PHILADELPHIA - Gage Wood climbed the steps of the first base dugout and jogged to the mound. A symbolic trot that both Wood and Phillies fans are hoping will become routine every fifth day as a future member of the Philadelphia Phillies starting rotation.
The top pitching prospect in the farm system received a rousing ovation while warming up in the bullpen.
“It was awesome,” Wood said. “The fans showed up, it was loud. It was fun. I know before the first pitch my heart was pumping.
With his fiery, bulldog mentality, the team’s first-round pick out of Arkansas in last year’s MLB Draft pumped in a 97 mph fastball that second-ranked prospect in all of baseball Leo De Vries of the Athletics swung through.
Wood came back with another fastball to get ahead 0-2 in the count before the switch-hitting shortstop flared a pitch into left field for a leadoff single. Wood overthrew a couple of sliders.
Both pitches would have been wild pitches if De Vries had not been running on each pitch. Instead, he was credited with stealing two bases. De Vries scored when Boston Red Sox second base prospect Franklin Arias grounded out to shortstop.
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Wood went on to get Cleveland’s Ralphy Velasquez (#36 overall prospect) to pop up and Minnesota’s Walker Jenkins (#14 overall) ground out to close out his lone inning in the showcase game.
His outing was as quick, but it showed a glimpse into what the future might hold.
“I looked up and I was like, ‘Wow, this looks way bigger than from the suite when we were here when we signed last year,’” Wood said.
“That was awesome. The park’s huge. Everybody [in the clubhouse] was like, ‘Man, you got a good home park.’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, this place is sick.”
Overall, Wood threw just 11 pitches, seven fastballs, two sliders and two change ups. His heater topped out at 98 mph in the at-bat against Arias.
This season, the 22-year-old has pitched in Low-A Clearwater, bypassed High-A Jersey Shore and currently in Double-A Reading.
While trade rumors are swirling, it’s natrual that Wood’s name comes up in nearly every discussion. As a top tier prospect in a system the Phillies are trying to rebuild after recently being ranked 29th by Baseball America, Wood becomes a potential integral piece for Dave Dombrowski if he looks to revamp the farm.
Of course, there is also the big league team’s needs with the trade deadline looming on August 3. Wood is perhaps the team’s most attractive trade chip with the struggles of Andrew Painter, Aidan Miller’s back injury and the lack of close in proximity prospects the system has overall.
Yet, despite all the noise, he doesn’t allow himself to even entertain such a topic. He’s focused on the task at hand.
“I feel like I grew more as a pitcher this year than I had my whole career growing up,” Wood said. “Everything’s gone up. The stuff’s gotten better, I mean all-around. I feel like I’ve become a better pitcher and that’s thanks to this organization and the pitching staff and all the influences I’ve had. I mean there’s been some hard work too, but I feel really blessed and I’m loving it.”
In eight Double-A starts, the hard-throwing righty has a 3.45 ERA in 28 ⅔ innings. He’s allowed 24 hits, 11 earned runs to go with 39 strikeouts and just nine walks with a 1.151 WHIP.
For now he will continue to develop as a starting pitcher, improving the breaking pitches in his arsenal with his slider while restoring his curveball while working on a new grip with his splitter.
“You come to this place and it makes you not wanna go back,” Wood said. “It keeps me wanting to work even harder.”
For Wood, the work is far from over, but it’s prorgressing in the right direction.
