Georgia Bulldogs pitcher Jaden Woods selected by Pirates in 2023 MLB Draft

One of the key pitchers from the 2023 Georgia Bulldogs baseball team has found a new home at the next level. The Bulldogs’ left-handed pitcher Jaden Woods has just heard his name called in the 2023 MLB Draft. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected him with the No. 197 overall pick.

At Georgia, Woods was primarily used in relief out of the bullpen his first two seasons. Last year the Bulldogs elected to put him into the starting rotation, where he would start and play in 10 games. In his 10 appearances on the mound, woods went 3-3 with an ERA of 5.77 and 48.1 innings of work. He finished the year with 62 strikeouts, 25 walks and gave up nine home runs.  

What experts are saying about Woods

MLB.com has Woods ranked as the No. 236 overall prospect ahead of the 2023 MLB Draft. According to their scouting report, Woods has the upside, something that made him an intriguing prospect in the 2020 MLB draft. However, his struggles at Georgia cannot be overlooked. 

“Woods’ fastball has gone from the upper 80s in high school to 92-96 mph with riding action last fall before he parked at 90-92 mph and maxed out at 94 as a starter. His breaking ball is a hard slurve that grades as a plus pitch with sweep and depth at its best, sitting in the low 80s when he came out of the bullpen and dropping to the upper 70s when he worked out of the rotation. He’ll need to refine his changeup, which is a bit firm in the mid-80s and has modest action.  

“At this point, scouts are skeptical that Woods can maintain quality stuff or throw enough strikes to thrive as a starter. He’s athletic and doesn’t have any glaring flaws in his delivery, yet his control has been sporadic at best. He still has value as a lefty reliever who could have two plus offerings in shorter stints,” according to the team at MLB.com. 

More on the 2023 MLB Draft

The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft will begin during All-Star week, with the first two rounds getting underway at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. Rounds 3-10 will then begin at 2 p.m. ET on Monday, July 10, with rounds 11-20 starting at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 11.

This year’s MLB Draft is a historic one, as a draft lottery was used to determine the order for the first time. The Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics each had a 16.5% chance to receive the No. 1 overall pick. Ultimately, Pittsburgh won the right to have the first selection, with Washington finishing right behind them at No. 2. Oakland, however, fell all the way down to No. 6 overall.

While the MLB Draft is always unpredictable, the consensus is that this year’s top prospects both hail from LSU, who won the 2023 College World Series. Pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews headline this year’s class, which is considered a deep one.

Within the first ten rounds of the draft, each slot is assigned a certain value. Each team has a bonus pool that they are able to spend on these picks, and players will sign at, above or below their assigned slot value.

In rounds 11-20, there is no assigned slot value and MLB teams are free to spend up to $150,000 to sign their picks from the second half of the draft. If they exceed the $150,000 mark, that added amount will be deducted from their bonus pool.

Following the final day of the 2023 MLB Draft, selected players will have until August 1 to sign a contract.