Draft and minor leagues The
San Francisco Giants of
Major League Baseball (MLB) selected Wheeler in the first round, sixth overall, of the
2009 MLB draft. At the time, he had committed to playing
college baseball at
Kennesaw State. On August 17, 2009, however, Wheeler chose to sign with the Giants, a deal that included a $3.3 million
signing bonus. Wheeler was assigned to the
Single-A Augusta GreenJackets of the
South Atlantic League to start the 2010 season. He was placed on the
disabled list early in the year with a fingernail injury on the middle finger of his throwing hand. After six weeks without play, Wheeler was sent to San Francisco to see the team's hand specialist. He later returned to the GreenJackets, making several
relief appearances before re-entering the
starting rotation. In 21 games with Augusta, including 13
starts, Wheeler posted a 3–3 record and a 3.99 ERA, with 70 strikeouts in innings. He also made an appearance at the 2010
All-Star Futures Game in
Anaheim, California. in 2011 Prior to the 2011 season,
Baseball America named Wheeler the number two prospect in the Giants organization, and declared that he had the "best fastball" in the
farm system. He was assigned to the
High-A San Jose Giants, with whom he went 7–5 with a 3.99 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 16 starts and 88 innings pitched. He also appeared in the 2011
California League All-Star Game. On July 28, 2011, the Giants traded Wheeler to the
New York Mets in exchange for veteran
outfielder Carlos Beltrán and cash. He spent the remainder of the season with the Single-A
St. Lucie Mets, where he went 2–2 with a 2.00 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 27 innings across six starts. in 2012 The Mets assigned Wheeler to the
Double-A Binghamton Mets of the
Eastern League at the start of the 2012 season, with the intention of allowing him to steadily progress through the farm system. He emerged as the star of that season's Binghamton pitching rotation, leading the Eastern League with a 25 percent strikeout rate. In 116 innings and 19 starts, Wheeler went 10–6 with Binghamton, giving up only two home runs in the process. In addition to being named an Eastern League All-Star, Wheeler received his second All-Star Future Game selection in 2012. On July 14, 2012, Wheeler pitched his first professional
complete game shutout in a 1–0 victory over the
Erie SeaWolves. The following day, the Mets clarified that, despite his pitching performance in Double-A, he was not being considered for a major league promotion, and that the rotation spot abdicated by
Dillon Gee would be filled by either
Matt Harvey or
Miguel Batista. The day after he struck out 11 batters in a game against the
Harrisburg Senators, Wheeler was promoted to the
Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on August 1, 2012. After a series of injuries befell members of the Mets' starting rotation, inning limits were placed on the team's top prospects, with Wheeler limited to 150. He was shut down on September 1, five innings into a match against the
Lehigh Valley IronPigs. In 149 innings between Binghamton and Buffalo, Wheeler posted a 12–8 season record with a 3.26 ERA and led
Minor League Baseball with 148 strikeouts. Mets
general manager Sandy Alderson told reporters that Wheeler was expected to open the 2013 season with Buffalo and that he would likely make his major league debut that same year. After the Bisons chose to reaffiliate with the
Toronto Blue Jays during the 2012 offseason, Wheeler and other Mets Triple-A prospects began pitching in 2013 for the
Las Vegas 51s of the
Pacific Coast League, which was infamous at the time for its exceptional batting and, by extension, difficulty for pitchers. Wheeler stumbled at the beginning of the season, accumulating a 6.34 ERA in his first three starts with Las Vegas, but began to find his rhythm after striking out eight batters in innings against the
Reno Aces on April 30. With Las Vegas that season, Wheeler posted a 4–2 record with a 3.93 ERA and 73 strikeouts in innings and 13 starts. Two months later, on August 15, Wheeler struck out a career-high 12 batters in a 4–1 win over the
San Diego Padres. In doing so, he became the youngest Mets pitcher to record at least 12 strikeouts in a game since
