Wood to pitch in Cape Cod All-Star Game at Fenway Park

Austin Wood may be among the top college pitching prospects in the country, but his inner 8-year-old came out when he visited Fenway Park recently.

“I felt like a little kid,” the former Niceville star said. “I probably took 50 pictures in front of the Green Monster. … It’s such a legendary field. When I walked in there, I got the chills.”

Imagine then how he’s going to feel taking the mound in a live game at the historic Boston Red Sox ballpark.

Wood has earned that honor after being selected to play in the Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game on Wednesday at Fenway. The contest, which will showcase many of the prestigious summer league’s best players, will be televised live on CBS College Sports Network and should draw a sizable crowd.

“Last year there were 16,000 people, and it was pouring down rain,” said Wood, who will pitch for the West Division. “They’re estimating 20,000 people, and that would be pretty cool.”

Wood’s election to the game was hardly a surprise. As of Wednesday’s games, the Cotuit Kettleers’ hurler had a league-best 0.58 ERA and was tied for second with three wins. In 31 innings, he’s only allowed 13 hits and struck out 24 while holding opponents to a .125 batting average.

This week Wood was named Cape Cod’s Pitcher of the Week after allowing six hits and a single run in 12 2/3 innings pitched. He’s been consistently overwhelming the opposition, never allowing more than one earned run in any of his six appearances, which includes five starts that have seen him go five or more innings in each one.

Wood, who pitched this past season for St. Petersburg College, has touched 98 mph on the radar gun with his fastball but credits complementary pitches such as his changeup for his success along with keeping the ball down.

“He’s thrown his breaking ball once in a while as an out pitch,” Cotuit assistant coach Kevin Kime told Cape Cod Baseball League writer Ashley Crosby. “But he’s got a good change of velocity going from 95 and 97 to about a 10 mph difference in his changeup. He’s seen a lot of success with that, a lot of push-pull fastball changeup stuff.”

Wood was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the fourth round of this year’s Major League Baseball draft. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-hander has until Aug. 17 to sign a big-league contract with the Rays or, if he doesn’t, Wood will enter his junior year at the University of Southern California after signing scholarship papers with the Trojans.

In essence, Wood is negotiating with the Rays every time he pitches at Cape Cod.

“I almost see it like a job interview,” said Wood, noting that Rays personnel have been at every game he’s pitched and “they’re definitely taking notes and know I’m doing well.”

Wood said his last start before the all-star game will be today. In June, the Cape Cod position players worked out for scouts at Fenway while the pitchers came along and shagged fly balls and visited the famed ballpark.

The iconic Green Monster, which is 37 feet high and 240 feet long, was expectedly the biggest attention-grabber. Wood said the players were in awe of the towering left-field fence.

“I think the whole team was pretty much living a dream,” he said. “After that, it made me want to make the all-star team even more.”

And he did, accomplishing one of his primary goals this summer in Cape Cod. Wood is relishing the opportunity and can’t wait to trot out to the mound at Fenway. Pitchers will throw one inning apiece at the all-star game.

“I’m more pumped for it than I am nervous,” he said. “I want to go out there and continue to do what I’ve been doing and have fun.”