Blake Wood

Blake Daniel Wood

• Bats Right, Throws RIght
• Height 6' 4", Weight 225 lb.
• School Georgia Tech
• High School North Gwinnett High School
• Debut May 12, 2010
• Final Game April 21, 2018
• Born August 8, 1985 in Atlanta, GA USA

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Biographical information

Blake Wood is a pitcher who made his major league debut with the Kansas City Royals in 2010.

Wood was drafted in the third round of the 2006 amateur draft by the Royals. He was signed by scout Spencer Graham and began his professional career that season. Playing for the Idaho Falls Chukars, he went 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 12 starts.

He pitched for three teams in 2007 - the AZL Royals (0-0, 0.00 ERA in four starts), the Burlington Bees (2-1, 3.03 ERA in seven starts) and the Wilmington Blue Rocks (0-1, 4.66 ERA in two starts) - going a combined 2-2 with a 2.78 ERA in 13 starts.

In 2008, Wood pitched for the Blue Rocks (3-2, 2.67 ERA in 10 starts) and Northwest Arkansas Naturals (5-7, 5.30 ERA in 18 starts), going a combined 8-9 with a 4.25 ERA in 28 starts. In 144 innings, he allowed only 128 hits. Though he spent three games (two starts) with the AZL Royals in 2009, he spent most of the season with the Naturals, going 2-8 with a 5.83 ERA in 17 games (13 starts) with them. Overall, he went 2-9 with a 5.55 ERA in 2009.

Wood started 2010 with the AAA Omaha Royals, where he was used as a relief pitcher to accelerate his arrival in the big leagues. He gave up only 4 earned runs and 12 hits over his first 16⅔ innings while earning 5 saves, which punched his ticket to The Show on May 12, replacing veteran Josh Rupe in the bullpen. He made his debut that day, pitching a scoreless inning against the Cleveland Indians. He went 1-3, 5.07 in 51 relief appearances during his rookie year. In 2011, he improved to 5-3, 3.75 in 55 games, registering his first major league save as part of a very good young bullpen that also included closer Joakim Soria, and excellent rookies Aaron Crow, Tim Collins and Louis Coleman.

Wood underwent Tommy John surgery, performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum, on May 18, 2012, the same day as teammate Danny Duffy. He had opened the season on the disabled list and had yet to pitch that year. He underwent a second Tommy John surgery in 2018.

Related Sites

• Blake Wood on mlb.com