Alex Wood (baseball)

Alex Wood

Wood with the Mississippi Braves
Los Angeles Dodgers – No. 57
Pitcher
Born: (1991-01-12) January 12, 1991
Charlotte, North Carolina
Bats: Right Throws: Left
MLB debut
May 30, 2013, for the Atlanta Braves
MLB statistics
(through 2016 season)
Win–loss record 27–30
Earned run average 3.35
Strikeouts 452
Teams

Robert Alexander "Alex" Wood (born January 12, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Before playing professional baseball, Wood played for his high school team at Ardrey Kell High School and college baseball for the Georgia Bulldogs. He made his MLB debut during the 2013 season for the Atlanta Braves.

Amateur career

Wood attended Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte, North Carolina.[1] Playing for the school's baseball team, he was named the North Carolina Class 4A player of the year in 2009.[2]

He enrolled at the University of Georgia, where he played college baseball for the Georgia Bulldogs baseball team.[3] Wood was redshirted during his first season at Georgia because he had required Tommy John surgery after his senior season of high school baseball. At Georgia, Wood had a 13-10 win-loss record and a 3.57 ERA in 32 games pitched. He struck out 180 batters and walked 47 in  204 1⁄3 innings.[4]

Professional career

Atlanta Braves

Wood before a Braves game (2014)

The Atlanta Braves selected Wood in the second round of the 2012 MLB Draft. He played for the Rome Braves of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2012, where he pitched in 13 games, going 4-3 with a 2.22 earned run average (ERA) and 52 strikeouts.[3] He began the 2013 season with the Mississippi Braves of the Class AA Southern League.[5]

After pitching in ten games the first two months of the season and posting an ERA of 1.26, the Braves promoted him to the major leagues on May 30.[6] That night, in his major league debut, he pitched the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays. Wood made his first major league start on June 18, 2013 where he allowed one run and earned his first loss.[7] He was optioned to the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves on July 13,[8] and was recalled on July 25.[9] Wood had the third lowest earned run average, in the month of August 2013, of any rookie in MLB since 1955.[10]

Wood finished the 2014 season with an 11-11 record and a 2.78 ERA in 171.2 innings with 170 strikeouts.[11][12]

Los Angeles Dodgers

On July 30, 2015, in a three-team trade, the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Wood, Mat Latos, Michael Morse, Bronson Arroyo, Jim Johnson, Luis Avilán, and José Peraza, while the Miami Marlins acquired minor league pitchers Victor Araujo, Jeff Brigham, and Kevin Guzman, and the Braves received Héctor Olivera, Paco Rodriguez, minor league pitcher Zachary Bird and a competitive balance draft pick for the 2016 MLB Draft.[13] He joined the Dodgers starting rotation and was 5–6 with a 4.35 ERA in 12 starts for them.[14]

Wood began 2016 in the Dodgers starting rotation. He made 10 starts in April and May and was 1–4 with a 3.99 ERA.[15] On May 21 against the San Diego Padres he struck out a career high 13 batters in only six innings of work, the first Dodgers pitcher in history to have struckout that many in so few innings.[16] However, he reported that he was not feeling 100% after a May 30 outing against the Chicago Cubs.[17] An MRI exam the next day revealed a posterior impingement in his left elbow, requiring four weeks of rest, and he was placed on the disabled list.[18] On June 16, he reported that the infringement subsided after he had some fluid drained from his elbow and he would be cleared to resume a throwing program a few days earlier than expected.[19] He threw a simulated game against minor league hitters on July 16 and early reports were that it went well.[20] However, shortly afterwards it was determined that he would need elbow debridement surgery, which would cause him to miss an additional two months.[21] He did not rejoin the Dodgers roster until September 20.[22] Overall he appeared in 14 games for the Dodgers in 2016 (10 starts) and was 1–4 with a 3.73 ERA.[23] The Dodgers did not carry Wood on their roster for the first round of the playoffs, but on October 15, he was added to their roster for the league championship series.[24][25] He pitched two scoreless innings in that series.[23]

