Zack Wheeler

I'm hoping one of the prospect mavens can explain what the Giants are doing with Wheeler. I know he had the cracked fingernail so maybe the plan makes sense but I'm curious what anyone has heard on his path for the minors this season. Will he start again or are they going to keep him in relief?

almost 2 years ago slcgiant 4 comments 0 recs |

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Cracked Fingernails take a long time to not only heal, but restrengthen

It’s not like the Giants can put a splint on it.

Since a fingernail is softer tissue than bone, the potential for re-cracking it is high unless you take your time with it. The Giants are using the short stints with a VERY strict pitch count to help keep Wheeler in action without re-injuring the nail.

He is most definitely considered a starter long-term, but will not return to the role until the start of next season at the earliest. There is always the potential for minds to change, but I doubt they’ll change on him anytime soon.

"The knowledge of the game is inversely proportional to the price of the seat." ---Bill Veeck. •Check out the new look of SFDugout.com•

by BruteSentiment on Jul 30, 2010 11:38 PM PDT reply actions

+1 - he's a starter

I’m guessing that his pitch limit must be around 30, because about a week ago they actually puuled him from a game after just pitching 2/3rds of an inning – after he had just strukout the previous batter to get the 2nd out of the inning. They don’t give pitch counts in the minor league stat sheets, but Wheeler had faced 6 batters in the inning, including 1 BB and 1 K, which must have put him right around 30 pitches.

Also, hopefully they’re putting this downtime to good use. I remember that Wheeler was wildly complimentary of pitching coach Steve Kline in an article put out right after the Futures Game, so I imagine those 2 have been spending a lot of time together going over the mental and strategic parts of pitching.

"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner

by Fla-Giant on Jul 31, 2010 7:09 AM PDT up reply actions

One other note:

Remember Clay Buchholz had trouble with a similar problem in 2008 as well. He wasn’t the same that season (which should be noted that he went back to starting), but was solid the next season and has been back to very good this season.

It’s not going to be a fast recovery, but if handled right (which I trust the Giants to do), it should be a total recovery.

"The knowledge of the game is inversely proportional to the price of the seat." ---Bill Veeck. •Check out the new look of SFDugout.com•

by BruteSentiment on Jul 30, 2010 11:46 PM PDT reply actions