The eighth-inning blast kept the Buffaloes on top of the Pacific League as they continued to chase the franchise's first pennant since the Orix BlueWave reached the Japan Series in 1996.
Most of the attention at Monday's event will be focused on the early selections, but the class of 2016 is a reminder that there are plenty of diamonds to be found later on.
Round one goes to the Central League and, of all teams, the Chunichi Dragons. Interleague play kicked off across NPB last week, and the Dragons, who were i
May 9, 2021
Brandon Woodruff has quietly been one of the better pitchers in the National League since the start of the 2019 season. In 42 starts comprising 237 innings, the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander has 285 strikeouts to go with a 3.11 ERA and a 2.93 FIP. The last of those numbers is equal to Shane Bieber’s mark over the same period.
A big reason for Woodruff’s success is a repertoire adjustment he made midway through the 2018 season. As he explained in an article that ran here at FanGraphs last April, he began throwing both two- and four-seam fastballs. Neither is anything to write home about movement-wise, but paired together and sequenced well they’re a formidable combo. As Woodruff told me at the time, “It’s hard for the hitter to distinguish which one is going to be coming.”