Woodruff ready to debut for Brewers -- again

For the second time this season, Brandon Woodruff is gearing up for his Major League debut.
Milwaukee's No. 4 prospect has been promoted from Triple-A Colorado Springs to start for Milwaukee on Friday against the Rays in Tampa, fresh off tossing five scoreless innings in his most recent outing in Las Vegas.

Woodruff was previously promoted June 13 to start in St. Louis, but he injured himself while warming up and landed on the 10-day disabled list with right hamstring tightness. He was sidelined for over a month before making a rehab start in the Rookie-level Arizona League and rejoining the Sky Sox on July 24.
The 24-year-old right-hander allowed 11 runs -- seven earned -- on eight hits and three walks over 4 1/3 innings in his first two starts back in the Pacific Coast League before Saturday's gem against the 51s, in which he struck out six batters and threw 40 of his 69 pitches for strikes over five frames.

He sports a 4.46 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP in 15 starts this season after a dominant 2016 campaign earned him a nomination for the MiLBY Best Starting Pitcher Award. Woodruff went 14-9 with a 2.68 ERA and a 173-to-40 strikeout-to walk ratio over 158 innings between Class A Advanced Brevard County and Double-A Biloxi last year.
A 2014 11th-round pick who battled control problem at Mississippi State, Woodruff has walked 114 batters in 389 professional innings. His fastball sits in the 93- to 95-mph range, and he complements it with an above-average slider and a solid changeup.