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Milwaukee Brewers: Brandon Woodruff poised for a breakout season

By Paul Bretl

MILWAUKEE, WI - OCTOBER 20: Brandon Woodruff #53 of the Milwaukee Brewers reacts to a strike out against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning in Game Seven of the National League Championship Series at Miller Park on October 20, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - OCTOBER 20: Brandon Woodruff #53 of the Milwaukee Brewers reacts to a strike out against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning in Game Seven of the National League Championship Series at Miller Park on October 20, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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Coming off of a strong finish to the 2018 season, Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff is set for a big year in 2019.

Since making his MLB debut for the Milwaukee Brewers in August of 2017, Brandon Woodruff has continually gotten better and at a fairly rapid pace. However, the pitcher that we see on the mound dominating Spring Training today, was not the same pitcher we saw almost two years ago.

After being called up in August due to injuries to the pitching staff, Woody was welcomed to the big leagues in a rough way, which in fairness is to be expected. In August and September, he would pitch in 43 innings giving up 43 hits, 23 earned runs and recorded a WHIP of 1.326.

Even if we look back to 2018, where most will remember Woody’s fantastic postseason performances, and rightfully so, he did not get off to the best start. Through May, he had appeared in 19.1 innings and allowed 13 runs on 20 hits, while also being sent down to Triple-A Colorado Springs for a stint.

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But once he settled into the long reliever role within the bullpen, Woody flipped a switch. From June through the end of the season, he would pitch in 23 innings and allowed just four earned runs with an incredible 27 strikeouts. And of course, some magnificently pitched playoff baseball that included an eight-strikeout relief performance against the L.A. Dodgers in game five of the NLCS.

Woodruff has been able to carry that momentum over to Spring Training this year where he has been on absolute fire. In nine innings, Woody has given up just three hits, no runs, has struck out 12 batters, and has a WHIP of 0.778. At the beginning of camp with seven potential starting pitchers fighting for five spots, even with his playoff performance, there was no guarantee Woody would make the rotation on Opening Day. However, at this point, I would imagine he is a lock.

Things really began to take off for Woodruff last season when he expanded his pitching repertoire. For much of his brief stint in 2017 and the first half in 2018, he relied primarily on his fastball, slider, and a change-up. While the fastball and slider are still his dominant pitches, during the Milwaukee Brewers playoff run, he has began utilizing a curve and sinker more frequently which left hitters guessing. A five-pitch repertoire is incredibly hard for batters to diagnose.

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With that said, perhaps Woodruff’s best attribute is that no moment appears to be too big for him. As we saw in the playoffs last year, the bigger the moment, the better he performed. I anticipate that this will be a big season for Woody where he is able to put it all together and he will end up playing an integral part in what should be another World Series push for the Milwaukee Brewers.

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