Brandon Woodruff has not played a game since 2023 but on Tuesday, he showed the very reason why the Milwaukee Brewers are patiently waiting for him.
The 32-year-old pitcher got a taste of real game action when he suit up against San Diego at the American Family Fields in a minor-league game. He enjoyed being out there experience real game action at long last.
His fastball velocity ranged= from 91-95 mph in the bullpen but he can also get to 97 mph. Against San Diego, he reached 94, something he himself was surprised, too.
“Ninety four? I’ll take that,” he said as quoted by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“From what I’m learning and what I’m hearing, each step you take is a little bump. The first one was 92 when I came in for the live (batting practice). Today, first game action, two mile-per-hour bump. If you keep it in those increments – who’s to say if I get in a Cactus League game or whatever, and it bumps up another one or two? Heck, you’re really not that far off from where you were before.”
Brandon Woodruff not rushing the big league
Woodruff, who signed a new deal on February 21, remains a formidable pitcher. That has been confirmed after latest outing.
Another thing that is confirmed is he won’t be available for the opening day. They will play 10 games in 11 days and although that means a need for a bigger rotation, Woodruff won’t be there.
The veteran pitcher is taking everything slow to be able to go back to full strength.
“It just becomes, get here tomorrow and worry about tomorrow,” he explained about his recovery timeline.
“Then looking at the calendar and just trying to build up. That’s what’s important. I still got a lot of hurdles to get over. Today was one of them. Then you just take it in small increments. I’ve learned so much about the why behind things and that’s going to serve me well going forward.”
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