Category: Phillies/MLB

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.

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.”

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.”

Last month, John Kruk was inducted into the Hall of Pretty Good, an internet-born honor that recognizes baseball’s fan favorites who weren’t cut out for Cooperstown.

Kruk’s son, Kyle, texted the news to his father, a three-time All-Star with the Phillies in the ’90s.

“I thought it was some people just farting around,” said John Kruk, who now is a broadcaster for the Phillies. “But after I read it, they got some good players in there.”

The Hall of Pretty Good features names from Phillies World Series champion Shane Victorino to longtime Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte. Among other stipulations, no Cy Young or MVP award winners are permitted entry into the hall to ensure its “pretty good” nature. Any would-be inductee needs to receive 65% of an Instagram fan vote to join the hall’s ranks.

Upon hearing this description, Kruk, who is known for his dry humor, had a lingering question.

“Do you need to be under the influence of drugs to vote on this thing?” he asked.

Quips like that, which he readily says on air, surely helped him receive 95% of over 38,500 fan votes to become the 77th member of the hall. A new generation of baseball fans has become familiar with Kruk because of his engaging personality in the booth. He wants to thank some of those fans, who voted him “pretty good,” in person.

“We need to get a Hall of a Pretty Good ceremony,” Kruk said.

What would Kruk’s ideal induction look like? Fittingly, it would not have the prestige of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which is holding its induction ceremony on Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y.

“I wouldn’t wear a suit. That [stuff is] out,” Kruk said. “If you’re in the Hall of Pretty Good, wear whatever … you want. Not a stuffy suit. What, in August? People don’t want to sit outside and watch it; we’d have to go inside with air-conditioning, probably a middle school gymnasium.”

The hall’s creator, Bryce Whitlow, is on board.

“It sounds like [Kruk] totally understands the gist of the account,” Whitlow said, laughing. “It’s meant to be kind of funny, but also it is to seriously honor players like him as well. They do deserve a space to be honored and remembered. I love that he doesn’t want a big museum or a mansion, just a gym. And we can just wear like a polo or a T-shirt. That’s perfect.”

‘Give him flowers’

Whitlow, 24, created the Hall of Pretty Good in 2024. The hall’s Instagram account currently boasts roughly 277,000 followers. Whitlow also hosts a podcast under the same name where he has interviewed past and current players.

“I’ve always been an overly sentimental type of guy,” Whitlow said, “so that trickled down to my love of baseball as well. All the players I grew up loving, they weren’t talked about anymore because they weren’t Derek Jeter or Ryan Howard or Jimmy Rollins — those types of guys. It kind of saddened me a little bit.”

Whitlow also noticed that baseball coverage has become more take-based and even toxic in recent years. He longs for a “positive, nostalgic place” to celebrate former players, so he made one. With the help of his wife, Amanda, Whitlow listed about 1,000 players who fit his “pretty good” standards. One by one, the account’s fans have voted on whether they should be in the hall.

For Whitlow, adding Kruk was a no-brainer. The former first baseman logged 100 home runs (62 with the Phillies) and 592 RBIs (390 with the Phillies) during his 10-year career.

“Make no mistake, this guy was a borderline elite player,” Whitlow said. “It was a bit of a shorter curve, but it was amazing. People know how awesome he is in the booth, but just to see how dynamic of a player he was. The guy can hit, so it was cool to give him flowers for more of his baseball play than what he does in the booth.”

Long before the Hall of Pretty Good, Kruk’s career did get the attention of Cooperstown. In 2001, six years after his retirement, Kruk became part of a select group of players who received just one Hall of Fame vote.

“Think of all the people that have ever played, think of all the kids that wish they could have played at that level, and how many people have never gotten one vote,” Kruk said. “But I think [the Hall of Pretty Good] is better, personally. Because I know I’m not getting in that other one. I would never get in that other one. I resigned to that fact after my second year in the big leagues. To be considered by fans means more to me.”

“I always thought making All-Star teams was neat. Back then, it was all fans [voting]. The fact that enough people thought I was deserving, I thought that was great. And this is the same thing to me, except I don’t have to play.”

