Bryan Woo Bio
Bryan Joseph Woo (born January 30, 2000) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023 after being selected by Seattle in the 2021 MLB Draft. In 2025, Woo broke out as one of the top young starters in the American League, earning an All-Star selection and a place on the All-MLB second team.
A right-handed pitcher known for his command and low arm slot, Woo quickly developed into a frontline starter for the Mariners. His rise from a low-round draft pick recovering from Tommy John surgery to a Cy Young Award contender has made him one of the most talked-about arms in baseball.
Early Life and Background
Bryan Joseph Woo was born on January 30, 2000, in Oakland, California, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was raised by a Caucasian American mother and an Asian American father of Chinese descent, along with his sister. His paternal grandparents were born in China and later moved to California, and Bryan visited China twice as a child.
Growing up, Woo primarily played shortstop and third base, and he was not viewed as a top pitching prospect until a significant growth spurt during high school, when he added eight inches to his frame. He attended Alameda High School in Alameda, California, where he did not pitch regularly until his junior year. As a senior in 2018, he went 8–2 with a 1.25 earned run average (ERA) while batting .422 as a switch hitter, earning player of the year honors in the West Alameda County Conference Foothill Division from the Mercury News. That summer, he played for the Peninsula Oilers in the Alaska Baseball League, where the San Francisco Giants attempted to sign him at a scouting event before he chose to attend college.
Path to Baseball
Woo enrolled at Cal Poly to play college baseball for the Mustangs, choosing the program largely for its academic reputation and because it was the only school that recruited him strictly as a pitcher rather than a two-way player. As a freshman in 2019, he posted a 9.13 ERA over 23⅔ innings, but he returned to the Alaska Baseball League that summer and was named the league’s top pro prospect.
His college career was slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and by injury in 2021. After pitching only 17⅔ innings as a reliever in the shortened 2020 season, Woo returned in 2021 and posted a 6.11 ERA over 28 innings before undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing the remainder of the year. Across his college career, he started six of 31 games, finishing with a 4–7 record, one save, a 6.49 ERA, and 89 strikeouts in 69⅓ innings.
Bryan Woo Career
Early Career (2021–2022)
The Seattle Mariners selected Woo in the sixth round with the 174th overall pick of the 2021 MLB Draft. He signed with Seattle for $318,200, which was $31,700 above the slot value of the selection. Still recovering from elbow surgery, Woo made his professional debut in June 2022 with the Arizona Complex League Mariners, where he was briefly hospitalized after being hit in the face by a line drive but was not seriously injured.
He was promoted to the Low-A Modesto Nuts in late June and then to the High-A Everett AquaSox at the end of July. Over 16 starts across the three affiliates, he posted a 1–4 record with a 4.11 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 57 innings, and he finished his first full professional season in the Arizona Fall League with the Peoria Javelinas, prioritizing his fastball command as he returned to full strength.
MLB Debut and Rookie Season (2023)
Woo opened 2023 with the Double-A Arkansas Travelers, where he went 3–2 with a 2.05 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 44 innings across nine starts, and he began incorporating a sinker into his arsenal. On June 2, the Mariners announced he would be promoted to start the following day against the Texas Rangers in place of the injured Marco Gonzales. His debut was rough, as he allowed six runs in two innings, but he bounced back to win his first MLB game in his fourth start on June 22 against the New York Yankees.
He finished his rookie campaign with a 4–5 record, a 4.21 ERA, and 92 strikeouts in 87⅔ innings. Manager Scott Servais noted at the time that Woo was still developing his breaking pitches as a rookie, hinting at the refinement that would come in later seasons.
Seattle Mariners Breakthrough (2024)
Despite several injuries, Woo made major strides in 2024. He began the year on the injured list with elbow inflammation and did not make his first start until May 10. In his first six starts, he posted a 1.07 ERA, the lowest in franchise history to begin a season. He was scratched from a scheduled outing on June 11 with another injury, made two more starts in which he took losses, and returned to the injured list on June 25 with a hamstring issue before being activated on July 12.
He finished 2024 with a 9–3 record, a 2.89 ERA, and 101 strikeouts in 121⅓ innings over 21 starts, all improvements from his rookie year. He was also the best starting pitcher in MLB at limiting walks, issuing free passes to just 2.6 percent of batters faced, cementing his reputation for elite command.
Seattle Mariners Era (2025)
Woo emerged as one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball in 2025. He was named to the All-Star Game in July and brought a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Yankees on July 10. Before the All-Star break, he ranked third in the American League in strikeout-to-walk ratio and walk rate while piling up more strikeouts than in either of his two prior seasons.
