The Philadelphia Phillies may secretly be the biggest winners of Zack Wheeler getting snubbed from the 2026 MLB All-Star Game.
Wheeler refused the MLB’s late invitation to serve as an injury replacement during Tuesday’s Midsummer Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pa. The 36-year-old pitcher had the perfect opportunity to embarrass MLB for overlooking him before the All-Star break with a head-to-head duel against reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.
The Phillies star outshone Skubal with a 10-strikeout performance across six scoreless innings. Skubal gave up a pair of earned runs in his five innings of work as Philadelphia cruised to a 5-0 victory at Comerica Park in Detroit, Mich.
Several Phillies fans could not help but wonder if Wheeler getting left off the initial list of All-Stars was the best thing to happen to the team’s starting rotation.
Zack Wheeler not making the All-Star team might have been the best thing for this baseball team.
— Jack Fritz (@JackFritzWIP) July 12, 2026
Man on a mission.
Almost like the all star snub was a good thing for him he has been light out since
— George C | The Edge. (@EdgeDailyReport) July 12, 2026
Selfishly I hope the ASG committee disrespects him next year too
— Everything Philly (@PhillySportLoop) July 12, 2026
Through his first 15 starts, Wheeler has an ERA of 2.13 with an immaculate 0.89 WHIP entering the All-Star break. Among players with at least 80 innings pitched, Wheeler has the 4th-best ERA and 2nd-best WHIP behind only Jacob Misiorowski.
Wheeler took things even further in his two starts since being snubbed from the All-Star game, allowing just a single run and striking out 24 batters in 13.0 IP.
The Phillies already have one NL Cy Young candidate in Christopher Sanchez atop their rotation. If Wheeler continues to pitch like a man possessed by the spirit of pure rage, Philadelphia may have the best one-two pitching punch in baseball.
With the Phillies also reportedly in on the Tarik Skubal trade sweepstakes, Philadelphia’s pitching rotation could potentially become a three-headed monster.
