PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Phillies are three games under .500 at the midway point of their 162-game schedule, but for the first time since 2013, they’ll have two representatives at baseball’s mid-summer classic.
Starting pitcher Zack Wheeler, who has become the Phils’ ace this season, is unsurprisingly making his first All-Star team.
Heading into Monday’s games, Wheeler’s 2.05 ERA is the fourth-best among qualifying National League starting pitchers, behind fellow All-Stars Jacob deGrom (0.95), Kevin Gausman (1.68) and Brandon Woodruff (1.87). He leads the NL in innings pitched with 114.0, as well as strikeouts with 139.
DeGrom — arguably the best pitcher — has 136 strikeouts in only 85.0 innings. It’s likely he won’t be able to participate in the July 13 game in Colorado because he’s later scheduled to pitch for the Mets. Otherwise, he would have been a lock to start for the National League.
So Wheeler — who is scheduled to pitch on Wednesday — has a chance to be in that spot rather than come out of the bullpen. (The possibility for Gausman or Woodruff is, of course, just as strong.)
Related
“[Being an All-Star] is something that you’ve always kinda worked for,” Wheeler said last month. “I’ve always had iffy first halves, so to get out on a good foot and just keep it rolling, it feels pretty good.”
Wheeler is in the second of a five-year, $118 million deal with the Phillies, and he’s been worth every cent.
The Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto will also join the team as the National League’s backup catcher.
All-Star reserves are chosen by player ballots and the Commissioner’s Office. This will be Realmuto’s third All-Star appearance and second as a Phil. He was their lone representative in 2019 — his first season in red pinstripes. There was no All-Star Game during 2020’s pandemic-shortened season. Thus, Realmuto is two for two in making the mid-summer classic as a Phillie.
Related
The 30-year-old is in the first of a five-year contract he signed in the offseason with the club. Realmuto is hitting .263 with eight home runs, 31 runs batted in, a .359 on-base percentage, and .446 slugging percentage. He certainly could be having a much better season and isn’t playing to his full potential offensively, but his reputation holds some weight in this selection.
Nonetheless, Wheeler and Realmuto are the first to both represent the Phils at the All-Star Game since Domonic Brown and Cliff Lee did so in 2013. It’s not an impossible scenario in which Realmuto ends up catching Wheeler in this game.