The Milwaukee Brewers sent Brandon Woodruff to Appleton on Tuesday, June 16, as part of his latest step in the road to recovery.

Woodruff, 33, knew the expectation was to get through roughly five innings of High-A ball and he did just that. With an 80-85 pitch count limit, Woody made it through 5.1 innings.

It wasn't the cleanest game of all time, but his fastball was 91-92 mph in the first inning and he recorded six strikeouts on the night.

In the end, Woodruff allowed three runs on five hits in 82 pitches. He would've loved to get through six, but of course, the pitch count took priority. 

There might not have been a ton of overall whiff on Woodruff's stuff, but his fastball velocity peaked in the middle innings. Remember, there was a ton of room for concern in Woodruff's last major-league start on Thursday, April 30, when the velocity simply wasn't there whatsoever.

Woodruff felt dead in that start and was pulled after throwing just 21 pitches. He may have struck out a pair and recorded four outs, but he also issued a walk and gave up a base hit. Milwaukee went on to win that game 13-1, but things were not looking great at the start.

The Brewers have a surplus of injuries to starting pitchers, so it was great to hear Woodruff is starting to get back to form. He may never be where he once was, but he's still a staple of this team's starting rotation and a deep postseason run could be determined by just how healthy he truly is.

This is a question that only the likes of pitching coach Chris Hook, manager Pat Murphy, and Woodruff himself can answer. It's not the first time Woodruff has had a rehab start since being placed on the 15-day Injured List, but that's a list he was placed on back on May 1.

It's been far more than 15 days with him on the IL, so now it's up to Woodruff and company to determine if he's big league ready or not.

So far this season, Woodruff has made six starts with the Brewers. He sports a 2-1 record with a 3.60 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. His ERA may be up slightly, but his WHIP is over 1.00 and overall is the highest it's been since 2022.

Don't miss out on our ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news!

It's completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.

Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!