SEC Baseball’s Potential Biggest Draft Sleeper: Georgia LHP Jaden Woods

While the SEC has numerous players who are locks to be 1st rounders in next weeks MLB draft (Sunday, July 9th-Tuesday, July 11th), there is a large group of SEC players who are hoping to hear their names called after the first couple of rounds and work their way up and land in the majors as productive players. One of those players who actually has very high potential to be an impact player from this draft in my opinion is Georgia LHP Jaden Woods.

Woods was a highly ranked prep left-hander out of Houston County HS in Warner Robins, Ga. who had some draft hype out of HS in the class of 2020. However, he was a victim of the shortened five round MLB Covid Draft and he went undrafted, thus he held up his college commitment and went to in-state Georgia.

It was a turbulent career for Woods at Georgia where he flashed his potential at times, but overall did not have the best overall numbers. Many expected Woods to lock down a rotation spot early in his career, but instead he served as a long reliever in his Freshman season, the team’s closer in his Sophomore season (with a few longer relief stints mixed in), and then finally stepped in as UGA’s Friday Night starter this past year in his Junior year.

Overall across his three seasons at Georgia, Woods has an 8-5 record, 4.97 ERA, 195 strikeouts, and four saves across 155 2/3 innings pitched. In his Freshman season, he went 4-1, with a 4.58 ERA, and 53 strikeouts across 53 innings (17 appearances (4 starts)). In his Sophomore season, he went 1-1, with a 4.64 ERA, and 80 strikeouts across 54 1/3 innings (25 appearances (1 start)). In his Junior season this past year, Woods went 3-3, with a 5.77 ERA, and 62 strikeouts across 48 1/3 innings (10 appearances (all starts).

The two biggest issues that plagued Woods throughout his three year Georgia career were command (throughout his three years, Woods walked 82 batters in his 155 2/3 innings (4.7 walks per 9 innings)) and then a biceps injury that derailed his 2023 campaign (limiting him to just 10 starts as he missed most of the end of the season). Woods also struggled a bit with the long-ball, giving up 30 homers in his Georgia career.

Is Georgia LHP Jaden Woods the SEC’s biggest potential 2023 MLB Draft sleeper?

Now to what gives Woods so much potential. He has two plus pitches in his fastball and a funky slider. He also has a changeup that is a work in progress, but could develop into a capable pitch. Those two pitches however provide a quality two pitch mix. Stuff wise, Woods has a lot of what you want out of the fastball and the slider.

Woods’ fastball is low-to-mid 90’s from the left side. As a reliever he has the potential to sit in the 94-96 range, but mainly sat in the 90-92 range as a starter. A low-to-mid 90’s fastball is a big plus for a lefty, and Woods has shown the ability to throw it with good movement as well. The slider sits in the low-80’s when he uses it out of the pen and it has good break.

Woods is a candidate to go in the 6th-10th rounds due to his upside. MLB.com has Woods ranked as the #236 ranked prospect in the draft, while ProspectsLive has him ranked at #203. Both of those projections would have him going in the 7th or 8th round. The biggest factor in where he gets drafted might be whether teams are sure that he will sign.

While it’s possible that another season at Georgia could help him move up in next years draft with more refinement, Woods was honored on Senior Day which as just a third year player might signal his intentions to sign if he gets drafted in the top 10 rounds.

While an organization might start Woods out in the rotation to see if he can stick there, I believe his most likely landing spot is in the bullpen somewhere. Whether he lands in the rotation or in the pen will depend on whether he can maintain his movement on his fastball/slider in longer outings as a starter (whether his “stuff” can hold up), and whether he can develop his changeup into a capable third pitch.

In my opinion, Woods has the potential to be a strong late-inning reliever from the left side with a mid-90’s fastball and a plus-slider. Woods had arguably his best season in 2022 when he had a bit more of a defined bullpen role and was only averaging around two innings per appearance. He was able to hone in his fastball and slider a lot more. In that 2022 season, Woods struck out a very strong 13.3 batters per 9 innings. While there’s some risk in picking a player who did not have a sub-4.50 ERA in any of his three seasons in college, he has a lot of potential. Getting into a strong MLB organization and development plan could work wonders for Jaden Woods.