Phillies First Round Pick Gage Wood Attacking Hitters, Developing Slider

Phillies 2025 first round pitch Gage Wood made his home debut with Double-A Reading on Thursday, May 29, striking out four batters in four innings and allowing one run. The six foot tall, 205 pound right-hander flashed his dominant four-seam fastball, hitting a career high 99 miles per hour during a fourth inning at-bat, and continued to tinker with the slider that served as his main focus this offseason.

Wood said that he tried to one-up himself again after lighting up the radar gun.

“I looked back and I saw that. So I tried to throw the next one even harder, and it was a lot slower,” Wood said. “I thought I could grab it. But I guess I’ve just gotta let it happen… Tonight was a whole mile an hour PR from previous years. I’m gonna take that and I’m gonna sit on that one and enjoy it. I’ve been stuck at 98 a while.”

The slower offering, a 94 mile per hour heater, ended up paying off for Wood anyway: the change in timing threw off Harrisburg shortstop Cayden Wallace, and he swung over it for the strikeout.

Phillies catcher prospect Kehden Hettiger, making his second appearance as a battery with Wood, described the righty’s fastball as “one of the best heaters in the world.” Hettinger added that Wood’s off-speed offerings are consistent and accurate, capable of generating swings and misses alongside weak contact, and that his fiery presence on the mound gives his teammates an immediate boost.

Slider the Secondary

Wood described how he’s worked to develop his slider. Continuing to find his feel for the pitch, he went to it more than he likely would’ve in a big league start — Wood added that he needed to go to his changeup and curveball more in the future.

“Really just focusing on it [the slider] in the offseason, that was the biggest thing going into the offseason that I needed to develop. So I just really put my focus into that and wanted to make sure I have it. It’s probably one of my better pitches now,” Wood said.

“If it’s a lefty I’m gonna try to keep it back door, get it down and in on them under the barrel. Just really depends on the matchup, where the guy has holes, and obviously the count and the situation.”

Regarding contact given up, Wood said he doesn’t shy away from putting the ball over the plate. He wants to pitch aggressively.

“It’s gonna get hit. I don’t care if it gets hit, I just throw it like they can’t hit it,” Wood said. “If they do, hopefully it’s to one of my guys, so I just try to attack them with it.”

After eight starts with Single-A Clearwater to begin the season, Wood skipped over High-A on his way to the Fightin Phils.

Jumping to Double-A

In adjusting to Double-A, Wood said he needs to stay ahead in the count.

“You’ve gotta get ahead of these guys, stay on the attack. You get behind in counts, they can do damage. That’s how it is now,” Wood said. “These hitters are better, they see the ball better, they get a better zone.”

Despite his fast rise through the Phillies’ system, Wood said he wants to stay grounded.

“I just want to stay where I’m at, be where my feet are, take everything one day at a time. Keep executing and trying to give my team a chance to win each time I go out there,” Wood said.  “Just gotta keep working, keep executing, keep doing the things I’ve done my whole life… you can’t really look that far ahead.”

As he continues to work his way up, Wood said he wants to focus on his fourth pitch, a splitter/changeup hybrid that he’s trying to land accurately.

“Getting the splitter more consistent would be the biggest thing,” Wood said. “But just kinda keep polishing up everything, working the sides of the plate with each pitch and locations, just continue to execute.”

The Phillies have kept him on a tight innings limit so far this season — the four frames he pitched Thursday night matched a season high — but Wood said he thinks he gets stronger as he gets deeper into starts.

“I feel better as I go, so I really like it. I feel like the blood just gets pumping more and I just get more into it,” Wood said. “Just competing, my body just starts to feel better and things start speeding up. Just kinda takes another tick.”

For a related story, here are Fightin Phils manager Al Pedrique’s first impressions of Gage Wood.