Wood doesn’t have a phenomenal debut

Darren Oliver didn’t waste any time placing some lofty expectations on third baseman Brandon Wood upon his arrival in the Angels clubhouse Thursday morning.

“There goes ‘Franchise,’ ” the reliever said half-jokingly as Wood walked past Oliver’s locker a few hours before making his major league debut against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Angel Stadium.

Wood didn’t quite live up to the nickname, going hitless in four at-bats with two strikeouts, but the Angels continue to be intrigued by the potential of a player who hit 43 homers for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2005.

Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said Wood’s major league power would “emerge with experience” and compared the rookie’s recent struggles with the strike zone to those experienced by Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt early in his career.

“Mike Schmidt eventually became a guy who developed a great eye at the plate,” Scioscia said. “His walks went up, his strikeouts declined and 500-plus home runs later he’s in the Hall of Fame.”

Wood, who had 25 homers for double-A Arkansas last season but led the Texas League with 149 strikeouts, said the only expectations he would try to fulfill were his own. And they are?

“Just focus on how hard you play and make sure you’re prepared every day,” he said.

Wood, 22, said he became more relaxed Thursday after his first at-bat, in which he struck out swinging at an 82-mph changeup. He nearly got a hit in the third inning, when his chopper ricocheted off Devil Rays reliever Gary Glover before bouncing toward first baseman Carlos Pena for an out.

The converted shortstop made only one play in the field, catching a popup off the bat of Ben Zobrist.

Wood compared the excitement of his first major league call-up to that of the day he was drafted in 2003, calling it “something that you always dream about.” He was in the midst of an off day with triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday evening when Bees Manager Brian Harper called and asked what he was doing the next day.

“I said, ‘I’m going to be hanging out,’ ” Wood said. “He said, ‘Why don’t you go to Anaheim?’ So I packed up my bags.”

Wood was joined in Southern California by two friends and his parents, who had traveled from Scottsdale, Ariz., and his girlfriend, who was with him in Salt Lake City.

Wood, who hit .278 with three homers and 15 runs batted in for Salt Lake, probably will return to triple A on Monday if third baseman Chone Figgins is activated off the disabled list as expected. Scioscia said Maicer Izturis probably would start at third base tonight against Chicago.

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Minor league pitchers Matt Hensley and Phil Seibel will undergo season-ending surgeries Tuesday after suffering injuries earlier this month, said Angels director of player development Tony Reagins.

Hensley, who was 1-0 with a 3.52 earned-run average for Salt Lake, will have surgery on his right elbow.

Seibel, who was 0-1 with an 11.25 ERA for the Bees after being acquired last December from Boston in the Brendan Donnelly trade, will have surgery on his left forearm.

ben.bolch@latimes.com