Full of Phils

Many Hall of Pretty Good players bounced around while in the league. Along with Kruk and Victorino, other notable inductees who saw action as Phillies include infielder Jean Segura, catcher Darren Daulton, relief pitcher Steve Cishek (who was the hall’s first inductee), outfielder Juan Pierre, starting pitcher A.J. Burnett, pitcher Tom Gordon, and shortstop Didi Gregorius.

All Alex McFarlane knew, as he made the jog from the center field bullpen, was that he was due to face a lefty.

As he’d warmed up for his major league debut on Wednesday, the 25-year-old hadn’t been paying close attention to where the Dodgers were in their order. The game was essentially out of reach already, with the Phillies trailing by five runs in the ninth inning. McFarlane had been more concerned with steadying his breathing, now that the moment he’d waited for had finally arrived.

But when he made it to the mound and realized who he’d be facing, McFarlane had to take a few more deep breaths.

“It turned out to be that lefty,” McFarlane said.

As in four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani. Any left-handed batter would be a challenging first at-bat for the rookie righty, but the two-way Dodgers superstar, with a .940 OPS against right-handers, was a different beast entirely.

“Try not to let the game speed up, slow everything down, and just try to get the ball over the plate, just like a normal hitter,” McFarlane said. “Obviously Ohtani’s Ohtani, but I’m just trying to get the ball over the plate. Trust my stuff.”

Ohtani has not had recent success at the plate against the Phillies. Citizens Bank Park remains one of two active major league ballparks he has yet to homer in during either the regular season or postseason. He was 1-for-12 against the Phillies this week, with that one hit being a single.

Ohtani had been aggressive early in counts all night Wednesday and he attacked McFarlane no differently, pouncing on a first-pitch 100.3 mph fastball that McFarlane dotted on the bottom inside corner of the strike zone. Ohtani hit it well, but it just stayed in the ballpark for a fly out, the first major league out of McFarlane’s career.

“It was a high fly ball, but had no idea what the result would be,” McFarlane said. “Just took it as it was. Didn’t think it was gonna get out, but first time on this field, you never know what the ball flight looks like.”

McFarlane had been called up from double-A Reading earlier in the week as a reinforcement for a Phillies bullpen that has been a revolving door of struggles and injuries. It marks his second stint with the Phillies, after previously being called up on April 24 and then being sent back the next day without appearing in a game.

This time, the Phillies wanted to see what he could do — if he could be a potential internal solution for a bullpen unit that has been searching for answers for most of the year.

His triple-digit fastball velocity and his slider have made McFarlane the Phillies’ No. 14 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. In 35 innings in double A this year, he has a 2.06 ERA and 47 strikeouts.

Walks have been somewhat of an issue — he has a 12.7% walk rate — but in his outing on Wednesday, McFarlane was able to get the Dodgers to chase.

Once Ohtani was retired, he still had the rest of the top of the Dodgers order to contend with. Andy Pages bit on a sinker below the zone to ground out.

“Really exciting to face those guys, especially my first debut. Get some good experience in there and take it on to the next outing,” McFarlane said.

Freddie Freeman singled on a fastball inside, but McFarlane rebounded with a groundout of Max Muncy to end the top of the ninth. He wasn’t even fazed by a mid-inning catcher change, as Rafael Marchán had to be taken out during Pages’ at-bat due to left knee pain, with J.T. Realmuto coming off the bench. Marchán was scheduled to undergo further imaging on Thursday.

“Tough spot for him, too,” said interim manager Don Mattingly. “He’s coming in at Ohtani and has to run through the lefties. Not something we want to do, but in that game, it felt like the right time to get him in and get him at least out on the mound one time.”

McFarlane had his mother and girlfriend in the stands to witness his debut. He doesn’t know how long he’ll remain in the majors, and if he’ll stay up long enough to get another opportunity.

But every chance he gets, McFarlane, who was born in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, will take pride in representing his home on the biggest stage.

By walking to the mound on Wednesday, he officially became the 16th player from the Virgin Islands to make it to the major leagues. He has the words “VI STRONG” written on his left forearm as a reminder.

“Just understanding where I came from,” he said. “It’s a long journey, and extremely grateful for the opportunity to be here today to represent them.”