How Was Brandon Woodruff’s Return from the Injured List?

Brandon Woodruff has been such a key contributor to the Milwaukee Brewers starting staff and team, in general. Yes, Corbin Burnes has been healthy, and so has Freddy Peralta, but for the team to not only make the playoffs but feel confident that they can compete, having Woodruff available will be a huge key. 

On Sunday, he returned to the mound for the first time since early April. How did he do, but more important, how did his stuff look and are there reasons for optimism? 

Velocity And Spin Rate Remain Consistent
Throughout his handful of minor-league rehab starts, Woodruff demonstrated that he had avoided any loss of velocity, an imperative feature for someone who uses the four-seam fastball approximately 40% of the time. 

Since 2019, Woodruff’s four-seam fastball has averaged about 96 mph. He has also maintained a spin rate around 2,350 rpm for the past two years. In Sunday’s game, he averaged a velocity of 95.7 mph and a spin rate of 2,424 rpm across 42 pitches. These numbers are certainly within his recent norms. He also topped out at 97.2 mph as late as the fifth inning of his start.

Overall his fastball was good. He recorded nine swinging strikes, five called strikes, and thirteen foul balls. The one major slip-up he had came in the third inning when an inside fastball was hit by Endy Rodriguez for a home run to right field.

Here’s how his other pitches fared in this game compared to his 2022 averages. Even with relatively small sample sizes, especially for the curveball, the data paints an optimist picture that Woodruff is indeed back.