PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — This is not just about getting back on the mound following Tommy John surgery.
No, let Zack Wheeler tell you his plans. This is what he wants when he returns to the Mets.
“It’s greatness,’’ Wheeler told The Post on Monday at the club’s minor league complex after throwing on flat ground at 90 feet.
This is a full-out Zack Attack. No shortcuts.
Wheeler has altered his arm angle following his March surgery, just like Jacob deGrom did following his Tommy John surgery back in 2010, and is hoping for the same kind of success deGrom found — more downward movement to his pitches, less stress on his right elbow.
The Mets have slowed Wheeler down in his return following Matt Harvey’s TJ success and are now shooting for a July comeback, a 15-month layoff.
The Mets’ starting rotation by the second half of the 2016 season should be phenomenal. Wheeler, deGrom, Harvey and Steven Matz have all been rebuilt via Tommy John surgery.
“It’s reassuring to know those guys have all been through it,’’ said Wheeler, 25.
Then there is Noah Syndergaard.
Wheeler has been working with Jon Debus, the Mets’ minor league pitching rehabilitation coordinator, and Dave Pearson, the club’s physical therapy and rehabilitation coordinator.
This is slow, painstaking work.
“It’s been tough, mental side and physical side,’’ Wheeler admitted. “You have good days, bad days arm-wise, mostly good, but those bad days, they are there and you just have to keep in mind this is what it takes to get back on the field.
“Some days you don’t feel like going in that weight room, but you have to remind yourself where you want to be once you do get back up there.’’
And that is greatness.
“I want to stay on top of the ball instead of being on the side of it,’’ Wheeler said as he demonstrated his revamped motion with the long scar snaking along his right arm.
“In the past I was just throwing and saying, ‘Here it is.’ My ball moves a lot, and that’s what got me in trouble,’’ said Wheeler, who is 18-16 with 3.50 ERA and 271 strikeouts over 285 ¹/₃ innings.
Now there is more of a focus on mechanics.
“I was supposed to be on the mound the beginning of January, but the doctors have decided 15 months is the new 12 months, so they pushed me back about a month,’’ Wheeler said.
If all continues to go well, Wheeler will be back pitching for the Mets in July.
“Worse comes to worse, I can come back after the All-Star break,’’ Wheeler said.
He watched all the way through the World Series.
Asked what he thought of Syndergaard’s purpose pitch over the head of the Royals’ Alcides Escobar, Wheeler smiled and said he liked it — and might have gone a step further.
“I probably wouldn’t have thrown it over his head,’’ Wheeler said. “I would have made a point. ’’
Pitching inside is a must.
“People have gotten away from that, people are getting soft these days,’’ Wheeler said. “I don’t care, if somebody is showing me up or throwing at one of our guys, you are going to get something inside to let you know I noticed that.’’
As for the surgery and spending time in New York, there was one added bonus.
“My girlfriend, Dominique, introduced me to Junior’s Cheesecake,’’ said the Georgia native.
“Unbelievable.
“Right before I came down here, I ordered two for my house in Georgia,’’ said Wheeler, who has been working here since late December.
Don’t worry, he is not getting fat.
“I’ve been working out like crazy,’’ Wheeler said. “I love working out, nobody else is in the weight room, just turn up the music.’’
Remember when Wheeler pleaded with Sandy Alderson to not trade him last July in a deal for Jay Bruce?
“I was two feet out the door,’’ Wheeler said, but following the advice of his agent, B.B. Abbott, he called the GM. “Sandy was in the middle of a meeting with everyone and he was nice enough to give me a second,’’ Wheeler explained.
It all worked out for the best, with Yoenis Cespedes being acquired by Alderson.
Wheeler came to the Mets in Alderson’s trade with San Francisco and told the GM: “I want to finish it out. I know we are going to be good and it’s going to be fun.’’
The fun starts again when he gets back to the majors.
For now, it’s work. That’s the only way to achieve greatness.