The Philadelphia Phillies went into Sunday night holding the 26th pick in the MLB Draft. They selected College World Series star Gage Wood. The electric pitcher was last seen throwing a no-hitter with 19 strikeouts. The pick seems like a steal at where he was selected, but there may be more to it.
Wood is a right-handed pitcher from Arkansas, where he started only 15 games across three seasons. The numbers are not eye-popping, but one stat sticks out in particular. Last season, he had a 16.5 k/9 with 69 strikeouts in less than 38 innings.
Wood is known for his elite fastball that reaches up to 98 mph. The pitch received a 70 grade on a scale of 80. His fastball gets elite swing and misses from his opponents. He led the nation with a 43% whiff rate on the pitch.
Wood recently gained a ton of traction and saw a jump in his perceived draft stock. This rise came after an amazing performance against Murray State in the College World Series. He struck out 19 batters in a near-perfect game, posting a no-hitter. Wood allowed one base runner on a hit by pitch in the game.
Wood didn’t start many games in his college career, and there is an unfortunate reason for that. He dealt with numerous shoulder issues throughout his time at Arkansas, most recently a shoulder impingement this past February. This injury caused him to miss a few weeks of game action.
Wood’s long injury history may have been a concern for some teams, maybe causing him to fall right into the Phillies’ lap. Philadelphia does have a reason to be optimistic, as Wood threw 130 pitches in his no-hitter and seemed to come out perfectly fine.
The Phillies have needed bullpen help all season. Trade rumors have been flying with the expectation being that the team needs to give up a top prospect to receive bullpen help. The addition of Wood may have done more for Philadelphia’s current roster than initially perceived.
Wood is 21 years old and fresh out of the college World Series. This is not the typical path the Phillies take when drafting. They tend to go the high school player route and try to develop them for years in the minor league. Wood is old enough and developed to a point where he can be added to the Phillies’ bullpen and start providing value soon.
Woods’ fastball is already enough to get MLB hitters out, and his secondary pitches are good enough. The addition of a rookie going to the majors the same season they are drafted is rare, but it is not unheard of.
The most notable example is Garrett Crochet, who was called up towards the end of the White Sox season in 2020. This isn’t a great comparison to Wood’s situation, though, as Crochet’s call-up was in the middle of the strange 2020 Covid season. There are a few other examples for pitchers, but the way Philadelphia strayed from their typical drafting strategy and selected someone who seems to fit right now.
Wood is an excellent pitcher who fell because of injury concerns. To cut to the chase, the Phillies got an absolute steal at 26. There’s a chance he can come in and pitch at Citizens Bank Park this season and help Philadelphia contend for a championship.
Dave Dombrowski essentially made a trade deadline acquisition in the draft. If Wood can fly through the minors and be in the majors in a couple of months, he can greatly help the Phillies’ horrible bullpen. Their biggest need may have been filled without trading away any assets.
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