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Landmark · September 22, 2026

The One Who Got Cut

Zack Wheeler couldn't make the East Cobb travel team as a teenager. On September 22, he struck out his 2,000th batter.

2,000 career strikeouts · PHI

The Cut List

As a young teenager in Dallas, Georgia, Zack Wheeler kept trying out for the elite East Cobb travel teams and kept getting cut. One parent placed him on a leftover squad of players who hadn't made the roster. A growth spurt at 15 or 16 added height and velocity, and scouts noticed. He pitched a no-hitter in the state playoffs at East Paulding High School, posted a 9-0 record with a 0.54 ERA and 149 strikeouts as a senior, and the San Francisco Giants took him sixth overall in 2009 — a $3.3 million bonus that kept him from Kennesaw State.

The Giants traded him to the Mets in July 2011 for Carlos Beltran. He debuted in June 2013 and spent five seasons in New York before signing with Philadelphia before the 2020 season.

Two Thousand

On September 22, 2026, Wheeler struck out his 2,000th batter. The number took 310 starts — every one of his appearances — 1,884.1 innings, and 12 seasons between the Mets and the Phillies. He has 126 wins against 80 losses, a 3.26 ERA, and a 1.13 WHIP. Three All-Star teams, in 2021, 2024, and 2025. A Gold Glove in 2023.

What Stayed

When Wheeler reached 10 years of major league service time, catcher J.T. Realmuto arranged a clubhouse McDonald's feast — cheeseburgers, nuggets, fries. Wheeler has long ignored nutritionist advice at times, saying that is what he grew up eating and it has worked for him. Phillies pitching coach Caleb Cotham has described Wheeler as someone who strips preparation to what is necessary and frees his mind for the game. Former Mets pitching coach Dave Eiland said that if he had to win one game of any stakes, there is no other pitcher in baseball he would rather start.

Wheeler lives in Dallas, Georgia, in the offseason with his wife Dominique and their four children. He is 36. He has 188 strikeouts this season across 27 games.

Reporting: NBC Sports Philadelphia, Baseball-Reference Bullpen, Wikipedia, The Athletic, The Inquirer, MLB.com. Career and biographical data: MLB StatsAPI, via the Fever engine.