What To Expect: Brandon Woodruff

Brandon Woodruff (Photo by Danny Arnold)

The Brewers are calling up their third top prospect in four days.

Milwaukee selected the contract of righthander Brandon Woodruff from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Tuesday. Woodruff was scheduled to make his debut with a start against the Cardinals but was scratched with a pulled hamstring.

Woodruff, the Brewers’ No. 5 prospect and No. 74 on the BA 100, joins the team after it called up No. 1 prospect Lewis Brinson on and No. 2 prospect Josh Hader at the end of last week.

SCOUTING REPORT

Woodruff was a hard-throwing wild man in college who was dropped from Mississippi State’s rotation and fell to the 11th round in 2014, but the Brewers cleaned up his mechanics, quickened his tempo and rhythm and found themselves a steal.

Woodruff pitches regularly at 93-94 mph with sink and can get up to 97 mph. He pounds the lower half of the strike zone with his fastball and above-average slider and was able to survive in Colorado Springs because of that, recording a 1.38 groundout-to-airout ratio. He also has an average changeup.

With a bulldog approach, three usable pitches and a ground-ball tendency, Woodruff projects as a mid-rotation starter as long as he maintains the solid control he has found as a professional.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Woodruff will face an adjustment period like all players making their debuts, but he should deliver a decent amount of strikeouts and limit extra-base hits to keep his ERA down. He is the Brewers’ No. 3 or 4 starter long-term.