CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Aaron Nola suggested a couple of weeks ago that Zack Wheeler should be the Phillies’ Opening Day starter.
“Wheels should take it,” Nola said. “He’s earned it, man.”
Phillies manager Rob Thomson announced the inevitable following Sunday’s 5-5 tie with Toronto in a Grapefruit League game at BayCare Ballpark: Wheeler will start for the Phillies on Opening Day on March 28 against the Braves at Citizens Bank Park. It will be the first season-opening start of Wheeler’s career.
“It’s special,” Wheeler said. “It’s a pretty cool honor.”
With that, Nola’s streak of Opening Day starts will end at six. It is the third-longest streak in Phillies history, behind Robin Roberts’ 12 (1950-61) and Steve Carlton’s 10 (1977-86). Thomson said he personally told Nola about his decision. Nola reiterated that Wheeler deserved the opportunity.
The two pitchers are good friends.
“He’s done it for how many years? Six years in a row,” Wheeler said. “It was a pretty cool thing going.”
But Wheeler deserved the honor. Earlier this month, the Phillies recognized his place in the game with a three-year, $126 million contract extension, the highest average annual value ($42 million) for a contract extension in MLB history. It is also the third-highest AAV for any pitcher -- behind Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander -- and the fourth-highest AAV for any player -- behind Shohei Ohtani, Scherzer and Verlander.
Wheeler got the deal because he has been arguably Major League Baseball’s best pitcher over the past four years. He owns a 43-25 record with a 3.06 ERA in 101 starts since joining the Phillies before the 2020 season. It is the fourth-best ERA in the Majors in that time (minimum 500 innings), trailing only Corbin Burnes (2.86), Scherzer (2.94) and Shane Bieber (2.98). Wheeler's 19.6 bWAR and 19.3 fWAR over the past four years are the best in baseball among pitchers. He also has a 2.42 ERA over the past two postseasons, which is the sixth-best in MLB history (minimum 10 postseason starts).
The announcement of Wheeler's Opening Day start came after the right-hander tossed four innings of one-run ball with two strikeouts, one walk and three hits (one solo home run) against the Blue Jays. It might surprise people, but nobody blared horns or threw confetti when Thomson told Wheeler that he would take the mound on March 28.
“Hey, you’re starting Opening Day,” Thomson said before Sunday’s game. “I’m going to announce it today.”
“OK,” Wheeler said.
That’s it.
“That’s who he is,” Thomson said.