Gage Wood was the envy of the National League Futures team locker room on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park.
Not only did Wood earn the starting nod in the MLB All-Star Futures Game, but he also took the mound in his potential future home ballpark.
“When I got up those steps, and I got out there on that grass, I looked up and I was like, ‘Wow, this looks way bigger than from the suite when we signed last year,’” Wood said. “That was awesome. The park’s huge. Everybody here was like, ‘Man, you’ve got a good home park.’”
Wood, the No. 2 prospect in the Phillies farm system and No. 51 across MLB, gave up a hit and a run on 11 pitches in the top of the first. The American League Futures team went on to win the seven-inning game, 6-1.
“It was fun,” Wood said after his start. “I know before that first pitch my heart was pumping.”
The Phillies picked Wood out of Arkansas with the 26th overall pick in the 2025 MLB draft. The right-handed pitcher started his season with Clearwater, the Phillies’ low-A affiliate, before earning a promotion to double-A Reading in May.
Wood has a 3.45 ERA and 1.15 WHIP across eight starts for Reading, which earned him a spot on the National League Futures team.
Former Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino managed the National League team and informed Wood he would start over a Zoom call on Friday.
“I hope it was a moment he’ll never forget,” Victorino said before Sunday’s game. “It’s always an honor to hand the ball to someone that’s a home-team kid, who will get an opportunity, hopefully, to someday pitch for that team.”
Wood gave up a leadoff single to Leo De Vries, MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 prospect. De Vries stole second and third before coming home on a Franklin Arias ground out.
After De Vries scored, Wood kept the other batters he faced off the base paths. Luis Peña ranged back from his spot at third base to snag a Ralphy Velazquez fly ball down the left-field foul line, earning a tip of the cap from Wood.
Walker Jenkins then grounded out to first base on the first pitch to end Wood’s inning.
Baseball’s biggest stars are descending on Philadelphia for the 96th All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park on July 14. Follow all of The Inquirer’s coverage here.
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Wood finished his lone inning without a strikeout, but nine of his 11 pitches were strikes. He threw two changeups, two sliders, and seven fastballs, topping out at 97.7 mph.
While Sunday’s outing gave Wood a glimpse of his potential future, Wood is not interested in projecting when he will be ready for the majors.
“I don’t look that far ahead into things,” Wood said. “I just, kind of, stay where I’m at. [My] main goal was to go out there today and enjoy this experience with these awesome players. I’m very blessed to be here.”
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Wood was not the only Phillies pitching prospect in action on Sunday.
Wen-Hui Pan, the No. 12 prospect in their system, took the mound with two outs and the bases empty in the top of the sixth inning.
Pan walked the first batter, then gave up a two-run homer to Nathan Flewelling. Pan struck out Xavier Neyens to end the top of the sixth and was replaced in the seventh.
The Taiwanese reliever missed the entire 2025 minor league season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in November 2024.
This season, Pan, 23, has a 3.38 ERA in eight relief appearances since being called up to double-A Reading in June.
Before Sunday’s Futures Game, Pan said he relished an opportunity to take the mound at Citizens Bank Park.
“[I am] really excited about the game today,” Pan said through a translator. “Before [I get] into the major leagues, [I am] really happy that he got a chance to get on this mound and pitch in this stadium.”
Both teams of minor league prospects were managed by former Phillies. Victorino, who won a World Series with the Phillies in 2008, managed the NL team, while Larry Bowa led the American League team.
“When you have an opportunity to have an organization love you as much as you love the organization, that means a lot,” Victorino said. “To be able to do stuff with Major League Baseball as well, and be asked to do this, the Futures Game, the opportunities with MLBx and all the other things around Philadelphia this weekend, it’s an honor.”
Bowa, who won the World Series with the Phillies in 1980, stacked his staff with former Phillies. Juan Samuel, Milt Thompson, Billy Wagner, and Michael Bourn all coached with Bowa on Sunday.
Bowa, 80, had two stints managing the Phillies and has served as a senior adviser to baseball operations since 2017.
“I’ve been very fortunate,” Bowa said. “Not only with health and the good man upstairs, but [with] the organization, the Phillies. … The fact they let me do this. Without the help of those guys, I couldn’t keep suiting up the way I’m doing right now.”
Ryan Howard was a three-time All-Star and champion of the 2006 Home Run Derby in his legendary run with the Phillies. With the baseball world coming together in Philadelphia for the 96th All-Star Game, Howard sat down with Phillies Extra to discuss his All-Star memories, his expectations for a Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park, his outlook on the Phillies’ season, Kyle Schwarber’s chances of breaking his single-season franchise mark for homers, and more. Watch here.
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