Pitching style

Wood pitches with a herky-jerky three-quarters delivery. He throws a four-seam fastball 91 to 95 miles per hour (146–153 km/h), a two-seam sinker 91 to 95 mph (146 to 153 km/h), a changeup 84 to 85 miles per hour (135–137 km/h), and a knuckle curve 79 to 81 miles per hour (127–130 km/h).[10][26][27][28]

References

  1. ↑ "Charlotte native makes MLB debut with Atlanta Braves". WCNC-TV. May 31, 2013. Archived from the original on March 15, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  2. ↑ "HIGH SCHOOL NOTEBOOK, ARDREY KELL'S WOOD, SOUTH STANLY'S POPLIN HONORED". Charlotte Observer. July 14, 2009. p. 2C. Retrieved September 27, 2013. (subscription required)
  3. 1 2 Bowman, Mark (May 24, 2013). "Prospect Alex Wood making impression on Braves | braves.com: News". Atlanta.braves.mlb.com. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  4. ↑ Towers, Chip (June 5, 2012). "UGA's Alex Wood thrilled to be drafted by Atlanta Braves". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  5. ↑ Curtright, Guy (April 16, 2013). "SL notes: Wood struts 'nasty' stuff | MiLB.com News | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Milb.com. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  6. ↑ Rodgers, Carroll (February 29, 2012). "Braves promote left-hander Alex Wood". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  7. ↑ "New York Mets (26-40) 4, Atlanta Braves (42-29) 3 - June 18, 2013". MLB.com.. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Alex Wood News: Wood was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday.". The Score. July 14, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Braves recall Wood to take Hudson's roster spot". Fox News. July 25, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  10. 1 2 Cicchella, Joel (September 5, 2013). "Getting to Know The Braves' Alex Wood: A Scouting Report & Outlook". Roto Professor. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  11. ↑ http://www.si.com/fantasy/2015/02/12/alex-wood-atlanta-braves-fantasy-baseball-player-profile
  12. ↑ http://atlantabraves.blog.ajc.com/2015/02/10/go-ahead-and-doubt-alex-wood-braves-lefty-thrives-on-it/
  13. ↑ Bowman, Mark (July 30, 2015). "Braves to get Olivera in huge 3-team deal". MLB.com. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Alex Wood 2015 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Alex Wood 2016 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  16. ↑ Weisman, Jon (May 21, 2016). "Alex Wood sets career high in strikeouts with 13". Dodgers.com. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  17. ↑ Hoornstra, J.P. (May 30, 2016). "LA Dodgers muster only one hit in 2-0 loss to Chicago Cubs". LA Daily News. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  18. ↑ Stephen, Eric (June 1, 2016). "Alex Wood to rest 4 weeks after MRI reveals elbow impingement". SB Nation. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  19. ↑ Hoornstra, J.P. (June 16, 2016). "LA Dodgers' Alex Wood gets good news, will begin throwing next week". LA Daily News. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  20. ↑ Gurnick, Ken (July 16, 2016). "Kershaw, Wood make strides in sim games". mlb.com. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  21. ↑ McCullough, Andy (July 20, 2016). "Dodgers' Alex Wood will miss an estimated eight weeks after elbow procedure". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  22. ↑ Stephen, Eric (September 20, 2016). "Dodgers activate Alex Wood from DL, DFA Bud Norris". SB Nation. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  23. 1 2 "Alex Wood Statistics & History". Baseball Reference.
  24. ↑ Axsia, Mike (October 7, 2016). "MLB Postseason 2016: Dodgers and Nationals announce NLDS rosters". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  25. ↑ McCollough, Andy (October 16, 2016). "Dodgers add Enrique Hernandez, Alex Wood to NLCS roster against Cubs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  26. ↑ Rogers, Carroll (May 30, 2013). "Braves promote left-hander Alex Wood". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  27. ↑ Jones, Landon (December 19, 2013). "Alex Wood and small samples". Beyondd the Boxscore. SBNation. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  28. ↑ "Alex Wood Pitch Repertoire At-A-Glance". Brooks Baseball. Retrieved March 15, 2014.

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