Brandon Woodruff

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.