Brandon Woodruff

Brandon Woodruff

30-Year-Old PitcherSP
Milwaukee Brewers
2023 Fantasy Outlook
Woodruff put up a second consecutive season of ace level performance, but left us wanting more as fantasy managers. Woodruff had the 8th-best K-BB%, 4th best strikeout rate and 20th best WHIP amongst starting pitchers with at least 150 innings of work in 2022. Yet, he finished outside the top 20 in both ERA and wins and missed time in the summer after being diagnosed with Raynaud's syndrome, a circulatory condition which causes numbness in the extremities due to reduced blood flow. That particular issue caused him to have trouble with his grip on his breaking pitches which led to a near 50-point jump in the league-wide batting average against his spinners. It is also worth noting that Woodruff has just once pitched more than 160 innings in a season or made 30 starts over the past three full seasons. The metrics and StatCast data scream ace, but the outcomes leave us wanting a bit more. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
#38
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $10.8 million contract with the Brewers in January of 2023.
Held back due to wet conditions
PMilwaukee Brewers
March 15, 2023
Woodruff won't make his scheduled start during Wednesday's Cactus League game versus the Diamondbacks due to wet field conditions, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
There's a good chance the game will be rained out anyhow, but either way, Woodruff will get his work in on the side. If the contest is played, Matt Bush will serve as an opener and be followed by Gus Varland and Hoby Milner.
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Pitching Stats
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2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2022 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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2019 MLB Game Log
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2018 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
94
Last 10 Games
97
Last 5 Games
98
How many pitches does Brandon Woodruff generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Brandon Woodruff generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2020
 
 
-18%
BAA vs LHP
2022
 
 
-20%
BAA vs LHP
2021
 
 
-17%
BAA vs LHP
2020
 
 
-16%
BAA vs LHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2020vs Left .187 834 267 56 144 28 4 21
Since 2020vs Right .228 778 221 47 162 24 2 24
2022vs Left .190 293 102 21 51 16 2 5
2022vs Right .237 327 88 21 71 12 0 13
2021vs Left .182 360 111 26 60 6 1 10
2021vs Right .219 348 100 17 70 10 2 8
2020vs Left .194 181 54 9 33 6 1 6
2020vs Right .231 103 33 9 21 2 0 3
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2020
 
 
-27%
ERA at Home
2022
 
 
-50%
ERA at Home
2021
 
 
-17%
ERA at Home
2020
 
 
-16%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2020Home 2.39 0.92 199.1 13 5 0 11.5 1.6 1.1
Since 2020Away 3.26 1.09 207.0 12 14 0 10.3 3.0 0.9
2022Home 2.06 0.84 78.2 8 0 0 12.2 1.6 1.0
2022Away 4.10 1.31 74.2 5 4 0 10.0 3.4 1.1
2021Home 2.31 0.98 85.2 4 3 0 10.9 1.5 0.9
2021Away 2.79 0.95 93.2 5 7 0 10.3 2.8 0.9
2020Home 3.34 0.97 35.0 1 2 0 11.1 1.8 1.5
2020Away 2.79 1.01 38.2 2 3 0 11.2 2.6 0.7
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Brandon Woodruff compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
4.52
 
