Stephen Hugo Woods Jr. (born June 10, 1995) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Fubon Guardians The Fubon Guardians () are a professional baseball team in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan. The team is owned by Fubon Financial Holding Co. and play their home games at Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium in New Taipei City. ...

of the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL).

Amateur career

Woods attended Half Hollow Hills East High School in

Dix Hills, New York Dix Hills is an affluent hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on Long Island in the town of Huntington in Suffolk County, New York. The population was 26,892 at the 2010 census. In the past, Dix Hills and some of its neighbors have propos ...

. While pitching for the school's baseball team in 2013, he threw two consecutive

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

s. The

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

selected Woods in the sixth round of the

2013 MLB draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

, but he did not sign with the Rays. He enrolled at

State University of New York at Albany The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...

, and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Albany Great Danes The Albany Great Danes are the NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic programs of the University at Albany, SUNY, located in Albany, New York, United States. A member of the America East Conference, the University at Albany, SUNY sponsors team ...

. In the summer of 2014, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the North Fork Ospreys of the

Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League The Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League (HCBL) is a summer baseball organization located in The Hamptons in the U.S. state of New York. It is a seven-team league consisting of the Sag Harbor Whalers, Southampton Breakers, Westhampton Aviators ...

, and in the summer of 2015 he played for the

Wareham Gatemen The Wareham Gatemen are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Wareham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Gatemen play their home games at Clem Spillane Fi ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

Professional career

San Francisco Giants

After his junior year, the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

selected Woods in the eighth round of the

2016 MLB draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

. Woods signed with the Giants rather than return to Albany for his senior year. He spent his first professional season with both the

AZL Giants The Arizona Complex League Giants are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the San Francisco Giants in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Scottsdale Stadium in Sc ...

and the Low-A

Salem-Keizer Volcanoes The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes are a baseball team located in Keizer, Oregon, who are charter members of the Mavericks Independent Baseball League, a four-team league entirely based in the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area and playing all their home ...

, posting a combined 1–2 record and 3.34 ERA in 35 total innings. In 2017, he played for the Single-A

Augusta GreenJackets The Augusta GreenJackets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at SRP Park in North Augusta, South Carolina, which opened in April 2018. They previous ...

, going 6–7 with a 2.95 ERA in 110 innings.

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 20, 2017, the Giants traded Woods,

Denard Span Keiunta Denard Span (born February 27, 1984) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mar ...

Christian Arroyo Christian Israel Arroyo (born May 30, 1995) is an American professional baseball infielder for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays, and Cleveland Indians. Lis ...

, and

Matt Krook Matthew Edward Krook (born October 21, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). A native of Hillsborough, California, Krook pitched for the Oregon Ducks and was drafted by the Mi ...

to the

in exchange for

Evan Longoria Evan Michael Longoria (born October 7, 1985), nicknamed "Longo", is an American professional baseball third baseman who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2008 through 2017, and the S ...

and cash considerations. He did not pitch in 2018 due to injury. Woods returned to pitch in 2019, spending the year with the High-A

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

and compiling a 9–3 record with a 1.88 ERA over 18 games (12 starts), striking out 79 over innings.

Kansas City Royals

On December 12, 2019, Woods was selected by the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

in the 2019 Rule 5 draft. On July 21, 2020, Woods was returned to the Rays organization, but was traded back to the Royals the same day in exchange for a player to be named later. The Royals sent outfielder Michael Gigliotti to Tampa Bay on September 12 as the PTBNL. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 since the season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He was assigned to the Double-A

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The ...

to begin the 2021 season. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

Long Island Ducks

On April 5, 2023, Woods signed with the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor-league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "partne ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. After becoming a starting pitcher again, he made 6 starts and posted a 4–0 record and 3.03 ERA with 31 strikeouts. He would be named named the ALPB Co–Pitcher of the Month for April/May alongside Mitch Lambson of the

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are an American professional baseball team based in Waldorf, Maryland. They are members of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseba ...

. Woods made 11 total starts for the Ducks, registering a 7–2 record and 3.77 ERA with 60 strikeouts in innings pitched.

Fubon Guardians

On July 5, 2023, Woods's contract was purchased by the

of the

(CPBL).

International career

Woods played for the

Italy national baseball team The Italy national baseball team represents Italy in international baseball competitions. The Italian national team was ranked 17th in the world as of 2020. The team is managed by Mike Piazza, a former New York Mets player and Major League Baseba ...

at the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally set for 2021 (as per tradition to hold the event every four years), but wa ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Stephen 1995 births Living people Baseball players from Suffolk County, New York American people of Italian descent Wareham Gatemen players Albany Great Danes baseball Augusta GreenJackets players Arizona League Giants players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Long Island Ducks players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Salem-Keizer Volcanoes players Surprise Saguaros players 2023 World Baseball Classic players Fubon Guardians players

Amateur career

Professional career

San Francisco Giants

Tampa Bay Rays

Kansas City Royals

Long Island Ducks

Fubon Guardians

International career

See also

References

External links