MILWAUKEE -- Brandon Woodruff took a step toward rejoining the Brewers’ rotation by pitching into the sixth inning for High-A Wisconsin in Davenport, Iowa, on Tuesday in what could prove the conclusion of his Minor League rehab assignment.
The veteran right-hander was back with the big league club on Wednesday and will rejoin Milwaukee’s rotation “soon,” according to manager Pat Murphy.
Does that mean Woodruff’s next start will be in the Majors?
“Yeah, that’s what ‘soon’ means,” Murphy said.
Woodruff deferred to the manager, but he confirmed his start on Tuesday night was “very productive.” If he indeed is ready to return from the 15-day injured list, Woodruff would probably line up to start one of the Brewers’ three games against the Reds in Cincinnati in a series that begins on Monday.
Woodruff was scheduled for five innings and 80-85 pitches against Quad Cities, a Royals affiliate, and reached both targets, throwing 82 pitches over 5 1/3 innings. He was charged with three runs on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts, with two of the runs, two of the hits and the lone walk coming in Woodruff’s fifth inning of work, when the runs scored on a groundout and a sacrifice fly.
The only other run scored on a second-inning home run for Ramon Ramirez (Royals' No. 7 prospect, per MLB Pipeline). Besides that, it was a good night’s work for Woodruff, who threw 55 of his 82 pitches for strikes and sat in the 90-92 mph range with his fastball, topping out around 93 mph.
It was Woodruff’s second formal rehab start since exiting an April 30 start against the D-backs after pitching with significantly diminished velocity and complaining of “dead arm.” A subsequent trip to see the surgeon who performed Woodruff’s October 2023 right shoulder repair resulted in a minor procedure to drain a cyst in that joint, which Woodruff and the Brewers characterized as common for a 33-year-old pitcher.