Woodruff wins Pitcher of the Week again

It won't offer much personal consolation, but Brandon Woodruff is once again the best pitcher in the Southern League.

The Brewers' No. 29 prospect has been honored for the second straight week after tossing a six-inning gem for Double-A Biloxi on Sunday to lead the latest group of Minor League Pitchers of the Week. He joins Mobile's Anthony Banda as the only Southern League hurler to win the award twice this season and is the first to win it in back-to-back weeks since Jake Brigham did it for Mississippi on May 31 and June 7, 2015.

Woodruff struck out nine Sunday and did not walk a batter while allowing just one hit in the Shuckers' 1-0 win over Pensacola. He needed only 79 pitches to get through six innings, throwing 56 of them for strikes. Along with his dominance on the mound, Woodruff also provided the game's only run with a solo homer in the third inning.

"He had command of all three pitches," Biloxi manager Mike Guerrero told MiLB.com on Sunday. "Fastball, changeup and breaking ball. His fastball command was superb. He was able to go in and out and up and down and he just attacked the strike zone with his plus fastball."

The outing came one start after the 23-year-old right-hander matched a career high with 10 strikeouts while scattering three hits and a walk over seven scoreless innings July 13. The fact that both performances came at Pensacola was not lost on that team's skipper.

"He's got great stuff -- 97 mph [fastball], good [slider] and change," Blue Wahoos manager Pat Kelly told Biloxi broadcaster Chris Harris. "I want to know what he's doing in this league."

Unfortunately, Woodruff's award-winning outings bookended the death of his older brother Blake, who passed away July 15 from injuries suffered in an ATV accident. Woodruff was placed on the temporary inactive list the next day and wasn't activated until Sunday, just in time for his big performance in Pensacola. On July 19, he tweeted: "I can't begin to say thank you enough for the love we've received this week. Some of the worst days, but I am blessed with the best people!"

Upon his promotion to Biloxi in mid-May, the 2014 11th-rounder out of Mississippi State struggled out of the gate, going 2-5 with a 5.68 ERA, 36 strikeouts and 17 walks in his first eight starts (38 innings) with the Shuckers, but has been lights-out ever since. Woodruff has allowed only one earned run and three walks in his last four starts (23 2/3 innings), going 3-1 with a 0.38 ERA and 32 strikeouts in that time.

The 6-foot-4 hurler earned a 60 grade for his fastball and 50 grades for his slider and changeup from MLB.com at the beginning of the season. But after averaging 5.8 BB/9 last season at Class A Advanced Brevard County, his control was given a subpar 45 on the 20-80 scouting scale and was believed could keep him from sticking as a starter in the upper levels. Two masterful performances later, those concerns don't seem nearly as great as they once were.

Here is the complete list of Minor League Pitchers of the Week for July 18-24:

International -- David Buchanan, Lehigh Valley (PHI): 2-0, 0.60 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 15 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 HBP, 3 BB, 8 K

Pacific Coast -- Ty Blach, Sacramento (SF): 2-0, 0.60 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 1 CG, 13 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 9 K

Eastern -- Andrew Suarez, Richmond (SF): 2-0, 2.77 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 13 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 HBP, 4 BB, 18 K

Southern -- Brandon Woodruff, Biloxi (MIL): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 9 K

Texas -- Chase De Jong, Tulsa (LAD): 1-0, 1.29 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 1 CG, 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 HBP, 2 BB, 7 K

California -- Brad Keller, Visalia (ARI): 2-0, 0.71 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 12 2/3 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 HBP, 2 BB, 13 K

Carolina -- Thomas Pannone, Lynchburg (CLE): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 3 K

Florida State -- James Reeves, Tampa (NYY): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 HBP, 1 BB, 6 K

Midwest -- Kyle Dowdy, West Michigan (DET): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 1 SHO, 9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 3 K

South Atlantic -- Logan Boyd, Greenville (BOS): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HBP, 2 BB, 8 K

New York-Penn -- Bailey Falter, Williamsport (PHI): 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 10 K

Northwest -- Jose Paulino, Eugene (CHI): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HBP, 1 BB, 7 K

Appalachian -- Chad Martin, Pulaski (NYY): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 HBP, 2 BB, 4 K

Pioneer -- Andres Machado, Idaho Falls (KC): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HBP, 0 BB, 4 K