PORT ST. LUCIE — Zack Wheeler is having a dominant spring, even if it’s hardly been noticed.
Lumped between the phenom Noah Syndergaard, Jon Niese’s MRI exams, Matt Harvey’s rehab and Daisuke Matsuzaka’s emergence as the front runner to claim the fifth spot in the Mets rotation has been Wheeler.
The right-hander, who is scheduled to face the Braves’ Ervin Santana on Thursday at Tradition Field, has a 0.84 ERA in three appearances this spring. He has allowed eight hits and walked just two batters over 10²/₃ innings.
Syndergaard was assigned to minor-league camp on Tuesday and Niese is 2-0 in MRI exams this spring, putting Wheeler in position to perhaps get noticed over the final nine days of spring training.
Even so, manager Terry Collins has not mentioned Wheeler as a possibility to start Opening Day against the Nationals on March 31 if Niese isn’t ready. Based on track record, the manager has mentioned Bartolo Colon and Dillon Gee as candidates.
Niese incurred elbow soreness on Sunday and a subsequent MRI exam showed no structural damage, but it remains in question whether he can get stretched out enough over the next nine days to be ready for Opening Day duty. The lefty threw only 35 pitches against the Cardinals on Sunday.
The Mets expect to have either Ike Davis or Lucas Duda available for Thursday’s game.
Davis (calf) and Duda (hamstring) have not played since the first week of Grapefruit League action. Both have been taking at-bats in minor-league competition without running the bases.