Brewers right hand Brandon Woodruff he was taken out of today’s game in the second half and his speed was much lower than usual. It soon became clear that something was wrong, as he started the game with his speed dropping. His fastballs averaged 85 miles per hour today, and he had been around 93 mph in his previous outing this year.
At this point, it is unclear what the problem is, as Woodruff was clearly in pain. “He wasn’t,” manager Pat Murphy said in a midgame interview on television, broadcast by. Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “He felt like, he’s dead. He said he didn’t feel pain, nothing came out. We’ve seen a little bit of this, but never at this level, where he can’t get the ball over 85 mph. He’s very important to us. We’re not going to risk anything, maybe a long time to have him try to step on it. He’ll go through this process well.”
A 7 mph drop in velocity would be troubling for any pitcher. Concerns are growing as this relates to Woodruff, given his recent history. Shoulder problems limited him to only 11 starts in 2023. He eventually required surgery, which ended his entire 2024 campaign. He was able to return to the mound in the summer of 2025 and made 12 good starts, but finished the season on the injured list with a strained lat.
The Brewers felt good enough about Woodruff’s health to make him a qualifying offer of $22.025MM, a remarkable move for a club that rarely pays players at that level. Woodruff took some time to evaluate his options but eventually accepted the QO and returned to Milwaukee in 2026.
Entering this year, he was bounced around in limited fashion and it was unclear if he would be drafted in time for the Opening Day roster, but he ended up breaking camp with the Brewers. Through his first five starts, he had a solid 3.77 earned run average, albeit with some yellow flags. His strikeout rate of 20% was down significantly from last year’s clip of 32.3%. He appeared to benefit with a .235 batting average on balls in play. ERA ratings like his 4.06 FIP and his 4.27 SIERA felt lucky to have his ERA under 4.00.
Presumably, Woodruff is scheduled for some testing, with more information to be revealed in the coming days and weeks. If Woodruff needs to spend some time on the injured list, that would be a blow to Milwaukee’s rotation. He can produce at an ace level when he’s at his best, with a 3.13 ERA and a 28.8% strikeout rate in his career. But because of shoulder problems, he hasn’t made more than 12 starts in a season since 2022.
The rest of Milwaukee’s rotation is currently managed Jacob Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison, Chad Patrick again Brandon Sproat. Someone will have to step up and take Woodruff’s place if he needs to miss some time. DL Hall, Shane Drohan again Jake Woodford We’ve been working a lot of innings out of the bullpen as of late and could either step up with a start or serve as a bulk in a bullpen game.
They also have young guys to pull from. Logan Henderson, Coleman Crow, Robert Gasser again Carlos Rodriguez all are in triple-A option work. Either of them could be a starting spot option or maybe even get a couple of turns in the rotation, depending on how Woodruff’s situation ultimately pans out.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
