In an organization rich of young pitching prospects the New York Mets have shown abundant amounts of hope in young talented right-hander Zack Wheeler, and for good reason.

But as any young talent begins to emerge, struggles follow them close behind.

Zack Wheeler was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the first round of the 2009 MLB Draft out of East Paulding High School in Dallas, Georgia. Wheeler never made a major league start for the Giants and was traded half-way through the 2011 season to the New York Mets for outfielder Carlos Beltran and some cash.

Heading into the 2012 season, Wheeler was considered the Mets top pitching prospect and the 21st ranked prospect in the MLB. Zack lived up to those praises by starting the year 7-3 and a 2.29 ERA with the Double-A Binghamton Mets and was invited to the Eastern League All Star game that year along with his second All-Star Futures Game appearance.

Zack Wheeler spent the majority of the 2012 season down in Double-A with the Binghamton Mets and began the 2013 campaign in Las Vegas (Triple-A affiliate of Mets) before making his major league debut on June 18th, 2013.

A fairy tale major league debut for Wheeler as he pitched at Turner Field against the Atlanta Braves, located only about a hour away from where he had grown up. He pitched six scoreless innings, allowing only four hits, while walking five and striking out seven Braves' hitters in a 6-1 victory. Most importantly, Zack notched his first major league win.

Wheeler showed glimpses of superstar talent the rest of the 2013 season including striking out a career high twelve batters in just six innings against the San Diego Padres. He finished the year 7-5 with a 3.42 ERA and struck out 84 batters over the course of 17 starts. Opponents batted a rounded total of .243 against him, right-handed hitters hit .230 while left-handed hitters hit .259.

With young Matt Harvey expected to miss the entire 2014 season recovering from Tommy Jon surgery, all eyes were going to be on Zack Wheeler to see how he progressed and matured.

So far, there has been much disappointment.

After Wednesday's start against the Oakland Athletics, where he allowed 6 runs in just two innings pitched, Wheeler's record dropped to 3-8 and his ERA soared back above 4.00.

All year it has been the same problems for Wheeler as he has struggled mightily in the 1st inning. Opponents have a .281 averaged and Zack has given up 11 earned runs this season in just the first inning alone. A recipe for disaster by itself, Wheeler has also given eight base on balls (BB) to batters that he faces in the first.

Zack Wheeler has also shown an inability at times to locate his breaking pitches causing him to rely more on his fastball. Without a change of speed, hitters feed off from Wheeler.

But fans have to remember that Zack Wheeler is only in his first full MLB season and a week ago against the Miami Marlins showed why he was so highly praised coming up through the Minors.

Wheeler tossed a complete-game shutout gem, giving up three hits, walking only one and striking out eight. This was his first career complete game and there is a good chance it might not be his last.

A shaky start to the young right-handers' first full season shouldn't be anything that has fans worried about the future. Former Met and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan had a record of 6-9 in his first full MLB season - later down the road he turned out to be a pretty solid pitcher.

With a high-90 mph fastball, a changeup that falls down in the zone, and a hard slider that can catch the outside corner, Zack Wheeler has all the tools to be a force on the mound in years to come and excellent number 2 starter behind Harvey in the rotation.