development came to a sudden halt after he tore his ulnar collateral ligament during spring training in 2015. He underwent Tommy John surgery for the injury, and was expected to return during the 2016 season, but a series of setbacks during his rehabilitation kept Wheeler from returning to the mound until 2017. Wheeler became a free agent at the end of the 2019 season and signed a five-year deal with the Phillies in December 2019. In his tenure with the Phillies, Wheeler has developed into the team's ace, posting a sub-3.00 ERA in five of his six seasons with the club and being named an All-Star in 2021, 2024, and 2025.