Zack Wheeler calls MLB's All-Star snub "BS" after 14-strikeout outing against Cincinnati

What happened

Zack Wheeler did not take the news quietly. Hours after Major League Baseball announced three National League pitchers as All-Star replacements — none of them Wheeler — the Philadelphia Phillies right-hander went out and struck out 14 Cincinnati Reds batters in a 4-1 victory, then described the snub in terms that left little room for interpretation.

"It pisses me off and it's kind of BS," Wheeler said in postgame comments broadcast by NBC Sports Philadelphia, calling the performance "a reminder for whoever needs to be reminded" that MLB had made an error in leaving him off the National League roster for next week's game.

The 14-strikeout outing tied a career high for Wheeler, per Yahoo Sports. He improved to 9-1 on the season.

Why it matters

The timing here is almost theatrical in its precision. MLB announced earlier Tuesday that Riley O'Brien of St. Louis, Philadelphia's own Jesús Luzardo, and Pittsburgh's Braxton Ashcraft had been added to the NL All-Star roster as replacements for Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes, Milwaukee's Jacob Misiorowski, and Miami's Max Meyer — all three of whom are scheduled to pitch for their respective clubs this weekend and therefore unavailable for the July 14 game, per Yahoo Sports.

Wheeler, per Yahoo Sports, is also scheduled to pitch this weekend, which would have created the same availability conflict. The selection logic that produced three other names instead of his is, to put it gently, something Wheeler appears to have noticed.

The All-Star game carries particular weight this season: it is being held in Philadelphia. Wheeler is pitching for his home team's fanbase in their own city's showcase, and he will be watching from somewhere other than the mound. The irony is not subtle, and Wheeler did not treat it as such.

There is also the matter of what the NL roster now contains: a Philadelphia pitcher in Luzardo, but not the Philadelphia pitcher who went out the same evening and struck out 14. Wheeler's postgame remarks suggest he has already written his own editorial on the subject.

The numbers

Wheeler enters the All-Star break at 9-1. The 14-strikeout performance Tuesday tied his career high, per Yahoo Sports.

The Phillies' record sits at 88-74 (.543), good for second place in the NL East, 6 games back, with a W1 streak following Tuesday's result.

Where the club stands

### Is the Phillies' division race still alive?

Philadelphia has been eliminated from the division race. At 88-74 (.543) and 6 games back in the NL East, the Phillies are playing out the string in the standings sense, though the record itself reflects a team that has won considerably more than it has lost.

The upcoming schedule offers a reasonable look at where this club is headed into the break. Wednesday brings Alan Rangel against Chase Burns in Cincinnati, followed Thursday by Jesús Luzardo — the newly minted All-Star — against Brady Singer at Great American Ball Park. The series concludes Friday in Detroit, where Aaron Nola is lined up against Jack Flaherty at Comerica Park.

That Thursday slot is worth a moment's attention on its own. Luzardo, selected as an All-Star replacement earlier in the day, takes the ball the very next evening in a regular-season start. His All-Star availability and his rotation workload are now running on parallel tracks heading into the break — a scheduling reality that the league presumably weighed when making its selections, and one that Wheeler, given his own weekend start, would likely note applies equally to his situation.

The Phillies are second in the NL East, eliminated from the division race, and carrying a one-game winning streak into the final days before the break. The standings are what they are. The rotation, however, is a different conversation — one Wheeler has now made considerably louder.

What we don't know yet

Yahoo Sports does not detail the specific criteria MLB used when selecting O'Brien, Luzardo, and Ashcraft as replacements rather than Wheeler. It is not reported whether Wheeler or the Phillies organization formally sought consideration, whether any additional roster adjustments remain possible before July 14, or whether MLB has responded to Wheeler's postgame remarks.

The report also does not specify Wheeler's exact scheduled start date this weekend — only that, like the three pitchers whose unavailability opened the replacement spots, he is slated to pitch for his team, which would have created the same conflict the league cited in selecting others.

Whether the league views Wheeler's public remarks as a factor in any subsequent roster deliberations is likewise unreported.

What to watch

The All-Star game is July 14, in Philadelphia. Wheeler is not on the NL roster as things currently stand, per Yahoo Sports. Whether MLB makes any further adjustments before then is unreported, and Yahoo Sports does not suggest any are forthcoming.

Beyond the break, the Phillies' rotation picture is worth monitoring. Wheeler heads into the pause having just delivered the kind of outing that tends to generate exactly the kind of conversation he was clearly hoping to start. Whether that conversation reaches anyone with roster authority before July 14 remains an open question.

The 36-year-old is 9-1, he just struck out 14 batters in a game that happened to fall on the same afternoon the league handed out All-Star invitations to three other pitchers, and he would like you — and, more specifically, whoever at MLB handles these things — to keep that in mind.