Brandon Woodruff had easily the best year of his career in 2019. Was it a fluke or a sign of things to come? Here are two props available to wager at Mybookie on Woodruff’s and the Brewers’ 2020 MLB season – assuming there is one – and an overview.
Brandon Woodruff Awards Odds & Analysis For 2020 Season
- NL Cy Young Award: Woodruff is +3500
- Odds to win NL Central: Brewers are +325 fourth-favorites
After his junior year at Mississippi State, Woodruff was drafted by the Brewers in the 11th round of the 2014 MLB Draft. He would debut in September 2017 in the majors and in eight starts for Milwaukee he was 2-3 with a 4.81 ERA.
In 2018, Woodruff started the season in the minors but made 19 appearances for the Brewers and was 4-3 with a 3.61 ERA. In Game 1 of the 2018 NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Woodruff hit a home run off of Clayton Kershaw. He became the 22nd pitcher and the 3rd relief pitcher in postseason history to accomplish the feat. Woodruff also became the only pitcher in baseball postseason history to hit a home run lefty on lefty.
“About halfway through the [2018] season is when I started throwing both fastballs,” Woodruff said. “Flash forward to September: I started throwing both of them more often and having quite a bit of success. I was getting a lot of swings-and-miss, a lot of weak contact. That kind of played into the playoffs, and throughout last year.”
Last year, he was easily the Brewers’ ace – albeit his season shortened by injury. Woodruff also carried a platoon split last season. While he dominated right-handed hitters, opponents fared much better against him from the left side. They slashed .265/.332/.431 with a .333 wOBA and eight home runs.
Per Statcast, Woodruff threw 757 four-seamers and 510 two-seamers last season. In his 2018 transition year, he’d thrown 413 four-seamers and 54 two-seamers. Woodruff’s velocity ranked in the 91st percentile last year, with his four-seamer averaging 96.7 mph, while his two-seamer was just a tick below at 96.3 mph
finished 11-3 with a 3.62 ERA in 22 starts overall. He was named Brewers Most Valuable Pitcher as voted on by members of the Milwaukee Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He led the team in wins (11), strikeouts (143) and quality starts (10).
had 10+ strikeouts on 5/26 vs. Philadelphia (10), 6/7 vs. Pittsburgh (10) and 6/23 vs. Cincinnati (12) and was named Brewers Pitcher of the Month for May (5gs, 4-0, 1.36era, 33ip, 37k).
However, he was on the injured list from 7/22-9/16 with a left oblique strain. At the time of the injury, he ranked among the National League leaders in wins (T2nd, 11), strikeouts (8th, 136), K/9 IP (9th, 10.40) and K/BB (9th, 4.69).
gave the Brewers all they could’ve asked for in the Wild Card Game against the Nationals, allowing just one run on two hits over four innings. The right-hander struck out three and didn’t walk a batter in the contest — throwing 34 of his 52 pitches for strikes. The Brewers were expecting to get two, possibly three innings from Woodruff on short rest. The only blemish on his night was a solo homer off the bat of Trea Turner with two outs in the third inning. Milwaukee would blow a late lead and lose the game.
This spring, Woodruff looked terrific before things were shut down with a 1.80 ERA and 8/3 K/BB ratio over 10 innings in Cactus League play. Woodruff, who is entering his age-27 season and is under club control through 2024, looks to be the team’s ace for at least the next few years. The Brewers have lacked a consistent presence at the front of their rotation since Yovani Gallardo’s eight-year run with the club ended after the 2014 season.
