Brandon Woodruff Return Buzz Finally Is Growing for Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers star is trending in the right direction and may not be too far from a return.

Apr 24, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff (53) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Brewers are missing one of their top overall starters, but it finally sounds like there is a potential timetable for a return.

Brandon Woodruff's last start for Milwaukee came on April 30 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. That day, Woodruff went just 1 1/3 innings before he was taken out of the contest. Initially, there was some real fear that it would be a long time before we saw him back on the mound. In that start, Woodruff's velocity dropped to an average of 85.4 miles per hour on his fastball. Before that, his average fastball velocity for the season sat around 92.5 miles per hour. The significant drop-off in velocity raised alarm bells that some sort of long-term injury could be there.

Fortunately, that wasn't the case. Woodruff was placed on the 15-Day Injured List with shoulder inflammation and eventually had a procedure to address a cyst in his shoulder. Since then, he has been working his way back into the mix. MLB.com's Adam McCalvy noted that he initially was hoping to return to the mound on May 27, but that didn't happen and since then he has been working on his arm slot. On the bright side, McCalvy also reported that Woodruff is "confident" that he will be able to return ahead of the All-Star break and "log multiple starts" beforehand.

The Brewers Star Is Trending Up

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

"Woodruff might even throw in Arizona Complex League games, which have Spring Training-type rules allowing pitchers to exit and re-enter to control pitch counts," McCalvy wrote. "The Brewers already sent right-hander Quinn Priester there to search for answers in his long comeback from thoracic outlet syndrome, and Priester was able to pitch into the fourth inning in his Arizona debut this week.

"Woodruff is confident he’ll be back in the Brewers’ rotation to log multiple starts before the All-Star break."

The 2026 All-Star Game is scheduled for July 14 in Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park. That's 39 days away, as of writing. The Brewers' last game before the All-Star break is on July 12. That's 37 days away. Starters go typically every fifth day. So, if Woodruff is expecting to make multiple starts before the All-Star break, he would have to return in late June or the first few days of July, at the latest. What this timeline from McCalvy shows is that Woodruff may not be that far away from coming back. He had a 42-pitch live batting practice session on Wednesday. That's a good sign that he's trending up. If you're a Brewers fan, expect to see him back on the mound over the next few weeks, barring a setback.