Franklin Arias has played just 44 games at Double-A, but compared to Gage Wood, the Portland Sea Dogs’ Designated Hitter is a grizzled veteran at the level. As such, he gave Wood quite the welcome when he took a 1-2 pitch from Wood and launched it. Three batters later, Wood began to settle in and recorded his first Double-A strikeout when he fanned catcher Ronald Rosario.
The 22-year-old Wood gave Reading three innings of work, allowing one run – Arias’ 10th home run of the season – on four hits and a walk, while striking out six hitters. Wood’s workload has been capped by the Phillies and he threw just 56 pitches with 38 of them being for strikes. Portland won the game 2-1 with Wood taking the loss.
There are reports that the Phillies will allow Wood, who was their first round pick in 2025, to start throwing more innings soon after June 1. He has a season-high of four innings and 68 pitches, which came with the Clearwater Threshers.
Wood skipped going to High-A Jersey Shore because the Phillies believed that at this time of the season he would be facing basically the same level of competition that he saw with Clearwater. Moving him to Double-A will give him more seasoned hitters to pitch to, allowing the Phillies to better evaluate where he is in his development.
The question of when Wood will reach the majors has surrounded him since he signed with the Phillies. There were unsubstantiated rumors last season that the Phillies were hoping to have him in the majors before the end of last season.
Actually, all that the team has said about Wood’s rise toward the majors is they don’t believe he will need much time in the minors prior to making his major league debut. Having an evaluation against better hitters will help the Phillies to evaluate just how soon he might be able to contribute to the major league team.
In a perfect world, he will be able to handle the rigors of Double-A — and presumably, Triple-A – before being brought to Philadelphia. With the Phillies in need of pitching, Wood is not likely to be held back too long, but they also do not want to burn their anticipated workload limits too early in the season.
In one scenario, Wood could join the Phillies rotation. That scenario though is likely a little far-fetched. A more likely scenario has him either pitching in a “piggy back” situation with someone like Aaron Nola, who is struggling this season. He could also work his way into the Phillies bullpen for a late season look, but the Phillies believe his future will be in the rotation.
Wood’s introduction to Double-A hitters came in Portland. The Fightins return to Reading next week and Wood will likely pitch either Thursday or Friday night.
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