Brandon Woodruff Exits Brewers Start After Sudden Velocity Drop

The Milwaukee Brewers are holding their breath right now about one of the key cogs of the starting rotation.

In the second inning of Thursday's contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff was forced to exit. Beforehand, he had a significant drop in velocity. ESPN's Jeff Passan pointed out that he didn't reach 87 miles per hour, despite sitting at 92.5 miles per hour to begin the season.

"Brandon Woodruff exited his start for Milwaukee in the second inning. His fastball didn't even reach 87 mph after sitting at 92.5 all year. Tough luck for the Brewers, though they do plenty of starting-pitching depth, with Logan Henderson carving at Triple-A and big league-ready," Passan wrote.

On Thursday, Woodruff averaged 85.4 miles per hour on his fastball before being taken out. This is certainly not what you want to see out of a guy who missed the entire 2024 season after undergoing surgery on his shoulder and then made just 12 starts in 2025 as he worked his way back.

The Brewers Starter Had To Exit On Thursday

Apr 30, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff (53) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

After Woodruff was removed from the contest, Brewers manager Pat Murphy gave a brief update in the third inning, as transcribed by MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.

"He wasn’t himself,” Murphy said. “He said he felt kind of ‘dead.’ He didn’t feel any pain, just that nothing was coming out. We’ve seen a little of this, but not at this level where he can’t get the ball over 85 mph. ... So, he’s so important to us, we’re not going to risk anything long term by having him try to step on it. He’s going through this process, and hopefully he’ll be OK and will work himself into his form. Even with him not throwing his normal 95, he still can get outs and win. As long as he doesn’t risk injury, I’ll go with him every time."

It's certainly nerve-wracking when you see a significant velocity drop-off like that. Losing seven miles per hour suddenly is no joke. Hopefully, this is just a case of him not feeling like himself. But this will be something to monitor after the game on Thursday and over the course of the next week until his next start.

With Woodruff, there always seems to be a bit of injury concern. Right now, he's 33 years old and already has dealt with significant injuries in the past. With Freddy Peralta traded away, the Brewers bet big on Woodruff by tendering him the qualifying offer.

So far this season, he has delivered with a 3.77 ERA in his first five starts. He lowered his ERA on the season to 3.60 on Thursday before his exit after 1 1/3 scoreless innings. That doesn't necessarily matter right now, though. What's important is whether or not he'll come out of this able to make his next start.

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