2025 Fantasy Baseball: Brandon Woodruff Profile, Preview, Predictions
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After a lost season and a half due to an injury, the fantasy market wants him to Brandon Woodruff to prove it on the mound in spring training before fighting for him in drafts.
Brandon Woodruff's 9th, 10th and 11th Ks. pic.twitter.com/c9Qcmap6CS
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 26, 2023
SP – Brandon Woodruff, MIL (ADP – 232.2)
A right ankle injury put Woodruff on the injured list in late May of 2022 for a month while also battling some numbness in his fingers on his pitching hand. He struggled over his first nine starts (4.74 ERA) due to three poor showings (16 runs, 28 baserunners, and 14 strikeouts over 12 innings). After returning from his injury, Woodruff went 8-1 over his final 18 starts with a 2.38 ERA, .202 BAA, and 137 strikeouts over 109.2 innings.
In 2023, he pitched well in his first two games (one run over 11.1 innings with 10 baserunners and 12 strikeouts). Unfortunately, a right shoulder injury pushed him to the sidelines for four months. Woodruff showed no ill effects over his final nine games (4-1 with a 2.59 ERA, 0.808 WHIP, and 62 strikeouts over 55.2 innings). After the season, Milwaukee shut him down before the playoffs and then decided on surgery to repair his right shoulder issue. He missed all of 2024.
His average fastball (95.8) remained a plus when he was last on the mound despite losing about half a mph from 2022. Woodruff featured his changeup at the highest usage rate (19.7) of his career. Other than his slider (.278 BAA), batters struggled to hit four-seamer (.174 BAA), sinker (.193 BAA), changeup (.098 BAA), and curveball (.182 BAA).
Fantasy Outlook: The Brewers expect Woodruff to be a helpful arm in 2025, but he may not be ready for opening day. His lack of a return date, paired with some fantasy apprehension about the value of his stuff, has created a potential discount in drafts. Shoulder injuries can be challenging to recover from, so following his fantasy progress this spring is essential. Based on his previous four seasons on the mound (30-20 with a 2.76 ERA and 566 strikeouts over 473.1 innings), Woodruff could be a big mover up the draft board in March.
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With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.
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