Phillies ace Zack Wheeler making good use of his new ‘sweeper’ pitch

CINCINNATI — Remember the new pitch that Zack Wheeler began experimenting with in spring training?

So far, the Phillies ace is mostly pleased with his shiny toy.

Wheeler has worked with pitching coach Caleb Cotham on a slider with more horizontal movement — a “sweeper,” in pitching parlance — to present a different look to hitters who have faced him for nearly a decade.

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Through three starts, Wheeler threw 42 sweepers out of 281 total pitches, including 19 last week at home against the Marlins. It has been a weapon against right-handed hitters, in particular. And it figures to be a part of his game plan Monday night against the White Sox in the series opener in Chicago.

“I don’t think it was necessarily important. I didn’t need it,” Wheeler said Sunday. “I’ve been doing fine without it. It’s just something that’s had some success around the league now. It’s new. Caleb is pretty good at teaching spin and stuff. I figured, why not try to throw it? It’s another tool for the box.”

Consider it part of Wheeler’s evolution. In his ninth major league season, he still ranks in the 83rd percentile among all pitchers in fastball velocity. But his average velocity dipped from 97.2 mph in his near-Cy Young season in 2021 to 95.9 mph last year.

Wheeler wouldn’t be the first upper-echelon pitcher who varied his repertoire midway through his career. When Phillies manager Rob Thomson was a coach with the Yankees, he watched CC Sabathia morph from a power pitcher into a sinker-cutter artist and remain effective.

If there was a question for Wheeler in adding the sweeper, it was differentiating it enough from his curveball. In spring training, he said he was unconcerned about the two offspeed pitches being too similar. In fact, the sweeper has averaged 85.6 mph, perfectly in between his cutter (91.6) and curveball (81.6 mph).

“In a case with a pitcher, if you try something new and it doesn’t work fairly quickly, you just get rid of it,” Thomson said. “But I think guys are adjusting all the time. I don’t really care how old they are. They’re coming up with new pitches, different ways to attack hitters.”

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Wheeler’s sweeper has improved with each start. He threw 14 of them and gave up two hits — both to left-handed hitters — on April 1 in Texas. Since then, he has thrown it exclusively to righties. He got three swings and misses with it against the Marlins.

“I guess I’m happy where it’s at,” Wheeler said. “It could be better, could be worse. It’s still early.”

Said Thomson: “It’s kind of a putaway pitch. It’s getting better as time goes on.”

Third baseman Edmundo Sosa’s back was still sore, but better than Saturday, when he exited in the sixth inning with what the Phillies characterized as “low back discomfort.”

Sosa was available off the bench Sunday in the series finale against the Reds, according to Thomson, and it appears for now that he will avoid the injured list.

Josh Harrison started at third base in Sosa’s place.

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In need of a rested arm in the bullpen, the Phillies swapped out optionable right-handers, sending McKinley Moore to triple-A Lehigh Valley and calling up Luis Ortiz, who pitched a scoreless ninth inning in a 14-3 victory over the Reds.

Moore, 24, followed an impressive spring training by giving up seven runs on five hits and five walks in 3⅓ innings over three appearances. Thomson chalked up Moore’s results, in part, to his getting called up on April 4 but not pitching until April 10.

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“That’s not his fault,” Thomson said. “When he got out there, I think he was a little bit rusty and maybe got a little sped up and it just kind of snowballed on him. He’ll reset. But he’s got great stuff. I expect him to be back at some point. I really like him.”

Ortiz, 27, was an offseason waiver claim from the Giants. He had a 2.25 ERA in four innings over three appearances at Lehigh Valley.

Top prospect Andrew Painter (elbow) remained on his every-other-day throwing program, progressing Saturday to playing light catch from 90 feet. ... Right-hander Nick Nelson (hamstring) pitched one inning of a simulated game over the weekend in Clearwater, Fla., the precursor to a minor league assignment. With lefty Cristopher Sánchez starting Sunday night at triple-A Lehigh Valley, the Phillies’ pitching depth is closer to being replenished. ... The Phillies are scheduled to face three right-handed White Sox starters this week in Chicago: Lance Lynn (0-1, 7.31 ERA) on Monday night followed by Lucas Giolito (0-1, 6.00) and Mike Clevinger (2-0, 2.20) on Tuesday night and Wednesday.

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