Zachary Wheeler: Everything you need to know

Wheeler (shoulder) will be reinstated from the 15-day injured list to start Saturday in Atlanta, Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Wheeler made his fifth and final rehab start Sunday with Double-A Reading, throwing 77 pitches while allowing four runs across four innings. The veteran right-hander's performance was up-and-down during the rehab stint, as he finished with a 5.85 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 23:5 K:BB over 20 frames. Now fully recovered from surgery to address venous thoracic outlet syndrome, Wheeler should be able to handle a mostly normal workload in his first start of the season Saturday.

Wheeler (shoulder) struck out four and allowed four earned runs on six hits and one walk across four innings Sunday in his rehab start with Double-A Reading. After working 5.2 innings and posting a 9:0 K:BB in his previous appearance for Reading on Tuesday, Wheeler took a step back with his command and control Sunday. He spotted 48 of his 77 pitches for strikes and yielded a solo home run and a three-run blast, bringing his ERA up to 5.85 and his WHIP to 1.20 over his five rehab starts between Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Though his results haven't been as strong as the Phillies might have hoped, Wheeler has been able to progressively build up his pitch counts and looks ready to handle a typical starter's workload in his next outing, which is expected to come with the big club. Wheeler tentatively lines up to return from the 15-day injured list to make his 2026 Phillies debut during next weekend's series in Atlanta.

Wheeler (shoulder) struck out nine and allowed four hits and no walks while allowing three runs in 5.2 innings in his fourth rehab start with Double-A Reading on Tuesday. Wheeler built himself up to 72 pitches Tuesday, an encouraging sign during the final stages of last year's venous thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. The right-hander is next slated to make a fifth and perhaps final rehab appearance with Reading on Sunday. Manager Rob Thomson did note Tuesday that Wheeler could make a sixth rehab start, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, depending on how the hurler fares in his outing Sunday.