Zack Wheeler: 6 Reasons the New York Mets Could Promote Him Sooner Than Expected

Acquired in a deadline deal with the San Francisco Giants last season, Zach Wheeler is currently the Mets No. 1 prospect and is ranked 27th overall by Keith Law. 

Wheeler's 2011 minor league stats were pretty good. In 22 games pitched, Wheeler threw 115 innings, going 9-7 with a 3.52 ERA. In those 115 innings, he managed to strike out 129 while walking 52. He also gave up only seven home runs with opposing batters hitting just .231 off of him.

The Mets have very high hopes for Wheeler and believe that in a few years, he can be a mainstay atop their rotation. Most people believe that Wheeler will join the Mets either at the end of 2013 for September call-ups or will start the year with the club in 2014.

This article will talk about the reasons that we might end up seeing Wheeler in the the majors much sooner. Keep in mind that I'm not saying I believe Wheeler should be promoted before those dates, just that these are some of the reasons that the Mets might move him along more quickly.

1. Major League-Ready Arm

Wheeler has the benefit of a very live arm and is able to consistently keep his fastball at 94 to 95 mph, sometimes even working it up into the high 90s.

In addition to the great velocity that Wheeler gets on his fastball, he also gets great life on it. There are two things about Wheeler's fastball that are noted in almost every scouting report. The first is that it gets good run inside on righties, allowing Wheeler to jam them thus generating a lot of weak contact. Secondly, Wheeler's fastball explodes when he throws it up in the zone.

Because of his height, when Wheeler throws his fastball around the letters, it gets on hitters a lot quicker than they expect. This allows Wheeler to get a lot of swings-and-misses up in the zone and a lot of pop-ups on late swings.

2. Great Secondary Pitch

As many flamethrowers who never managed to succeed in the major leagues will tell you, you can't pitch in MLB with just a fastball. It doesn't matter how hard you throw; professional hitters will eventually get the timing down and you'll get lit up if you only have one pitch.

Wheeler complements his top-notch fastball beautifully with a great curveball. A scouting report on his breaker is that it has "elite, two-plane break that is a no-doubt swing-and-miss pitch." Wheeler also does an excellent job of keeping his curveball down and you will rarely see a "hanger" slip out of his hand.

Granted it is in the minor leagues, but if you watch the above video, Wheeler gets three strikeouts with his curveball. The first isn't even close to a strike, but it has such sharp break that the hitter is terribly fooled and swings right through it. The second doesn't even reach the plate, but again, the break is so sharp that it just drops off the table on the hitter. The third is a strike, but it is still in a good spot low in the zone and has enough break to miss the bat. 

3. Good Build and Size

Wheeler is listed at 6'4" and 185 lbs. At 6'4", his height is right where major league scouts want to see it. He also has a long arm that allows him to get plenty behind his fastball. The Mets are currently working on getting Wheeler to add a little weight and muscle to his frame and ideally would like to see him get to 200 lbs, which they don't believe will be a problem (As heard on "Daily News Live!" on SNY).

The reason that major league scouts are in love with size and velocity is because you can teach mechanics and new pitches, but you can't teach size and it's very difficult to teach velocity. Wheeler was blessed to have a body that can generate velocity without putting much stress on his arm.

Between his great height and having plenty of room to add more muscle, Wheeler is perfectly built to endure the rigors of a long major league season.

4. Not Afraid to Pitch Inside

A big problem that tends to arise for young pitchers is that they don't understand how to pitch inside to major league hitters. They are afraid that their pitches will drift back over the plate and get hammered, causing them to stay over the outside part of the plate. All that happens as a result of this is that hitters crowd the plate and drive the ball the other way.

By all indications, Wheeler gets good inside run on his fastball and he knows how to use it. Think of the type of movement that Pelfrey gets, except that Wheeler isn't afraid to throw his pitches inside.

It is also said that Wheeler is able to create good deception because of his long arm and delivery. If you combine this with the fact that his fastball explodes when thrown up in the zone, it adds up to him being able to effectively pitch inside to major league hitters.

Add that to the fact that it has been noted that Wheeler is extremely competitive and aggressive on the mound (more traits that Pelfrey lacks), and it seems as though he won't have a problem controlling both sides of the plate.

5. Mets Falling out of Contention

I'm going to preface this slide by saying that I truly believe the Mets have a much better team than people are giving them credit for. I've seen predictions here on Bleacher Report where people see the Mets winning 60 to 65 games. I honestly believe that is ridiculous.

The Mets have a lot of young talent mixed with some good veterans. The bullpen is also much improved, but I digress from my point.

If the Mets do fall out of contention in August or early September, it is possible that Wheeler will get a call-up just to see how he manages. This scenario also depends on him doing well in Double-A or Triple-A, if he is there at that point. If he is struggling at whichever minor league level he is at, I highly doubt that the Mets would call him up.

If the Mets are out of contention and decide to call Wheeler up at the end of the season, I'm sure they would be extremely careful with him. He would most likely work out of the bullpen just to see how he fares against major league hitters. Like I've said in previous slides, Wheeler definitely possesses the pitches to get major league hitters out; this would be his test to show that he knows how to use them.

6. Injuries

Don't worry fellow Mets fans, I'm knocking on wood continuously as I type this slide. It's no secret that the Mets have been hammered by injuries over the past couple seasons. It's extremely frustrating for Mets fans, because to everyone else it looks as though the Mets just didn't have that good of a team.

However, we know that the Mets have had some very talented teams that could have made some noise if not for the injuries.

If the Mets once again suffer some injuries (another knock on wood), but they manage to still find themselves with a shot at the postseason, then there is a chance that Wheeler will get a call-up to try to help the Mets reach that goal.

Some people believe that rushing a prospect can deeply hurt their future, but I think it depends on how you use them. The Mets wouldn't be calling up Wheeler for an entire season; it would probably just be for a few weeks towards the end of the year to help them stay afloat. Once he was no longer needed, he would probably go right back down to the minors to continue developing.