Phillies Leaned On Proven High Leverage Ability In Selection Of Gage Wood

The Philadelphia Phillies have selected a high school player in the last five drafts, and that boded well for a class brimming with prep talent.

However, the Phillies didn’t carry that trend into Sunday’s first round of the MLB draft and instead went back to pitching for the first time since 2021.

Philadelphia selected University of Arkansas right-hander Gage Wood with the No. 26 overall pick.

Perhaps the organization was looking for more proven, developed players. If they were searching for pitching prospects who had experience in high-leverage situations, they couldn’t have landed a better fit than Wood.

Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com pointed to his impact in the College World Series as a potential factor in the Phillies’ decision.

“It’s unclear how much the College World Series enters into evaluations now that the Draft is after its conclusion, but there’s no question Wood helped his stock with his thrilling no-hitter in Omaha,” Mayo wrote. “Wood has an unhittable fastball and a power curve as his two best offerings.”

According to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, Wood threw the first no-hitter in the College World Series since 1960 on June 16, and his 19 strikeouts against Murray State were the most in a nine-inning game in CWS history.

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That performance cemented a lot for Philadelphia in narrowing in on Wood.

While it was the first time the Phillies have taken a pitcher in the first round since Andrew Painter in 2021, Wood is the first college pitcher they’ve taken in that round since right-hander Aaron Nola in 2014.

Nola was one who evaluators believed could rise quickly to the big leagues, which he did with a debut for the organization in 2015.

Phillies assistant general manager of amateur scouting Brian Barber doesn’t plan to rush things with Wood but doesn’t rule out the possibility of a rapid ascent.

“I don’t think it’s ever really easy to predict how fast a person is going to have the ability to move,” Barber said. “I do know he has the potential to move quickly, just because he does the two things: it’s already more ‘now’ stuff that you don’t have to project a ton on.”

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That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have things to work on, with Barber pointing to his slider shape that they think he could enhance.

“But he also already throws strikes,” Barber continued. “You don’t normally have an opportunity, especially at No. 26, to select a college pitcher with stuff in such a dominating performance when he was on the mound.”

Wood was moved by the Razorbacks from closer to the rotation this spring, though a shoulder issue he had in high school limited him to 10 starts.

Particularly after that College World Series performance that featured a 119-pitch no-hitter, Philadelphia isn’t concerned about health issues in their new pitching prospect.

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