Phillies Promote Top Pitching Prospect Gage Wood to Double-A Reading

The Philadelphia Phillies promoted top pitching prospect Gage Wood from low-A Clearwater to Double-A Reading on Monday afternoon, according to Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com.

Wood, a 22-year-old right-handed pitcher, is widely viewed as one of the top prospects in the Philadelphia system and an integral piece of the Phillies’ future. He’s ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the Phillies system and the No. 71 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Current Season Stats at Low-A Clearwater

So far this season for Clearwater, Wood is 0-2, with a 3.42 ERA across eight starts, striking out 40 hitters in 26.1 innings pitched.

Skipping High-A: Why the Phillies are Fast-Tracking Gage Wood

Wood is skipping over pitching at High-A Jersey Shore and moving right into the Reading rotation.  The Phillies are lacking quality starting pitching depth in the organization, and have Aaron Nola and Andrew Painter both struggling at the big league level currently.

If there were an injury to the Phillies' starting rotation, the Phillies really don't have a lot of quality options, meaning if Wood pitches well at Reading, he could be an option further down the road this summer.