Doc Gooden in 1986. The Mets shut Wheeler down for the season on September 21, after he experienced shoulder stiffness in his final start. Wheeler finished his rookie season with a 7–5 record, a 3.42 ERA, and 84 strikeouts in 100 innings across 17 starts. His pitching was inconsistent in the first two months of the season, with pitch command problems leading to a large number of walks, and with a poor record against left-handed batters. On June 19, 2014, Wheeler pitched a complete-game shutout against the
Miami Marlins, facing only 28 batters and allowing just three hits. Although the Mets' 2014 season was considered largely disappointing, being mathematically eliminated from postseason contention by September 20, Wheeler's performance was considered to be a bright spot. He posted an 11–11 record that season, with a 3.54 ERA and 187 strikeouts in innings of work across 32 starts. Shortly after the announcement, sources reported that Wheeler had torn a tendon in the same elbow during the previous season, and that he had undergone
platelet-rich plasma therapy to hasten the healing process. Wheeler underwent
Tommy John surgery for the torn ligament on March 25. After seeing
Matt Harvey's successful return to the mound following an 18-month rehabilitation process from the same surgery, the Mets expressed a desire to stretch out Wheeler's rehabilitation process, with a targeted return to the rotation in July 2016. Wheeler suffered a series of setbacks in his return from Tommy John surgery. In early April 2016, he underwent a second surgery to remove an undissolved stitch in his elbow, and the Mets pushed his expected return to after the
MLB All-Star break. In late June, he was scratched from a
Gulf Coast League rehab start after experiencing elbow discomfort. Finally, in mid-August, Wheeler was shut down after being diagnosed with a strained flexor tendon, which required another platelet-rich plasma injection. On September 3, Mets manager
Terry Collins told reporters that Wheeler was shut down for the remainder of the season.
2017–19 Wheeler signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with the Mets on January 11, 2017, avoiding
arbitration. He made his first major league start in over two years on April 8, allowing five runs and six hits in only four innings against the
Miami Marlins. He pitched a perfect first inning, with his fastball speeds up to , but as the game continued, his velocity dropped to . The worst two starts of his career both occurred in June, first when he gave up eight runs in innings against the
Chicago Cubs and then when he gave up two home runs to
Los Angeles Dodgers rookie
Cody Bellinger, helping Bellinger set a record for most home runs in a player's first 51 major league games. When Wheeler was put on the 10-day disabled list on June 22 with biceps tendinitis, revealing that he had been feeling soreness in the arm since a June 7 start against the
Texas Rangers, some sports journalists wondered if he should have been pitching in those games. Injuries continued to follow Wheeler through the second part of the season. He returned to the disabled list on July 24 after suffering a stress injury to the
humerus. He was shut down for the season on August 24. In 17 starts, Wheeler posted a 3–7 record with a 5.21 ERA for the 2017 season. Although Wheeler entered the 2018 season healthy, the Mets' offseason signing of All-Star
Jason Vargas led to speculation that Wheeler would be moved out of the starting rotation and into the
bullpen. After a disappointing spring training performance, Wheeler began the season with Las Vegas. He was called to fill Vargas' spot in the rotation after the latter pitcher was placed on the disabled list, and a strong performance against the
Washington Nationals on April 18 demonstrated Wheeler's ability to remain in the major league rotation. His pitching was particularly dominant after the All-Star break, where he led MLB in WHIP with 0.81 and had the second-lowest ERA with 1.32. By mid-September, the Mets were discussing whether Wheeler should be shut down for the season, as his innings pitched were more than double his 2017 totals. Mets manager
Mickey Callaway confirmed on September 19, 2018, that Wheeler was finished pitching for the season. He went 12–7 for the year, with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP in 29 starts. As he was set to become a
free agent at the end of the 2019 season, there were rumors that the Mets would attempt to trade Wheeler before the July 31 deadline, but they instead elected to retain him, with then-general manager
