PHOENIX — When former Arizona State standout Gage Workman was picked in December’s Rule 5 Draft by the Chicago Cubs, his father, Widd, quickly pulled up their schedule.
“He was like, ‘Wow, you open up with the D-backs,'” Workman told Arizona Sports on Sunday.
There were no guarantees Workman would make it that far, but fast forward to Saturday, the Sun Devil and Chandler native took the field for his major league debut against his hometown team.
“You couldn’t write it up any better,” Workman said. “It’s been really cool. Just family everywhere. It’s just a special thing.
“I don’t know (how many people came out to watch), so many, I mean, people that I probably didn’t even know were here. There’s too many to count.”
He called his wife and his parents after learning he’d be in the starting nine at third base, joking the news then spread like wildfire.
Workman went 0-for-2 but made a slick backhanded play to retire Arizona’s Eugenio Suarez. The Cubs defeated the Diamondbacks, 4-3.
Now 25 years old, Workman is hoping to establish himself as a major leaguer, part of a storied lineage of Sun Devils in the pros. He’s not alone, as he has former ASU teammates around the majors and minors, such as Detroit’s Spencer Torkelson and Kansas City’s Alec Marsh.
Workman played three seasons (2018-20) at Phoenix Municipal Stadium after his high school days at Basha. He was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention in 2019 after hitting .330 and slugging .528 in 57 games game for the NCAA Tournament-bound Sun Devils. ASU lost in the regionals but came back in 2020 with Omaha aspirations as the No. 3 team on Baseball America’s preseason rankings. Workman played all 17 games before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Detroit Tigers drafted him in the fourth round the ensuing summer.
Workman said he stays in touch with his ASU teammates, but they try not to dwell on what could have been.
“A bunch of them sent me congratulations texts, and they’re pretty involved, and a lot of them are still playing,” Workman said.
“With Spencer Torkelson, Alika Williams, Trevor Hauver, (Drew) Swift, Carter Aldrete, Hunter Bishop, all those guys we stay in touch and talk about those seasons.”
After four years in Detroit’s system, Workman became Rule 5 eligible, and the Cubs took a shot on the switch-hitter.
If Workman did not make the team, he likely would have been sent back to Detroit to resume his development there. He had yet to reach Triple-A with the Tigers.
He responded with a terrific spring, hitting .364 with four home runs, a double and a triple in the Cactus League.
“Just a blessing that I have the opportunity to play here, opportunity to try to make this team and then make this team is, I mean, more than I dreamed of,” Workman said.
Gage Workman continues to mash!
The @Cubs prospect belts his 4th homer of Spring Training and now has a 1.203 OPS. pic.twitter.com/lQGxJoKNKz
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 24, 2025
There have been 118 ASU players to make the major leagues, which ranks third in the country, according to Baseball Almanac. Arizona State is one player back of USC and two away from Texas on top.
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