Zack Wheeler did not make anyone wait. Needing three strikeouts to reach 2,000 for his career, the Phillies ace took the mound at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday night, Sept. 22, and struck out the side in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers. Garrett Mitchell went down swinging on a splitter. Jackson Chourio was caught looking at a sinker. Brice Turang swung through a 96.3 mph fastball to become strikeout No. 2,000.
Wheeler kept going. He fanned William Contreras, Jake Bauers and Christian Yelich in the second inning and got Luis Lara swinging on a curveball to open the third. That made seven straight strikeouts to start the game, a new Phillies record that broke Brandon Duckworth‘s mark of six against the Dodgers on Aug. 5, 2002. Cooper Pratt finally put a ball in play with a grounder to third.
Wheeler finished with 11 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings and took a no-decision. The Phillies won 6-4 on a go-ahead single by Bryson Stott in the eighth. Wheeler now has 2,008 career strikeouts. Asked afterward if he ever imagined reaching the mark, he was honest. “Would you have ever thought? And the answer is no,” Wheeler said.
From East Paulding High School to the Sixth Overall Pick
Wheeler’s strikeout story started in the Atlanta suburbs. As a senior at East Paulding High School in Dallas, Georgia, he went 9-0 with a 0.46 ERA and struck out 149 batters in 76 innings. He was named Georgia’s Gatorade Player of the Year, and the San Francisco Giants took him sixth overall in the 2009 draft, signing him for a $3.3 million bonus.
Baseball America ranked Wheeler as the Giants’ No. 2 prospect entering 2011 and credited him with the best fastball in the system. But on July 27, 2011, the Giants were chasing a return trip to the postseason and traded Wheeler to the New York Mets straight up for Carlos Beltrán.
The trade turned out to be a turning point. Shortly before the deal, Wheeler had returned to his high school mechanics, using a higher leg kick and quicker tempo, and began cutting down on walks. He split 2011 between San Jose and St. Lucie, striking out 129 in 115 innings.
Baseball America ranked him No. 35 in the game entering 2012. That season he dominated at Double-A Binghamton before a late promotion to Triple-A Buffalo, going a combined 12-8 with a 3.26 ERA and 148 strikeouts in 149 innings. By 2013, he had climbed to No. 11 on Baseball America’s Top 100 list, and many projected him to join Matt Harvey at the top of the Mets rotation.
Strikeout No. 1: Jason Heyward in Atlanta
After opening 2013 at Triple-A Las Vegas, Wheeler made his big league debut on June 18, 2013, in the second game of a doubleheader at Turner Field, not far from where he grew up. With dozens of family and friends in the stands, he threw six scoreless innings, struck out seven and earned the win in a 6-1 Mets victory. His first career strikeout victim was Jason Heyward, who later became a close friend and offseason workout partner.
Wheeler struck out a team-high 187 batters in 2014, his first full season, and threw his first career shutout that June in Miami.
Strikeout No. 500: A Comeback Summer in Queens
Then came the first major setback. Wheeler had Tommy John surgery in March 2015, and a series of rehab setbacks kept him out of the majors until 2017. He later admitted he did not know what to expect as the recovery dragged on.
By 2018, Wheeler was back and better than ever. On Aug. 25, 2018, wearing a “Wheels” nickname jersey for Players’ Weekend, he threw seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 win over the Washington Nationals at Citi Field. It was his seventh straight win and included his 500th career strikeout. Wheeler went 9-1 with a 1.68 ERA after the All-Star break that year, and he finished his Mets career in 2019 with 726 strikeouts.
Strikeout No. 1,000: C.J. Cron and a Breakout in Philadelphia
The Phillies signed Wheeler to a five-year, $118 million contract in December 2019, and the move transformed him from a talented arm into a true ace. After the shortened 2020 season, he broke out in 2021. On Sept. 11, 2021, at Citizens Bank Park, he struck out Colorado’s C.J. Cron on four pitches in the fourth inning for his 1,000th career strikeout.
Wheeler led the National League with 247 strikeouts that season and finished second in the Cy Young voting behind Corbin Burnes.
Strikeout No. 1,500: Adley Rutschman in Baltimore
Wheeler became the anchor of a Phillies club that reached the World Series in 2022. His signature moment on that run came in Game 1 of the NLCS in San Diego, when he threw seven innings of one-hit ball in a 2-0 win. He won a Gold Glove in 2023 and signed a three-year, $126 million extension in March 2024 that runs through the 2027 season.
His 1,500th strikeout came on June 16, 2024, at Camden Yards, when he got Adley Rutschman swinging at a 95.6 mph fastball to end the fourth inning. It was a bittersweet day, as the Orioles tagged Wheeler for four home runs in an 8-3 loss, including one by Rutschman earlier in the game. Wheeler bounced back to finish second in the Cy Young voting again in 2024, this time behind Chris Sale, and earned All-MLB First Team honors.
On June 9, 2025, he struck out Kyle Tucker of the Cubs for his 1,000th strikeout as a Phillie, becoming just the 10th pitcher in franchise history to reach that mark with the club.
Strikeout No. 2,000: Back From the Scariest Injury of His Career
The road to 2,000 nearly took a detour. After a start in Washington on Aug. 15, 2025, Wheeler felt an unusual heaviness in his right shoulder. Doctors found a blood clot, and he underwent a procedure to remove it on Aug. 18. At the time, he was leading the majors with 195 strikeouts. He was then diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome and had decompression surgery in September, with a surgeon in St. Louis removing his top rib.
Wheeler returned on April 25, 2026, against Atlanta, and he has been every bit the ace since. Through Tuesday, he is 13-5 with a 3.06 ERA and 188 strikeouts in 156 innings over 27 starts.
Where Wheeler Ranks Among the All-Time Strikeout Leaders
Wheeler is the 96th pitcher in major league history to reach 2,000 strikeouts. With his 11 strikeouts on Tuesday, his 2,008 career total places him 94th on the all-time list. He is also just the 10th active pitcher with 2,000 strikeouts. Justin Verlander leads all active pitchers with 3,554 and is scheduled to make the final start of his career on Saturday against Pittsburgh.
Wheeler has plenty of company in 2026. Teammate Aaron Nola reached 2,000 strikeouts on Aug. 8 against Toronto, and Wheeler’s former Mets rotation-mate Jacob deGrom reached the mark for Texas about a month ago. Wheeler and Nola are only the second pair of teammates to reach 2,000 in the same season, joining Tim Hudson and Jake Peavy of the 2014 Giants.
Of his 2,008 strikeouts, 1,282 have come in a Phillies uniform. With a contract running through 2027 and the Phillies closing in on a fifth straight postseason trip, the next chapter could be written in October.
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