Brodie Van Wagenen telling reporters, "We think he's a good pitcher. We have interest in him being a Met for the long term." As with the previous season, Wheeler improved in the second half of 2019. After going into the All-Star break with a 4.69 ERA, he allowed only one earned run in each of his final five starts. Wheeler also set career highs in innings pitched, with , and strikeouts, with 195. He finished the season with an 11–8 record and a 3.96 ERA in 31 starts. He made his team debut with a 7–1 victory against the
Miami Marlins on July 25, 2020, less than a week after the birth of his son Wesley. On September 9, Wheeler's fingernail became partially disconnected from the
nail bed while he was attempting to put on a pair of jeans. He returned to the pitching rotation a week later, pitching with a fake fingernail, and had surgery for the injury on October 12. Wheeler finished the
pandemic-shortened 2020 season with a 4–2 record and 2.92 ERA in 11 games and 71 innings, and led the NL in batters
hit by pitch with 7. He was the first pitcher in Phillies history to allow three or fewer runs in each of his first 10 starts with the team, and he allowed only three home runs, the fewest of any pitcher in 2020 who pitched at least 70 innings. On May 29, Wheeler struck out a career-high 14 batters, becoming the third pitcher in Phillies history, following
Steve Carlton and
Curt Schilling, to strike out 10 or more batters in three consecutive starts. A wild pitch from
Sam Coonrod in the eighth inning, however, caused the
Tampa Bay Rays to win the game 5–3. After posting a 2.05 ERA in his first 17 starts and leading the league with 139 strikeouts in 114 innings pitched, Wheeler received his first
MLB All-Star Game selection in 2021. When Mets ace and former teammate
Jacob deGrom announced that he would not attend the All-Star Game, some fans speculated that Wheeler would be chosen to start for the National League team; the honor was ultimately given to
Max Scherzer of the Nationals, with Wheeler making an appearance at the top of the ninth inning to strike out
Matt Olson and retire the side. Wheeler led MLB with a career-high innings, finishing the season 14–10 with a 2.78 ERA as well as a league-leading three complete games, two shutouts, and 849 batters faced. Fanning 247, Wheeler also became the first Phillies pitcher to capture the
NL strikeout title since
Curt Schilling in 1998. Wheeler finished second in NL
Cy Young Award voting behind
Corbin Burnes. He was named a finalist for the 2021 NL Gold Glove Award at pitcher, but it was won by
Max Fried. In 2022, he was 12–7 with a 2.82 ERA in 153 innings with 163 strikeouts over 26 starts, and his career 0.812 home runs-per-9 innings was the 4th-lowest among active major league pitchers. His salary of $26 million was the 10th-highest of all NL baseball players. He relied primarily on his four-seam fastball (44% of the time) and slider (27%), while also mixing in a sinker and curveball. On March 4, 2024, Wheeler signed a three-year, $126 million contract extension with the Phillies. In 2024, he was 16–7 with a 2.57 ERA in 200 innings with 224 strikeouts over 32 starts. He finished second in NL Cy Young voting for the second time in his career, finishing behind
Chris Sale. On June 9, 2025, Wheeler struck out
Kyle Tucker in the sixth inning to record his 1,000th career strikeout as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. He became the 10th player in franchise history to reach 1,000 strikeouts in a Phillies uniform. In July 2025, Wheeler declined to participate as a National League pitcher in the 2025 All-Star Game at Truist Park in Atlanta, stating that he would "rather just get [himself] ready to go for the second half" of the season despite how "it would be an honor to throw [or] start." On August 16, Wheeler was placed on the injured list after a right upper extremity blood clot was discovered near his right shoulder. On August 23, he was officially diagnosed with
venous thoracic outlet syndrome and underwent season-ending thoracic outlet decompression surgery. Wheeler finished his 2025 season with a 10–5 record, a 2.71 ERA, and 195 strikeouts (a league-high mark at the time of his injury). Wheeler has announced that he will retire from baseball when his contract with the Phillies expires following the 2027 season. He was activated off the injury list on April 25, 2026, and made his season debut at the Atlanta Braves that day, pitching to a no-decision but a Phillies win, helping snap the Phillies' 10 game losing streak. ==Pitcher profile==