​CINCINNATI (AP) — Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies expressed strong frustration after his 14-strikeout performance helped beat the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, calling it a “reminder for whoever needs to be reminded” that Major League Baseball erred in excluding him from the National League roster for next week’s All-Star game. In postgame remarks aired by NBC Sports Philadelphia, Wheeler, 36, tied his career high with 14 strikeouts during a 4-1 victory, a strong showing coming just hours after MLB announced three additional NL pitchers—Riley O’Brien of St. Louis, Jesús Luzardo of Philadelphia, and Braxton Ashcraft of Pittsburgh—had been designated as All-Star replacements.
The new All-Star selections will take the places of Paul Skenes of Pittsburgh, Jacob Misiorowski of Milwaukee, and Max Meyer of Miami, who are all slated to pitch for their teams this weekend. Wheeler himself is also scheduled to pitch this weekend, taking the mound against Detroit, and he said that was part of what kept him from being named a replacement for the All-Star game.
“Just because I pitch on a certain day, I get — you know — I don’t even know the right word,” Wheeler said. “Because I pitch on a certain day, I can’t pitch in the All-Star game or even be there or get the recognition.” He argued that deserving pitchers should be able to participate in the All-Star game regardless of their team’s schedule or when they are lined up to pitch.
Wheeler emphasized that if a pitcher has earned a place on the roster, the timing of their next appearance for their own team should not be a suppressing factor. “Maybe if I wasn’t necessarily right in there I wouldn’t be saying this, but I feel like I’ve earned it,” he said. “There’s certain ways to do it and you figure they would have a clue about it by now — how many All-Star games they’ve had.” He added that he would have been willing to pitch an inning in the All-Star game on two days’ rest, even though that would normally fall within a bullpen session for him.
“It’s kind of a BS rule that just because I pitch on a certain day I get punished,” Wheeler continued. “I’ll be fine throwing an inning. But it’s not even an option, I guess.” Phillies teammate Kyle Schwarber, who delivered a game-high 31st home run to power the Phillies’ offense, acknowledged Wheeler’s frustration and the sense that deserving players deserve recognition.
“When someone deserves it, you want them to get that acknowledgment,” Schwarber said. A four-time All-Star, Schwarber is on this season’s National League roster as a designated hitter. “We’re only in this game for so long. You want to be able to look back and feel like you have some things that put some feathers in the cap.”