Despite a Slower Spring Training Build-Up, Brandon Woodruff Makes Brewers' Opening Day Rotation

[Jack Stern]

Image courtesy of © Curt Hogg / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Brewers already revealed that Jacob Misiorowski would start on Opening Day. Now, they've confirmed the rest of their starters behind him, announcing the probable pitchers for the first regular-season turn through the rotation: Chad Patrick, Brandon Sproat, Kyle Harrison, and Brandon Woodruff.

The last two names are the most notable. Harrison left his last spring training start with a blister on his left index finger, but the Brewers downplayed concerns about his status for Opening Day. Woodruff was building up slower than many of the other starters in camp, and his status for the start of the season was a storyline for the last month and a half. He and the club ultimately deemed him ready.

"I think it's an encouraging sign," Pat Murphy said. "We weren't thinking that he was going to be on the team early with the way it was going, and it went so well, in terms of he feels great, and he feels like he's ready."

"My pitch count is probably a little less than some of the guys coming out of camp, but I felt like I was recovering [properly]," Woodruff said. "I felt like the stuff was there and coming along, and I didn't feel like I necessarily wanted to go pitch in minor-league games."

Those positive comments come after Woodruff's velocity, which declined a few ticks in his return from shoulder surgery last year, was down further in his two spring training outings. His four-seamer and sinker averaged a combined 93 mph in 2025, but they sat at 91.9 mph in Cactus League play. In his final inning on Thursday, his four-seamer dipped to 88.6 mph.

How he felt physically was the bigger focus for Woodruff and the Brewers, and he firmly believes he's checked that box after suffering a season-ending lat injury last September.

"I came into camp in a good spot," he said. "That was another thing—I'm not hurt. I didn't want that to be the story coming out of spring, having that lat [injury] attached to me, because I feel good. So that was important to me. But yeah, I'm in a good spot, and I feel like it was a good time for me to just come into the season fresh and try to get a full year."

By including Woodruff on their Opening Day roster, the Brewers are trusting his evaluation of his health.

"You've got to trust the player," Murphy said. "This is our decision, ultimately [president of baseball operations Matt Arnold's] decision, but we're all involved in it. But we've got to trust the player, and we do trust him."

Woodruff will pitch a simulated outing at American Family Field on Wednesday as a final tune-up before starting on March 31 against the Tampa Bay Rays. It remains to be seen how the Brewers will handle his workload throughout the regular season, but Murphy downplayed the possibility of applying notable restrictions.

"He can go out there and be ready as any other starter is ready," Murphy said. "This guy knows how to prepare. This guy knows how to navigate. I think he's in a better state than any of our other really young, really inexperienced guys, who may go out there and after the first inning be gassed because of adrenaline."

"I try not to think about that," Woodruff said. "I try to go out and do my job and kind of leave that in the hands of the pitching coaches and Murph, when to make that decision, if they need to take me out or whatever it is. But I'm focused on building the endurance in the load right now, which I've done a good job of."

For the first time since the 2023 season, Woodruff will open the year in a big-league starting rotation. Next week will mark an opportunity to prove he's as ready as he asserts, and to make a more immediate impact on the field than he has in the past few years.

"I feel good," he said. "Now it's just go pitch."

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[SF70]

Woodruff is healthy, knows his body as well as any pitcher in this game and has a ton of confidence in his new repertoire. Once the real games begin and the adrenaline starts flowing we’ll see some 93’s & 94’s with a steady increase in velo as the season moves along (like last year) and he builds up arm strength.