Woo pitched at least six innings in each of his first 25 starts, setting a franchise record, and during that stretch he allowed no more than two walks in any outing, the longest such streak to open a season since Cy Young in 1905. He struck out a career-high 13 batters on September 13 in a win over the Los Angeles Angels, but he was removed early from his next start due to a pectoral injury, earning a win over the Houston Astros that ended his regular season. He finished 15–7 with a 2.98 ERA and 198 strikeouts in 186⅔ innings, placing fifth in AL Cy Young Award voting and earning All-MLB second team honors.
Driving Style and Strengths
Woo primarily throws a four-seam fastball and a sinker that both average around 95 miles per hour, and he leans on those two pitches roughly 75 percent of the time, more than most modern starters. His offspeed arsenal includes a changeup and a slider, with some of his sliders labeled as sweepers, and he pairs that repertoire with a low arm slot, low release point, and smooth delivery that makes it difficult for batters to square up his pitches. His exceptional strike-throwing ability helps him limit walks and pile up efficient innings, which in turn protects the Mariners’ bullpen.
Notable Events and Milestones
Signature moments include his first MLB win over the Yankees on June 22, 2023, his franchise-record streak of 25 consecutive starts of at least six innings to open 2025, and his near no-hitter against the Yankees on July 10, 2025. In 2024, he also became the last player born in Oakland to appear in an MLB game played in Oakland. His 2025 season was capped by an All-Star selection and All-MLB second team recognition.
Bryan Woo Career Wins
Bryan Woo has built a growing resume of wins across the minor leagues and Major League Baseball since being drafted by Seattle in 2021. His first MLB victory came against the New York Yankees on June 22, 2023, and he has continued to add to that total each season, including a career-high 15-win campaign in 2025.
Major League Highlights
Woo recorded his first MLB win in his fourth career start against the New York Yankees on June 22, 2023. He then added nine wins in 2024 and a career-best 15 wins in 2025, when he also earned an All-Star nod and All-MLB second team honors. His career MLB totals include a 34–20 win-loss record and 480 strikeouts through mid-June 2026.
Other Wins and Performances
In the minors, Woo’s most notable run came with the Double-A Arkansas Travelers in 2023, when he went 3–2 with a 2.05 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 44 innings across nine starts, paving the way for his MLB promotion. Earlier, he had recorded his first professional victory in 2022 while splitting time between the ACL Mariners, Low-A Modesto Nuts, and High-A Everett AquaSox.
Bryan Woo Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Woo was raised in Oakland, California, by a Caucasian American mother and an Asian American father of Chinese descent, alongside his sister. His paternal grandparents were born in China and later moved to California, and the family maintains close ties, with his parents regularly attending all of his MLB starts.
Personal Life
Woo grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area as a fan of the San Francisco Giants, and his favorite player growing up was shortstop Brandon Crawford. In 2024, he became the last person born in Oakland to play an MLB game in Oakland, and in 2026 he attended Super Bowl LX in nearby Santa Clara with several Mariners teammates. During a 2024 start, he wore custom cleats featuring illustrations of professional wrestler Ric Flair, whose signature yell inspired Woo’s last name.
2025 Season Performance
Bryan Woo’s 2025 season was the breakout campaign of his young career. He posted a 15–7 record with a 2.98 ERA and 198 strikeouts in 186⅔ innings, ranking in the top five in the American League in wins, ERA, walks plus hits per innings pitched, strikeouts, strikeout-to-walk ratio, and double plays turned. He opened the year with historic command, allowing two walks or fewer in each of his first 25 starts, a streak unmatched since Cy Young in 1905.
His strong performance carried into the summer, when he was named to the All-Star Game and brought a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Yankees on July 10. He struck out a career-high 13 batters against the Los Angeles Angels on September 13, but a pectoral injury cut his regular season short and forced him to miss the AL Division Series. He did return to pitch in relief twice during the AL Championship Series, though Seattle’s postseason run ended in Game 7.
Woo finished fifth in AL Cy Young Award voting and earned a spot on the All-MLB second team, while also declining an invitation to pitch for the United States in the 2026 World Baseball Classic to manage his workload. His fastball ranked among the most valuable pitches in baseball by Statcast metrics, and PitchingBot analytics rated his command the best in the sport, cementing his status as a foundational piece of the Mariners’ rotation going forward.
