Phillies announce Zack Wheeler as Opening Day starter — breaks Aaron Nola’s 6-year streak
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fourth inning in Game 5 of the baseball NL Championship Series in Phoenix, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
With Opening Day just 11 days away, the Phillies announced Zack Wheeler to be the Opening Day starter on March 28th against the Braves. Wheeler, fresh off a record-breaking 3-year $126 million contract, is also coming off of another outstanding season with the Phillies.
In 2023, Wheeler pitched 192 innings (3rd most of his career) with a 3.61 ERA, the best ERA of all Phillies starters that pitched over 100 innings. He showed up once more in the postseason going 3-0 with a fantastic 1.95 ERA and went 27.2 innings in 5 starts. For many pitchers, this would be a career year, but for Wheeler, this wasn’t even close to his best. Ever since joining the Phillies he’s had a sub-3 ERA 3 of 4 years with the team and has proven to be one of the best pitchers in Baseball.
One of the headlines with Wheeler getting the opening day nod was Aaron Nola‘s 6-year streak as the opening day starter being snapped. This streak being tied for the 3rd longest by a starter in Phillies history. Unfortunately for Nola, last year was his worst statistical season since 2016. Nola pitched 193 innings with a 4.46 ERA (2nd worst of his career) and gave up a career-high 32 home runs. Those 32 home runs had him tied for the 7th worst in the MLB. Aaron Nola did rebound towards the end of the season going into the 2023 postseason. He had 4 starts in the playoffs, went 3-1 with a 2.35 ERA, and just 2 home runs allowed.
With the adjustments made by Aaron Nola toward the end of the season, it can be expected that he will rebound from a rough 2023. Despite this, the Phillies elected to go with the man who has been one of the best in the league ever since putting on a Phillies jersey. Zack Wheeler in his career is 12-7 against Atlanta in 27 starts. In those games vs the Braves, he’s had a 3.18 ERA with 173 strikeouts. To add on to these great stats he is 5-2 against the Braves since joining the Phillies. Wheeler has no doubt earned this start and has helped set an expectation of greatness in the Phillies rotation for the past 4 years.
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