Brandon Woodruff Demonstrated How Far He's Come (and Where He's Still Working) in Spring Training Debut

Sunday was a major milestone for Brandon Woodruff. For the first time since Sept. 23, 2023, the right-hander toed the rubber in a big-league game, tossing a scoreless inning. The obvious highlight was his velocity. According to the stadium gun, Woodruff’s fastballs averaged 93.1 mph, and he touched 95 twice.

Given the adrenaline boost that accompanied his first big-league appearance in 18 months, it wouldn’t be surprising if Woodruff’s velocity ticks down a notch in his next outing. Still, the fact that he’s already recovered this much of it after major shoulder surgery is remarkable. It’s not just about velocity, though. Pat Murphy noted that morning that the Brewers were more focused on Woodruff’s pitch shapes.

“You still got to go through this process where it's coming out with the same—it's not just the number on that gun, you know—the same lift on the ball, the same properties of the pitch, and then we know he's getting closer,” Murphy said.

Then Woodruff took the mound and immediately threw a few fastballs with a different shape. Instead of riding with backspin at the top of the zone like his signature four-seamer, they cut.

That’s been a recurring twist throughout his rehab, he explained. Woodruff, a natural pronator for his entire career, is fighting to recapture consistency in his lower-body mechanics to keep his hand behind the ball.

“My lower half drives everything,” he said. “But I’m trying to make adjustments with it to help, because it coincides with my release point. So I have been cutting the ball a little bit, which is not a bad thing if I can use it the right way. But ideally, I’d like to get back to having that four-seam that rides. That’s kind of my thing.”

He made adjustments throughout the inning, throwing some four-seamers with a more standard shape. His fastest pitch of the afternoon was his last, a heater that induced a groundout off the bat of Jhonkensy Noel.

“The funny thing is, I’m a bigger guy, so getting the timing in my delivery has always been important for me, and spring training is always the time for me to really hammer that out," Woodruff said. "The ones that were at higher velocities actually felt easier, delivery-wise. That’s a positive. That just means you’re timed up better.”

Woodruff showed his entire arsenal during the inning, inducing whiffs on a curveball and a pair of changeups. He said the latter was the sharpest it's been this spring, after mixed results in his bullpens and minor-league outings. He also debuted a modified slider with more glove-side break, preceding that final fastball.

For his entire career, Woodruff has thrown a shorter gyro slider that has never exceeded an average of 3.8 inches of horizontal break in a season. He’s long desired more lateral movement, though, to better separate the pitch from his 12-6 curveball and better compliment the rest of his arsenal. Notice in the chart below how Woodruff lacks movement away from a right-handed batter.

Woodruff said he started toying with the longer slider in 2023 and resumed the experiment as he worked his way back to a big-league mound. After some trial and error, he feels he’s starting to add more consistent sweep after a new cue from pitching coach Chris Hook.

The Brewers’ former ace isn’t just returning from a serious injury. He’s also trying to better shape his arsenal along the way, and he may need to tweak his approach on the mound to match changes in the behavior of his pitches. His unofficial return to a big-league mound showcased how far he’s come, and where he remains a work in progress. Even an effective post-surgery Woodruff appears unlikely to get there the same way he once did. He’s embracing and working through that part of the process.