What they’re saying about first-round pick Gage Wood, from his ‘unhittable’ fastball to when he might join the Phillies

The Phillies are known for taking high-upside high school players in the early draft rounds, but the team bucked that tradition in 2025. Instead, the Phillies drafted Arkansas pitcher Gage Wood with pick No. 26.

Here’s what some national baseball experts are saying about the Phillies’ top pick …

If that name rings a bell, it’s probably because of his no-hitter in the College World Series, just the third College World Series no-hitter of all time.

“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,” MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo wrote. “Wood has an unhittable fastball and a power curve as his two best offerings.”

Wood struck out an impressive 19 batters in his no-no, and finished with 32 in the tournament.

Phillies amateur scouting director Brian Barber said Sunday that the team sees Wood as a starter — “we’re not planning to move him to the bullpen anytime soon.” But that didn’t stop speculation that Wood, who started at Arkansas as a reliever but was converted into a starter, could be an answer in the Phillies’ bullpen issues this year.

“Gage Wood has a chance to start long term but can also go straight to the upper minors — if not the big leagues — and potentially help the bullpen later this season, like a trade deadline addition,” ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel wrote post-draft.

It’s very rare for any draft pick to make his debut the same year he was drafted, even for college players. Notably, Garrett Crochet made his debut with the White Sox in September 2020 after the team selected him with the 11th pick in the draft a few months earlier.

» READ MORE: Phillies select Arkansas pitcher Gage Wood with first-round pick in 2025 MLB draft

Wood battled shoulder impingement earlier in the college season, which caused him to miss seven starts and raised a few red flags.

“Wood hasn’t shown much in the way of durability, and him slipping to the tail-end of the first suggests teams have real reservations about that changing,” CBS Sports’ R.J. Anderson wrote. “Still, he has electric stuff and, if he does somehow stay healthy, he has the talent to become the best pitcher in the class.”

Even with the injury concern, prospect experts are excited about Wood’s pitch mix and his long-term potential.

“If Wood hadn’t missed a month-plus with a shoulder impingement, he’d be an easy first-round pick, as his fastball-curveball combination is as good as any two-pitch mix from a college righty in this draft,” The Athletic’s Keith Law wrote.