Phillies first-round draft pick gets eye-opening grade

The Philadelphia Phillies are squarely successful pennant-or-bust mode pinch a roster that has respective players successful nan twilight of their primes. Philadelphia is presently successful a heated National League East divisional race, starring nan second-place New York Mets by conscionable half a game. 

While this roster is strong, location are a fewer areas of interest that request to beryllium addressed up of nan waste and acquisition deadline, and nan beforehand agency whitethorn person fixed 1 weakness done nan 2025 MLB Draft. With nan No. 26 wide pick, nan Phillies selected University of Arkansas standout Gage Wood. 

The 21-year-old is simply a superb talent pinch a scorching fastball who has nan imaginable to beryllium a bullpen action successful October. While location are questions astir whether Wood will yet beryllium capable to modulation into a full-time starter, nan early impressions are that nan Phillies picked nan correct guy.. 

Bleacher Report’s National MLB columnist Joel Reuter, successful particular, graded this action while giving Wood a compliment that is undoubtedly going to occurrence up Phillies fans.

“Grade: A 

Can he thief retired successful nan MLB bullpen later this year? He was conscionable getting afloat stretched retired by nan extremity of nan play and does not person nan aforesaid workload connected his limb arsenic immoderate of nan different apical assemblage arms. Could beryllium nan champion pitcher successful this class.”

Due to nan spot of nan Phillies’ starting rotation, location is nary unit connected Wood to commencement correct away. The Newport, Arkansas, still needs a batch of refining earlier he tin genuinely break retired astatine this level, but he has nan talent to lend to nan bullpen correct away. Considering that reliever extent is simply a request for Philadelphia, particularly heading into October, this prime looks moreover better.

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