Amid a summer in the spotlight, Phillies prospect Gage Wood’s goal remains the same
From the All-Star Futures Game to a MLB docuseries, Gage Wood has been busy. But the double-A Reading pitcher's focus remains on getting to the show.
Gage Wood has been in the spotlight since his days at Arkansas, when he tossed a no-hitter in the 2025 men’s College World Series. This summer, the spotlight is on the often-difficult journey to the big leagues.
Wood was one of six prospects featured in MLB and NBC Sports’ Road to the Show. The docuseries follows Wood (double-A Reading Fightin’ Phils), Braden Montgomery (who recently was called up by the Chicago White Sox), the Milwaukee Brewers’ Jesús Made (double-A Biloxi Shuckers), and Colorado Rockies’ Ethan Holliday (single-A Fresno Grizzlies), alongside collegiate stars Roch Cholowsky (UCLA) and Justin Lebron (Alabama), who’ve since been drafted by the White Sox and Cincinnati Reds, respectively, as they pursue major league careers.
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Wood, who was a first-round pick (26th overall) by the Phillies last year, has a 3.51 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 17 starts across two levels and is the organization’s top pitching prospect and 50th in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. And after starting for the National League in the All-Star Futures Game, he’s ready to be back at Citizens Bank Park.
“Obviously, I want to go back to the Bank as fast as I can,” Wood said. “I just keep working every day and try to get there as fast as possible.”
Road to the Show debuted July 1 on Peacock, following NBC and MLB’s partnership earlier this year. The series is a first step in MLB’s content expansion into the minor leagues, aimed at bolstering fan connection to players, said Casey Brett, senior vice president of business development and minor league business operations at MLB.
“Exposure was priority one for MiLB,” Brett said. “We asked, ‘How do we tell these stories more effectively?’ This docuseries was, frankly, one effort in a whole string of efforts to help us focus on and achieve that goal.”
The series aims to highlight the players’ personal stories. Episode 2 introduces the players’ parents and details their journeys from T-ball to the big leagues.
“Gage just became a great featured player as part of this, both because of his story and his truly unique competitive drive,” Brett said. “There are some really interesting stories to tell about that journey before they make their major league debut.”
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Unlike other pro sports, baseball can have a long and grueling path to the majors. Wood began his professional career with the Clearwater Threshers, the Phillies’ single-A affiliate, in September 2025 before being promoted to double A in May.
In the show, Wood mentions his surprise at skipping the “middle step” of the Jersey Shore BlueClaws, the Phillies’ high-A affiliate.
“You want to move as much as you can, as quick as you can,” Wood said in an interview featured in the series. “I want to keep growing and competing against the best, so it feels good, but the ultimate goal is to get called up to the show, so I don’t really think about anything else other than when that call happens.”
Wood and Made played in the All-Star Futures Game on July 12. Though Wood gave up a hit and a run in the first inning, he still had plenty of fans in South Philly as he headed to the mound.
The game had its highest viewership ever, according to Brett, giving MLB added motivation to keep fans invested in the players beyond All-Star weekend. MLB timed the debut of the miniseries to coincide with the All-Star festivities in hopes of drawing viewers in.
“I think everybody is in consensus that we’re going to be doing more of this. It’s great for that level of brand recognition,” Brett said. “This is the first iteration, and because of the support of NBC and the success we’ve seen to date with the program, it’s certainly something we’re considering for the future. We’d love to keep this going for years to come.”
Phillies owner John Middleton spent months planning to host the city’s first All-Star Game in 30 years. Now that it’s over, he joined Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast, to recap his most memorable moments from the week. He also discussed the upcoming trade deadline and Field of Dreams Game in Iowa, and the future of the top of the Phillies organizational masthead. Watch here. Watch here.
You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Previous episodes: Ryan Howard | Dan Baker | Ricky Bottalico | Preston Mattingly | Caleb Cotham | Larry Bowa | Joe Maddon | Rhys Hoskins | Terry Francona