Gage Wood News: Lands in Philly

The Phillies have selected Wood with the 26th overall pick in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft.

Wood showed loud stuff as a reliever his first two years at Arkansas while logging FIPs in the 3.00s and ERAs in the 4.00s and moved to the rotation as a junior. He suffered a shoulder impingement early in the year that cost him two months but dominated down the stretch, culminating in a 19-K no-hitter in the College World Series against Murray State -- just the third no-hitter in CWS history. For the season, Wood logged a 3.82 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 69:7 K:BB in 37.2 innings across 10 starts. The 6-foot, 205-pound righty sat 96 mph (touched 98) with his fastball this spring and the pitch also has excellent movement, making it arguably the best fastball in the class. A plus curveball is his best secondary, while his slider and changeup lag behind as fringe-average, seldom-used offerings. Wood seemingly has the command to start, but he has yet to prove he can handle a starter's workload and he'll have to find a reliable third pitch at some point.