Rotation Roundup - Wheeler Returns & Dollander Surges

The good news is that starting pitchers keep us in business. For better or worse (mostly worse), there’s always news. And the problem is that a lot of it is never good.

Between injuries and poor performances, we are certainly kept on our toes. There’s definitely not enough space to cover all of the disappointing outings we’ve seen to begin the season. Instead, the intention here is to get you up to date with some starting pitching news that has stood out to me since last week’s installment.

Rotation Roundup - Prospects LiveProspects LiveRay Kuhn

Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies, RHP

Photo Credit: Boston Globe

Before a trip to the Injured List, everything was perfect once again for Wheeler in 2025. The veteran finished with a 2.71 ERA and 0.94 WHIP over 149.2 innings. It looked very similar to his performance a year prior as Wheeler continued to pitch at an elite level. In fact, we saw his strikeouts rise to 11.7 per nine innings, a career high, while walking just under two batters per nine.

By all accounts, Wheeler is fully healthy, and there are no residual issues from his thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. He made it through 77 pitches in his last rehab start, and his return should be a nice boost for those fantasy managers who had Wheeler on their benches. To make room in the rotation, Taijuan Walker and his 9.16 ERA will be the likely casualty.

Sonny Gray, Boston Red Sox, RHP

Photo Credit: Boston Globe

When it happened, it didn’t look good as it almost seemed inevitable that Gray was headed to the Injured List with a hamstring injury. The good news is that it doesn’t look like it will be a particularly long stay on the IL for Gray, who is off to a solid start in his career in Boston.

The injury to Gray gives a little more runway to Brayan Bello as he tries to work through his early-season issues. As an immediate replacement, it appears that Payton Tolle will be getting the call after a strong start to the season in Triple-A. That’s on the heels of a 3.04 ERA in 91.2 minor league innings last season, and even if pitching wasn’t a mess around the league, Tolle should still be on our radars.

Trey Yesavage, Toronto Blue Jays, RHP

Photo Credit: Denny Medley

No one is doubting Trey Yesavage’s upside, nor can anyone forget what he did in the postseason last year. The Blue Jays are more than forgiven for wanting to take things slow with Yesavage. That’s not to say that his shoulder injury wasn’t real, but there’s no reason to rush their top prospect in April unless there’s full certainty around his health.

By all indications, Yesavage’s rehab has gone well. After one more rehab start, we should see Yesavage back in the big leagues next week. At least first, I’m sure Toronto is going to take things slowly with Yesavage, but the results and success should be there. Between Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin, there are two veterans who have had mixed results this season that could be moved out of the rotation to make room. At this point, neither should be on the fantasy radar, so there shouldn’t be any downstream impact.

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