Gage Wood, the Phillies first round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, made his second professional start Thursday night in Game 2 of the Florida State League West Division playoffs. His first and second starts differed greatly in results and also in how Wood used his arsenal to attack hitters. After crunching all of the numbers, the velocity, his pitch selection and the reports of how he looked in both games, we’ve tried to give an insight into what those two starts mean, if anything.

The two starts are admittedly an extremely small sample size, but offer glimpse into both his potential and the developmental challenges ahead. His debut outing was statistically uneven but showed flashes of promise. Despite allowing two earned runs on just one hit and two walks, Wood struck out five batters in two innings, suggesting his stuff was lively and capable of missing bats. His command wasn’t sharp, but it was serviceable: 59% of his pitches were strikes, and his primary weapons – the sinker and four-seam fastball – were effective enough to generate swings and misses, particularly the four-seamer, which drew whiffs on 31% of swings across both outings.

The second start was a clear regression. Wood lasted only one inning, giving up four earned runs on five hits and a walk. The core issue was command deterioration. His sinker, which he leaned on again at a 38% usage rate, dropped in strike efficiency from 51.7% overall to just 43% in this outing. More concerning was his retreat from the four-seam fastball, which had been his most effective pitch in the first start. He threw it just 11 times and landed only 30% for strikes. That shift in pitch mix – which may have been an effort to lean on his curveball, which he threw more frequently and landed for strikes – didn’t pay off. While the curve was thrown for strikes 75% of the time, hitters made contact on half of those, indicating it wasn’t deceptive enough to serve as a reliable out pitch.

The contact data underscores the problem: Lakeland hitters swung at 15 of Wood’s 37 pitches and whiffed just once. That’s a 6.7% whiff rate – far too low for a pitcher with Wood’s velocity and pedigree. He wasn’t fooling hitters, and his pitches were catching too much of the zone without movement or late life.

In comparing the two starts, Wood’s first outing showed raw tools – velocity, strikeout ability, and a workable fastball and sinker combo. The second exposed inconsistencies in command and pitch sequencing, especially under playoff pressure. His curveball may become a useful secondary weapon, but it’s not yet a swing-and-miss pitch. The takeaway: Wood has the arsenal, but refining command and sequencing will be critical as he adjusts to pro ball. The Phillies will likely view these outings as a learning opportunity rather than a setback, especially given his limited exposure and the playoff context.