PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (WFAN) -- It had been seven days since Zack Wheeler had made an appearance on the mound for the Mets, and that was out of the bullpen in relief of Matt Harvey against the Braves on Feb. 28. But he used the time well, doing some extra work with pitching coach Dave Eiland on his breaking ball, and it showed in his start against the Yankees on Wednesday in Port St. Lucie. Wheeler fired three strong shutout innings, allowing four hits, striking out four batters, inducing a double-play grounder and walking none.
Wheeler's curveball was sharp, and he credited the improvement to his work with Eiland.
"That was a big focal point for me and Dave during the bullpen sessions," Wheeler said. "I threw two this past week, and we were really keying in on the curveball and the two-seamer because they've been off a little bit, and both of them were good pitches for me today."
The right-hander realizes that in combination with his explosive fastball, commanding the breaking balls can make life very difficult for hitters.
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"It opens up a wide range of options for you," he said. "You can go back-to-back, which a lot of guys aren't going to swing at a big curveball like that. If they do, it's more likely they're not going to square it up. So it opens up a lot of different options, keeps guys on their toes, and whenever you can just flick that in there, it helps the pitcher out a lot more and makes it a lot easier for us."
Wheeler has now made two starts and one relief appearance this spring. Someone in this pitching rotation has to work out of the bullpen, and Wheeler was the odds-on early favorite. But he said that's the farthest thing from his mind.
"I can't help what everybody else is doing," he said. "I just worry about myself. I go out there and try to give myself the best chance to succeed. Whatever happens, happens. I'm just here to pitch, be healthy and give the team innings."
Wherever he is, all manager Mickey Callaway cares about is that he continues to pitch the way he did Wednesday. Can he be a dominant starting pitcher?
"He can," Callaway said. "The off-speed just makes his fastball that much better. It makes his curveball something that hitters have to worry about. You get a guy like that with really good stuff and hitters have to worry about multiple pitches and they can't start eliminating pitches, then you can become very effective."
