LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 14: Pitcher Alex Wood #57 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws against the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning at Dodger Stadium August 14, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
By Alex Putterman on

Major League Baseball announced the All-Star Game fill-ins Friday, sending a group of worthy honorees to Miami. Chris Archer is one of the best pitchers in baseball, Robinson Cano is a future Hall of Famer, Justin Upton is having a renaissance season and Roberto Osuna, Chris Devenski and Brandon Kintzler are all having big years out of the bullpen.

But the most impressive of the new group of All-Stars has to be Alex Wood, the Dodgers lefty who has, out of nowhere, become a shutdown ace.

Wood is a few innings away from qualifying for the ERA title, but if he did he’d lead the Majors with a 1.71 mark. His win-loss record is an MLB-best 10-0, if you’re into that, and he has allowed less than a baserunner per inning. His 30.9 percent strikeout rate and 2.04 FIP suggest he’s not just getting lucky on batted balls—he’s really dominating opponents. Baseball-Reference says he’s been the seventh best pitcher in the National League, while FanGraphs has him third.

Little in Wood’s past suggests he had this kind of run in him. He flashed some potential with the Braves in 2014 but saw his ERA balloon a full run a year later. Having been traded to the Dodgers (in a deal that now looks like a steal for L.A.), he missed most of the 2016 season with an elbow issue, posting so-so numbers when he was on the mound.

Entering this season, the Dodgers didn’t consider Wood one of their five best starters, sending him to the bullpen in April. Wood snuck into the rotation after an injury to Rich Hill and has been near unhittable since. Over his past nine starts, he has allowed six runs in 56 innings (0.96 ERA), while striking out 70.

And so a year after suffering a serious elbow injury and three months after being shipped to the bullpen, Alex Wood is headed to the All-Star Game, replacing his teammate Clayton Kershaw on the roster. That’s as cool—and improbable—a story as you’ll see in baseball this year.

About Alex Putterman

Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.

View all posts by Alex Putterman