Phillies Future Ace Showcased as Starter in MLB All-Star Futures Game

The Philadelphia Phillies had a starter in the 2026 MLB All-Star Futures Game.

Jul 12, 2018; Baltimore, MD, USA; Philadelphia Phillies hats await use during a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Philadelphia Phillies are the host team for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game festivities, with events at their home stadium, Citizens Bank Park.

While the MLB players will take center stage on July 13 for the home run derby, which includes two Phillies, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, and the 2026 MLB All-Star Game will take place on July 14, it was the youngsters who took the field on July 12.

The 2026 MLB All-Star Futures Game was held, featuring some of the brightest young players in baseball in a seven-inning game. One of the players on the National League team was Philadelphia's fast-rising prospect, Gage Wood.

A first-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, No. 26 overall out of the University of Arkansas, Wood has rapidly risen up the rankings with some dominant performances on the mound. That led to him being selected as the starting pitcher for the NL Future Stars, taking the mound at the ballpark he could soon be calling home.

Gage Wood picked as starter for NL Future Stars Team

It wasn’t the kind of electric performance that scouts and evaluators have gotten used to seeing from Wood, who pitched the first inning in the game. He surrendered a single to Athletics star prospect Leo De Vries, who is the No. 2-ranked player in the sport, to get things started.

De Vries promptly stole second base and third base, coming home to score on a groundout by Boston Red Sox prospect Franklin Arias, who is No. 7 in the MLB. That gave the American League team a 1-0 lead as Wood retired first baseman Ralphy Velazquez of the Cleveland Guardians and outfielder Walker Jenkins of the Minnesota Twins.

Giving up a run certainly isn’t what the Phillies’ star pitching prospect wanted, but it was encouraging to see him settle down after De Vries got on with a single and then tore up the base paths with his speed.

Wood began the 2026 campaign with Single-A Clearwater, making eight starts and throwing 26.1 innings before he was promoted to Double-A Reading. He dominated at the start of the year with Clearwater, earning the Minor League Pitcher of the Month in April.

Gage gets the nod 😤 pic.twitter.com/SN9KDGSJVy

— Phillies Player Development (@PhilsPlayerDev) July 12, 2026

Since being promoted to Reading, he has continued performing at a high level. His overall performance has been similar, with a 3.45 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 28.2 innings; he had a 3.42 ERA and 40 strikeouts in Single-A.

It is great to see his ERA remain virtually the same with Reading despite being hit a little more, giving up 24 hits, including six home runs, compared to 17 hits and only two long balls with Clearwater.

The future remains incredibly bright for Wood, who could be used out of the bullpen by the Big League club down the stretch given his excellent track record as a reliever in college.