RADIO
Brandon Woodruff 2023 Player Outlook: A Legitimate Ace That Tends to Fall in Drafts
2 years agoWe have now seen four straight years of Woodruff turning in strikeout rates above 29% and walk rates below 7%. It's very easy to have success with a K%-BB% that high, and it's also very easy to believe he can do that again in 2023. Woodruff's ERA in 2022 checked in at 3.05 while he posted a strong 1.07 WHIP to boot. He did have some slight injury issues, reaching just 153 innings pitched last year, but he finished the year healthy and was pitching great, so we don't have much reason to be worried about health in 2023. The big righty has two great fastballs in his arsenal (a four-seamer and a sinker), and he really improved on the changeup in 2023 posting an otherworldly 28.1% SwStr% on that pitch. It seems unfair to possess all the great pitches that Woodruff possesses, and he will be just 30 years old for the 2023 season. The best part about Woodruff is, for whatever reason, he typically falls out of the first couple of rounds. He is a first-round talent that you can get in the third or maybe fourth round in your draft - take advantage!
