Jul 21, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) throws a pitch during the second inning against the Boston Red Sox at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
CLEARWATER, Fla. — There was no game, Saturday at BayCare Ballpark, and yet, there were a couple hundred curious fans in the stands.
There were interested onlookers in the dugout as well. Andrew Painter was there. So was Taijuan Walker. And Jesús Luzardo.
Larry Bowa and Charlie Manuel sat behind a net just the right of the dugout. Caleb Cotham stood next to them.
Rob Thomson stood out behind second base.
Everyone was waiting to see Zack Wheeler face live batters for the first time since he was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome last August.
Even his wife, Dominique, and three of his four children were there, sitting front row behind the Phillies dugout.
Needless to say, this was a big day.
Zack Wheeler 👀👀👀
(Via @AntSanPhilly) pic.twitter.com/YCleaaI0Ty
Coming back from thoracic outlet surgery is a challenge. Not many pitchers have done it, although those who have had the veinous version of it, as Wheeler did, have had better success.
Still, here he was, two days shy of seven months since being diagnosed, after undergoing multiple procedures, and even having a rib removed (which is on a shelf in his closet), taking the mound to face three teammates — Rafael Marchán, Otto Kemp and Garrett Stubbs.
It was a big day.
Wheeler threw 22 pitches in total. He said he threw all of his offerings except a slider, which he rarely throws in games anyway, and said he heard that he topped out at 93 mph, which considering where he is at this point in recovery, has to feel pretty good.
"It went well," he said, even-keeled as ever. "I felt a little bit more in sync. I thought that might happen just facing hitters instead of just throwing bullpens. In the bullpens, I was just a little off sync and fighting the timing. I was hoping that once that I faced hitters that everything would sync up, and it seemed like it did."
On his fourth pitch, he blew a high fastball past Kemp, who took a big swing and a miss. One of the members of the coaching staff standing out beyond second base with Thomson let out a loud "Wooo!" after that one.
It was likely an utterance of excitement for having the ace back looking like himself, even if there is still some hurdles to traverse before he's back on the mound in a game that matters.
"He was really impressive," Thomson said. "It felt like, and I think Zack felt the same way, that once we got some hitters in there, the intensity and the focus and concentration would go up — and it did. The velocity rose, his command was a lot better. He threw a couple of splits that were really good. I was really encouraged by it."
He elicited four swings and misses — two by Kemp and one each by Marchán and Stubbs.
Zack Wheeler is back on the mound facing hitters 👀
(Via @AntSanPhilly) pic.twitter.com/JoDMGF23Wr
After his pitches, he worked on a few pickoff moves to both first and second base, to see how those felt. He seemed pleased, and immediately went over to see his wife and kids. He was smiling.
When he got back to the dugout, everyone congratulated him. Stubbs walked by and in a bit of a ring announcer voice said, "The rooster!"
The whole scene, all of it, was definitely a positive sign.
But Wheeler doesn't want to get too far ahead of himself.
"I'm kind of just taking it day-by-day, but yeah, so far so good," Wheeler said. "I feel good, but I've still got a long way to go. Keep the head down and keep going."
Wheeler's next step will be another live batting practice. Thomson said it'll likely be Tuesday and that it will likely consist of an up-down, simulating how his body would feel to sit on a bench between innings. Wheeler also said he expects it will include a bump up in the number of pitches he throws to batters.
But when asked if he felt he was ahead of schedule, he deflected.
Does Zack Wheeler feel like he’s ahead of schedule?
(Via @AntSanPhilly) pic.twitter.com/HMhWkNWHDJ
"I'm probably just on track," he said. "You guys know me by now. I don't try to get too excited about certain things. Like I said before, I'm just taking it day-by-day. I'm looking forward to the next one. Trying to crisp it up a little bit more, try to get the velo up a tick more. Each time out with the velo, just trying to get it tick higher which is usually how it goes in the spring."
Wheeler is normalizing what is an unusual recovery. There was an unspoken, yet real possibility seven months ago, that this could have been something that would be career-ending. Then, the timeline seemed to improve to the point where the hope was Wheeler could be back by Memorial Day.
Now, could it be sometime in April?
No one wants to say just yet. Whether it's because the Phillies want to keep that under wraps, or they are superstitious about putting that out into the world too soon, is hard to discern.
But the one thing that is obvious, is that Wheeler is tracking in the right direction.
And a lot of people got to see the biggest step in that direction on Saturday.
