Bryan Woo didn't get much attention when the Seattle Mariners selected him in the sixth round of the 2021 draft out of Cal Poly. That is understandable. The low-slot righty had a 6.36 ERA in his three collegiate seasons, including a 6.11 mark in his injury-plagued junior year. After Tommy John surgery in April 2021, he made his career debut in '22.
Now, the 24-year-old is showing that Seattle's director of strategy, Travis Blank, wasn't completely out of his mind when he told members of the Mariners' front office before the draft that “this guy is going to be my one.” better than all 173 players drafted before him, his numbers have been impressive. Since making his major league debut in July 2023, he has a 3.60 ERA and 3.96 FIP over 137 1/3 innings in 28 starts with the Mariners. . In 10 outings this year, he is 4-1 with a 2.54 ERA and a 3.25 FIP. Notably, this success did not come by chance. Including four rehab outings this year, Woo has a 2.97 ERA and a strikeout. 162 over 115 innings as a minor leaguer.
Woo revealed his background when I asked him how he developed as a striker.
“Going through the draft process and scouting, I feel like a lot of it was based on my ability,” Woo said when the Mariners played in Cleveland last month. “I didn't have good results at that time. It was based on, 'He can be this. It looks like he's growing.' For me, it was about believing that I could get there, that I could keep getting better. That kind of story. I was very unknown. If you look at the paper, it's never, 'This guy is really good.' The numbers didn't show that I was.”
Not surprisingly, Woo also brought up the fact that he was injured during the draft, and how that created a lot of uncertainty. As he put it, “I had no idea what was going to happen. It could have been a little higher. I would have gone down a lot. I wasn't really sure.”
He knew that his repertoire needed both refinement and development. The Oakland native had a four-seam fastball in the mid-90s when healthy but nothing else to write home about. His slider, which he described as “Okay,” was a pitch he threw here and there. He also had change, but that was always in his back pocket.
Building a second heater had a big impact on him. He added a two-seamer to his arsenal last year when he hit the rubber for the Arkansas Travelers.
“Last year, before I was called up, our coordinator came down to Double-A, where I was,” said Woo. “He sat on one of my bulls and said, 'Try it.' I had a lot of high pitch count games – I wasn't getting a lot of quick outs – and he said it could be a tool you could use to get out quick, weak contact. Most of my game was hitting and flying balls. There wasn't a lot of work coming out, I guess you could say. So, we tried both and it evolved from there. “
So far this season, Woo has thrown 51.4% 4-seamers and 27.2% two-seamers, along with 7.2% changeups, 7.1% sweepers, and 7.0% sliders. The last of that mix, according to the righty, acts like a gyro when he throws it down, and like a cutter when he throws it up the field. The change in his circle is a tone he described as “a little more vertical and a little more horizontal, and slower, than my sink.” Asked which of his shortstops he sees as playing the biggest role going forward, he said he is satisfied with the progress of all three and won't pick another.
As for his two fastballs, the 6-foot-2 Woo wasn't willing to choose between them. Instead of picking favorites, he explained why he's had success with his heaters despite their unfavorable metrics.
“No one is playing at the top metrically; vertical and horizontal movements are not crazy at all,” said Woo. “I think it's just my slot, the way the ball comes out, that makes them a little different.”
The slot is really unique. As List of PotsJack Foley explained last summer, “At 4'11″ from the ground up, Woo is a full foot under average.”
Woo told me he was very high in high school, only to have his arm “been under it all through college, after surgery, and pro football.” He said he never dropped it on purpose, but continued to throw as he felt comfortable. Not so comfortable are the batsmen. They have an xBA of just .220 and a 2.7% barrel average against low-slot righty this season. When he's healthy — he missed the first month with elbow inflammation and was later on the shelf for three weeks with a hamstring strain — Woo is tough to climb.
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