The Rays spent the 131st overall pick on Austin Wood.
Follow the jump for his pre-draft profile.
Austin Wood Position: RHP School: St. Petersburg JC State: FL Year: So. Height: 6’4’’ Weight: 220
Birth Date: 7/11/90 Seiler Rating: 2C1 Commitment: USC Last Drafted: 2008 (HOU-36)
|
Year |
W |
L |
ERA |
G |
GS |
SV |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
HR |
BB |
SO |
|
2009* |
0 |
0 |
6.35 |
9 |
5 |
0 |
22.2 |
24 |
22 |
16 |
2 |
25 |
13 |
|
2010 |
3 |
4 |
4.81 |
16 |
|
0 |
43.0 |
45 |
27 |
23 |
|
21 |
42 |
*At Florida State
Austin Wood is a powerful right-handed pitcher from St. Petersburg Junior College in Florida. Wood originally attended Niceville High School in Niceville, Florida, a town in the Florida panhandle that is essentially surrounded by Eglin Air Force Base. He was high school teammates with left-hander Brett DeVall, who went in the supplemental first round of the 2008 draft, while Wood fell to the thirty-sixth round, when the Astros spent a late-round flier on him. He didn’t sign, and instead he took his game to Florida State, where he was expected to be a big producer for them. However, after a disappointing freshman year in which he battled severe control problems, he decided to transfer out to St. Petersburg, and despite big stuff, he failed to take much of a step forward this spring. He has the raw stuff of someone who could be a number three starter or power setup man, but control problems continue to plague him, and until those issues are resolved, his ceiling is limited. His arsenal starts with a plus fastball that sits 92-94, touching 97 during a few late-season relief appearances once he lost his starting rotation job. His raw arm strength and frame are the big positives in his scouting reports, though, as the rest of his arsenal is lacking. His slider is a potential solid-average pitch that he can’t command, and he adds in a potential above-average changeup, another pitch he can’t command. With such control problems, the best thing to do sometimes is to take the minor league ladder one step at a time, which is likely in his situation. He’s a probably third to fifth round pick, and though he can continue to play ball at Southern California, the likely departure of the coach there means he’s probably signable.