FAYETTEVILLE -- The first night of the Major League Baseball Draft in Atlanta was a record one for the Arkansas Razorbacks with four players taken.
The first Razorback taken was pitcher Gage Wood at 26 by Philadelphia Phillies. The Baltimore Orioles followed at 31 drafting shortstop Wehiwa Aloy. The Los Angeles Dodgers with back-to-back picks took pitcher Zach Root and outfielder Charles Davalan with the 40th and 41st picks.
Wood's slot value has a value of $3.49 million. While some on the telecast predicted Wood could be in the majors this year, but Phillies assistant general manager of amateur scouting Brian Barber downplayed that expectation.
“I don’t think it’s ever really easy to predict how fast a person is going to have the ability to move,” Barber told MLB.com “I do know he has the potential to move quickly, just because he does the two things: it’s already more ‘now’ stuff that you don’t have to project a ton on.
“Obviously, we think there are certain things … especially his slider shape that we think we can enhance a little bit. But he also already throws strikes. You don’t normally have an opportunity, especially at No. 26, to select a college pitcher with stuff in such a dominating performance when he was on the mound.”
Wood (4-1, 3.42 ERA in 10 starts) was injured early in the season, but was dominant in his final outing as pitched a no-hitter while fanning 19 in a 5-0 win over Murray State at the College World Series. It was the first no-hitter in the College World Series in 50 years.
“He came back super strong at the end,” Barber said, referring to Wood’s 119-pitch no-hitter. “He’s a strong-body competitor that goes out there with big stuff.
“It’s a guy that can just dominate hitters through the lineup with two pitches. We see him as a starter. “You see those dominating two pitches and people are going to automatically think, ‘Move to the bullpen.’ But this is a guy who’s shown the ability to do it.”
ESPN's Kyle Peterson also praised the selection of Wood.
“There are celebrations in draft rooms and then there’s what is happening right now in Philadelphia,” Peterson said. “Because to get Gage Wood there, it was the best swing and miss fastball in the entire country this year.”
Tennessee Coach Tony Vitello served as an analyst on the MLB Network's coverage of the draft. He too praised Wood.
“When he got that pitch count (up), nobody really got to him and it was because of the fastball,” Vitello said. “He thinks, according to his teammates and coaches, no one can touch his four-seam fastball…It’s grip and rip, and the statistics kind of back up his opinion.”
Wood, the Razorback closer as a freshman, was 9-3 overall in his three years at Arkansas with 55 appearances, 13 of which were starts. He had 42 of his first 45 appearances come out of the bullpen.
Aloy won the Golden Spikes Award. His slot value at 31 is $3.04 million. Aloy had been predicted to be the first Razorback off the board. Matt Blood, Baltimore’s vice president of player development and domestic scouting, was very surprised Aloy was still there at No. 31.
“We really like just the way he goes about playing the game, and his skill set,” Blood said. “So we see a lot of upside with him, and we did not expect him to get where we were able to draft him.”
Aloy was tabbed as the nation’s top collegiate player after hitting .350 with 21 home runs and 68 RBIs this season for the Razorbacks. He spent his freshman season at Sacramento State before coming to Arkansas, where he hit .270 with 14 home runs and 56 RBIS in 2024.
“When he’s at the plate, I know we’ll talk about one moment he can swing and miss and you make him look foolish, but the next moment he’s one click away from embarrassing your guy and hitting it over the fence,” Vitello said. “I really, really like his swing when he stays through the ball.”
Root’s slot value is $2.44 million and Davalan’s $2.39 million. Davalan hit .346 with 14 home runs and 60 RBIs while landing first-team All-SEC honors in his only season at Arkansas. Root was 9-6 with a and posted a 3.62 ERA in 19 starts for the Razorbacks.
Vitello had funny praise for Root who was dominating against his Vols.
“He’s the type of guy that when you’re in the opposing dugout you want to punch him in the face or hit him in the back, but you’re also saying in the back of your mind, ‘I would kill to be in the same dugout as this guy,’” Vitello said. “I know that’s a backward compliment, that’s my way of saying I am all in on this dude.”
No other current Razorbacks or Arkansas signees were taken during Sunday’s first three rounds with the rounds 4-20 set to be drafted this morning beginning at 10:30 a.m.