Brandon Woodruff’s last start for the Milwaukee Brewers was a dandy: five innings, one run, no walks, and nine strikeouts against the Angels on September 17. Four days later he hit the injured list with a right lat strain, ruling him out for the rest of the regular season and leaving his postseason status in question.
Well, postponed update after postponed update, the Brewers finally provided some clarity on Friday afternoon, and it wasn’t what fans wanted to hear. According to manager Pat Murphy, not only will Woodruff not pitch in the NLDS versus the Cubs, he is unlikely to return for the NLCS if the Brewers advance. Milwaukee would have to reach the World Series without him to give him a chance at coming back.
It’s hardly surprising news, but no less deflating for that. While navigating a best-of-five division series is one thing, Woodruff’s absence could start to nag at the rotation in the best-of-seven Championship Series to follow.
Without Woodruff, the Brewers somehow find themselves thin in the starting staff
With an injury so late in the schedule and no positive updates soon after, Brewers fans clung to the hope that Woodruff would return for the NLDS while knowing that it wasn’t likely.
Given all he fought through to get back on the mound this season, it’s even more frustrating to see him knocked out before the playoffs. Sure, Woodruff sustained bumps in the road and at times struggled to finish starts strong, but on the whole it was as good a bounceback as anyone could have dreamed of. After missing nearly two full seasons, it was as if he’d barely missed a beat as he pitched to a 3.20 ERA and 0.91 WHIP in 64.2 innings.
Across 12 starts, his 5.9 strikeout-to-walk ratio was the best of his career, as was a K-rate of 11.6 per nine. In 257 trips to the plate, hitters tagged him for just a .573 OPS, neither getting on base or hitting for much power.
Although Quinn Priester was arguably Milwaukee’s No. 2 starter due to consistency and workload, Woodruff was the rotation’s No. 2 talent behind ace Freddy Peralta. Among pitchers with at least 30 innings thrown – including the bullpen – Woodruff’s strikeout rate was second only to Jacob Misiorowski at 11.9. And despite the power arm, Misiorowski enjoyed nothing close to the same success.
Losing Woodruff throws a wrench in the Brewers’ postseason rotation plans. What looked like a deep staff is now hobbled. Misiorowski has lost his spot as a starter due to continued, concerning struggles. Jose Quintana could be available but is a question mark dealing with his own injury, a calf strain, to end the season. He hasn’t pitched since September 14 and, as a low-strikeout pitcher vulnerable to the longball, is not a great fit for postseason pitching.
For now, Milwaukee can rest assured that Peralta will start Game 1 against Chicago, followed by Priester in Game 2, but after that Chad Patrick might be the less than ideal starter for Game 3. Because of the rest afforded by travel days, Peralta and Prieter could cover the last two games of the series, but if the Brewers advance, a three-man unit isn’t going to get through the NLCS. Most likely, they would have to rely on bullpen games more than anticipated.
They’ll worry about that if and when they get there, but with a Woodruff return improbable, the horizon is less than lucid as to how the Brewers will fill out the starting staff in a deep playoff run.
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