| Stephen Woods Jr. | |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Team: | Long Island Ducks |
| Number: | 21 |
| Bats: | Right |
| Throws: | Right |
| Birth Date: | 10 June 1995 |
| Birth Place: | Huntington, New York |
| Debutleague: | CPBL |
| Debutdate: | August 2 |
| Debutyear: | 2023 |
| Debutteam: | Fubon Guardians |
| Statleague: | CPBL |
| Statyear: | 2023 season |
| Stat1label: | Win–loss record |
| Stat1value: | 0–2 |
| Stat2label: | Earned run average |
| Stat2value: | 12.54 |
| Stat3label: | Strikeouts |
| Stat3value: | 3 |
| Teams: | |
Stephen Hugo Woods Jr. (born June 10, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has previously played in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) for the Fubon Guardians.
Woods attended Half Hollow Hills East High School in Dix Hills, New York. While pitching for the school's baseball team in 2013, he threw two consecutive no-hitters.[1]
The Tampa Bay Rays selected Woods in the sixth round of the 2013 MLB draft, but he did not sign with the Rays. He enrolled at State University of New York at Albany, and played college baseball for the Albany Great Danes. In the summer of 2014, he played collegiate summer baseball for the North Fork Ospreys of the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League,[2] and in the summer of 2015 he played for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[3]
After his junior year, the San Francisco Giants selected Woods in the eighth round of the 2016 MLB draft. Woods signed with the Giants rather than return to Albany for his senior year.[4] [5] He spent his first professional season with both the AZL Giants and the Low-A Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, posting a combined 1–2 record and 3.34 ERA in 35 total innings. In 2017, he played for the Single-A Augusta GreenJackets, going 6–7 with a 2.95 ERA in 110 innings.[6]
On December 20, 2017, the Giants traded Woods, Denard Span, Christian Arroyo, and Matt Krook to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Evan Longoria and cash considerations.[7] 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 and compiling a 9–3 record with a 1.88 ERA over 18 games (12 starts), striking out 79 over innings.
On December 12, 2019, Woods was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 2019 Rule 5 draft.[8] 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.[9] The Royals sent outfielder Michael Gigliotti to Tampa Bay on September 12 as the PTBNL.[10] He did not play a minor league game in 2020 since the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] He was assigned to the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals to begin the 2021 season. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.
On April 5, 2023, Woods signed with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.[12] He was named the ALPB Co–Pitcher of the Month for April/May alongside Mitch Lambson of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.[13] Woods made 11 total starts for the Ducks, registering a 7–2 record and 3.77 ERA with 60 strikeouts in innings pitched.
On July 5, 2023, Woods's contract was purchased by the Fubon Guardians of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.[14] In 3 starts for Fubon, he struggled to an 0–2 record and 12.54 ERA with 3 strikeouts across innings pitched. On August 30, Woods was released by the Guardians.[15]
On March 26, 2024, Woods signed with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.[16]
Woods played for the Italy national baseball team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.[17] [18]