Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff reached an important milestone on Tuesday as he pitched in a live game for the first time since September of 2023. At American Family Fields of Phoenix, the big whoo faced a San Diego Padres minor league squad, pitched one inning, and threw 27 pitches.
Here are three takeaways from Brandon Woodruff’s first outing back after shoulder surgery
- Location will be even more important early on in the season
Prior to surgery, Woodruff easily pumped fastball after fastball to opposing batters in the upper 90s. Since surgery, his velocity is down and of the 27 pitches he threw, he maxed out at 94 twice. One fastball that he left in the middle of the plate ended up going over the wall for a home run. It’s clear that he won’t be able to get away with missing pitches at a lower velocity, so location will be extremely important until his velocity returns.
- Velocity increases should still occur
When Woodruff first reported to camp and began throwing live batting practice, the radar gun maxed out at 92 MPH. With a little adrenaline, he got a two MPH increase. When asked about the bump in velocity, Woodruff said he is “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.”
- A new pitch
Debuting to opposing teams on Tuesday was a pitch Woodruff had been working on. The new pitch, a cutter, came in at 88 MPH. Woodruff said it may debut in the big leagues this year, but his primary focus is still on dialing in his changeup.
If all goes well Woodruff may appear in another live game as soon as Sunday.
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