K/9
11.2
 
BB/9
2.5
 
HR/9
1.1
 
Fastball
96.2 mph
 
ERA
3.05
 
WHIP
1.07
 
BABIP
.300
 
GB/FB
0.99
 
Left On Base
77.8%
 
Exit Velocity
81.2 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
3.7%
 
Spin Rate
2302 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
20.4%
 
Swinging Strike
14.7%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Brandon Woodruff See More
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Yesterday
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6 days ago
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21 days ago
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32 days ago
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
The kids will tell us IYKYK, and if you had Woodruff on your team last season, you know where this is going. Milwaukee won 16 of the 30 games Woodruff started, yet Woodruff won just nine games because he had the absolute worst run support in the National League with just 2.5 runs scored when he was pitching. Two-thirds of his starts were quality starts, yet fewer than one-third of them became wins. That is just rotten luck for a pitcher who went into the Milwaukee pitching laboratory and has turned himself into one of the better pitchers in the game. He now has three consecutive seasons of impressive three-category production with the wins being at the mercy of the offense. Hopefully the Brew Crew will supply Woodruff with more run support to turn him into the ace pitcher he is shaping out to be. If they do, perhaps the Cy Young Award can even stay in Milwaukee, because Woodruff has all the tools to make it happen.
If not for an injury that cost him extended time in 2019 Woodruff could have found himself in the mix for the Cy Young award. Well, he was even better in 2020, increasing his strikeout rate and allowing fewer than one baserunner per inning. He still leaned heavily on his upper-90s fastball, but he threw a lower percentage of sliders for the third year in a row and threw more curveballs and changeups than ever. That pitch mix is tough for hitters to deal with, particularly when Woodruff isn't walking them. Woodruff keeps getting better and better, and he is in his prime heading into his age-28 season. Woodruff's lone issue last season was length, as he averaged fewer than six innings per start. If he can be a little more efficient with his pitch counts in 2021, he figures to be just as good -- or better -- than he was a season ago.
Marlon Brando "coulda been a contender," and Woodruff could have, too. Not in a boxing match, of course, but for last year's NL Cy Young Award. Had Woodruff not missed two months with an oblique injury he had a real shot to finish top-10 in the NL in all of W, K and WAR in his first season as a full-time starter. Woodruff returned to action in September and picked up right where he left off. There's reason to believe he could be even better, as he made a notable improvement in the K:BB department last season and finished with a 3.01 FIP. Woodruff has found success as a starter thanks to a pitch mix that features a four-seamer and sinker that both sit in the mid-90s, a hard slider and a changeup that fools hitters looking for the power pitches. Woodruff has the offerings, numbers and underlying stats all in his favor and has all the makings of a No. 1 starter.
After a mostly nondescript regular season, Woodruff cranked things up in September and into the playoffs. He worked in relief, which allowed him to maximize his pitches and show dominant stuff. An 11th-round pick in 2014, he posted a healthy 26.7 K% in 42.1 regular-season innings. He paired that with average control (8.0 BB%) and an above-average 53.1% groundball rate. The combination of strikeouts and groundballs is quite appealing, although it remains to be seen if the improved stuff will survive the transition back to the rotation. Woodruff was not all that effective as a starter in 2017, posting just a 9.8 K-BB% over eight starts. While the Brewers may go into the season with Woodruff technically in the rotation, they have embraced the idea of blurring the lines between starters and relievers, so he likely wouldn't log many six- or seven-inning outings. That usage should greatly benefit his ratios at the expensive of wins and strikeouts.
Woodruff got a shot at the Triple-A level last season after being named the Brewers' minor league pitcher of the year in 2016, and while his numbers were not pretty -- most aren't in the PCL -- he was effective and consistent enough to earn his first trip to the majors. He allowed just four earned runs in four starts out of the gate, but he crumbled after that, allowing 19 earned runs over his final four big-league starts. Still, his showing was good enough overall to put him in the conversation for a back-end spot in the Brewers' rotation to begin 2018. Woodruff throws a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and also a quality slider and average changeup, and though he averaged less than a strikeout per inning in 2017, he has shown improvement in that area the last two years. Woodruff is unlikely to be much of a factor early in shallow leagues, but if he earns a rotation spot in spring training, he possesses enough upside to be selected in the late rounds for deeper formats.
Woodruff may have been just an 11th-round pick in 2014, but he hasn't let falling in the draft stop him from cruising through the lower levels of the minor leagues. After dominating High-A with Brevard County through eight starts (1.83 ERA, 10.0 K/9), the 23-year-old earned a promotion to Double-A Biloxi. He finished on absolute fire, having allowed just one run over 22 innings in his final three starts to end the season with a 3.01 ERA. Even after advancing to Double-A, Woodruff continued to strike out over a batter per inning and maintained a K/BB above 4.0. Now over a year removed from a nasty oblique injury, Woodruff is looking like he could make his way into Milwaukee's rotation sooner than expected.
More Fantasy News
Sharp in second spring start
PMilwaukee Brewers
March 11, 2023
Woodruff struck out four batters and allowed an unearned run over three innings in Friday's exhibition game.
ANALYSIS
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Settles at $10.8 million
PMilwaukee Brewers
January 13, 2023
Woodruff signed a one-year, $10.8 million contract with the Brewers on Friday to avoid arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.
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Quality start versus Diamondbacks
PMilwaukee Brewers
October 3, 2022
Woodruff tossed six innings, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk while striking out seven in Monday's extra-inning win over the Diamondbacks. He did not factor into the decision.
ANALYSIS
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Posts 10 strikeouts during win
PMilwaukee Brewers
September 29, 2022
Woodruff (13-4) earned the win Wednesday without allowing a run on five hits and one walk over six innings in a 5-1 victory over the Cardinals. He struck out 10.
ANALYSIS
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Dominant in win
PMilwaukee Brewers
September 23, 2022
Woodruff (12-4) earned the win Thursday, allowing one run on three hits and two walks over six innings against the Reds. He struck out 11.
ANALYSIS
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