There was some speculation last summer that the Philadelphia Phillies’ first-round selection in right-hander Gage Wood could have found his way to the mound at Citizens Bank Park in 2025.
Although more of a fun, bold prediction type idea, Dave Dombrowski confirmed that the front office and player development staff believes that the former Arkansas Razorback could have an expedited journey to the big leagues.
“We think he has a good chance to move very fast,” Dombrowski told the media Monday.
“We felt we were fortunate to draft him where we did at the end of the first round. He’s been in our high performance camp here (Clearwater) and will be in our minicamp. His stuff has been very good.”
If you haven’t seen the highlights of Wood’s historic no-hitter in the College World Series last summer, do yourself a favor and check out how he celebrated the final out of his monumental feat.
It was a masterful performance carving up the Murray State lineup racking up 19 strikeouts.
Wood, who was one of the top pitchers in the hitter-heavy draft with the best fastball, became the first college pitcher the Phillies drafted in the first round since Aaron Nola in 2014, got his first taste of pro ball last season and pitched with the same fiery mantra in his lone outing with Low-A Clearwater.
In two innings, he allowed an earned run on one hit and two walks, but he recorded five of the six outs via the punchout.
“The first few starts he had in the year his stuff jumped and popped. Gage has always been somebody that has thrown strikes but his stuff really took a step forward this year,” Director of Amateur Scouting Brian Barber said of Wood after the team drafted him last summer.
"I do know he has the potential to move quickly. It's already more now-stuff that you don't have to project a ton on.” Barber added.
The stuff is certainly there. A power pitcher at 6-feet and 205 pounds, his fastball is electrifying. Sitting at 94-96 mph and topping at 98, he had the highest whiff rate with his heater in all of college baseball last season. He mixes a good 12-6 curveball to go with a split-change and slider rounding out his four-pitch mix.
He held opponents to a .194 batting average as a junior last year while racking up 69 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings.
There is a case to be made that Wood could rocket up the organizational ladder as a reliever if he continues his dominant strikeout ability he showcased in college where he posted a K/9 rate of 12.60, 12.50 and 16.49 in his three seasons at Arkansas.
In 78 innings in college, the now 22-year-old compiled an impressive 167 strikeouts.
His walk rate has also been eye-popping, posting a 1.79 and 1.67 over his final two seasons in college. After walking 23 batters his freshman season in 2023, Wood issued a combined 15 free passes over his final two seasons in which he logged 37 or more innings.
Add his moxie and bulldog mentality on the mound, he already has the makeup of a potential weapon coming out of the bullpen.
He could join Orion Kerkering as a pitcher who accelerated to the Phillies’ bullpen. Kerkering made his big league debut just two seasons after being drafted in 2022.
However, that's not in the cards for Wood at this point.
The Phillies want to develop Wood as a starting pitcher while being cautious with the amount of innings he will throw. The righty only threw 39 ⅔ innings last season with all but two of those coming in his final season with the Razorbacks.
Wood has experience as a starter. He transitioned to the starting rotation for the Hogs last season making 10 starts posting a 4.06 ERA with 69 strikeouts to just five walks. The 26th overall pick in last year’s draft did deal with a shoulder injury forcing him to miss two months of action, but there was not structural damage.
“Our plans at this point are to make him a starting pitcher. We think he can be a starting pitcher,” Dombrowski said.
“When you are doing that, you are going to use up a lot of those innings that are available. But for his overall development I think it would be good for him and the organization in the long run,” Dombrowski added.
It remains to be seen where the Phillies decide to start Wood off in his first full season in the organization. Getting an audition in Clearwater could be an indicator that’s where they will want him to begin. Or, if they want to accelerate the timing of his development, perhaps he opens the season in High-A Jersey Shore.
One thing is for certain, the Phillies want to give Wood a runway to continue to develop as a starting pitcher.
“You see those dominating pitches [fastball, curveball] and people are going to automatically think, move to the bullpen,” Barber said.
“But this is a guy that's shown the ability to do it. The start in the College World Series, it was quality stuff from pitch one to pitch 119. We're not planning to move him to the bullpen long-term anytime soon."
