Phillies’ bold plan for top draft pick Gage Wood is a reality check for fans

The Philadelphia Phillies could have as many as three of their top prospects, Andrew Painter, Aidan Miller, and Justin Crawford, all debut by the end of the 2026 regular season. Gage Wood, the 26th overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, ended last year as Philadelphia's No. 4 MLB Pipeline prospect. The club is anticipating his continued development this season, but their plan for the 22-year-old right-hander isn't as good as it sounds.

There was plenty of immediate excitement about Wood after last summer's draft. Unfortunately, the Phillies' plan for him is a reality check for fans who are eager to see him advance through the system and debut later this year.

Wood debuted in the Phillies' minor league system last September with the Single-A Clearwater Threshers. He made one start, throwing for two innings and had five strikeouts while allowing one hit, one earned run, and two walks. After that brief professional debut, it sounds like the Phillies intend to keep him in a starting role.

Phillies making Gage Wood a starter makes it unlikely we'll see a debut in 2026

Earlier this month, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski spoke about the team's plan for Wood. They intend to make him a full-time starter in 2026.

"We like Gage Wood a lot. We think he has a chance to move very fast," Dombrowski said. "We thought we were fortunate enough to draft him where we did at the end of the first round. He's been in our high-performance camp here and will be in our minicamp. His stuff has been very good.

"I think the one thing we need to be cognizant of with him [is] he didn't throw many innings last year. He only threw about 40 innings in total, so that's something that's on our mind, but he is a person that can come very quickly."

"Our plans are at this point is to make him a starting pitcher, we think he can be a starting pitcher. So, when you're doing that, you're going to use up a lot of those innings that he may have available to him. But for his overall development, I think it will be good for him and good for the organization in the long run, but we like him a lot [and we] think he has a good chance to be a very, very good pitcher."

If the Phillies stick to this plan, Wood will be limited by the end of the 2026 season if they use up his innings quickly. There's no denying that the Phillies need top-level starting pitching depth in the farm system, but it's still a sobering thought when you start doing the math.

If they made him a reliever, after throwing just 40 innings last year, he'd have plenty of innings left at the end of the season as a weapon out of the bullpen. He could follow a similar trajectory as current Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering.

As a starter, the Phillies can still temper his use. Keeping his starts to two to three innings per game would mean he'll have more in the tank at the end of the regular season. This could be especially important if he advances fast enough to become an option for the big league club, either in a spot start or bullpen role.

Among his notable achievements during his collegiate career with the Arkansas Razorbacks, Wood struck out 19 Murray State Racers batters and pitched the third no-hitter in Men's College World Series history, which was the first in 65 years, last June.

According to his MLB Pipeline scouting report, Wood has one of the best fastballs of the pitchers in his draft class, which ranges from 94 to 96 mph and reaches 98 mph. He also has a good curveball that ranges from 82 to 85 mph.

How fast will Wood move up the farm system this year? It depends on how successful he is. However, based on Dombrowski's positive outlook, the sky's the limit … along with his inning count.