There have been some great rotations in the modern era for the Brewers. The 2021 rotation is the gold standard in terms of stats. They were far ahead of any other rotation by starting pitcher fWAR (20.3), and also had the best ERA (3.13) and FIP (3.29). The 2011 rotation helped earn the team its first division title in 29 years and was a model of reliability, only needing six starters for the whole season. The 2025 rotation may not be an all-time great one, but it’s developing into one that could rival some of those great Brewers teams.
Where did the 2025 rotation rank? While it might not be the best, it was still strong. The starting pitcher ERA (3.56) was the second-best since 2000. Their FIP (4.07) and fWAR (12.6) were closer to the middle of the pack, but still solid. It’s worth noting that these marks are slightly skewed because of the Brewers’ use of openers, but they are still good numbers.
Taking an early look at 2026, the rotation will have plenty of options, but also a lot of questions. Leading the rotation is Freddy Peralta, who should be back after his option is exercised. Also, Quinn Priester had a full, healthy season and can take on a full-season workload. After that, it becomes murkier.
Jacob Misiorowski ended up at 141 1/3 innings pitched, which is a 45% increase from 2024. A 160-inning season in 2026 is reasonable, if the Brewers want to go that route. Are there any concerns around him after pitching that many extra innings in 2025?
Chad Patrick is also set up for a full-time major league workload after a year where he pitched 171 innings. He re-established himself with a strong playoff performance and should be in the plans for next season.
Brandon Woodruff is going to be an interesting case. He finished the season at 106 2/3 innings pitched. However, that late-season lat injury ended his season early. While he should be fine going into 2026, that late injury is going to be a point of concern (even if it’s not pitching-related). It’s a $20 million mutual option for him in 2026, with a $10 million buyout. That means the question about him will be if he’s worth $10 million on a one-year deal (since he will get the other $10 million either way). Woodruff could decline his side, though that would be betting that he can get at least a $20 million offer somewhere else.
Jose Quintana will likely not return. There is a $15 million mutual option with a $2 million buyout available. With the internal options the Brewers have, it would be a surprise to see that option exercised.
Logan Henderson and Robert Gasser are bigger wild cards heading into 2026. Henderson pitched 103 innings before an elbow injury kept him out for the rest of the season. Gasser did get back into game action, but never fully stretched out and only pitched 46 1/3 innings. There’s also Tobias Myers and Carlos Rodriguez, who could factor into the plans, though neither pitched significant innings in the majors in 2025.
The biggest problem here is the overall experience if neither Woodruff nor Quintana returns. That would put Priester as the second-most experienced major league starter with just under two years of service time. Gasser would be over a year of service time as well, though most of that was spent on the injured list. Everyone else would be under a year of service time.
If Peralta is traded, the rotation would have a sudden lack of major league experience. Three pitchers (Priester, Misiorowski, Patrick) could put together 160-plus inning seasons based on their workloads in 2025. After that, there are a lot of question marks. Even if the Brewers get some of the other young options to step up, how many innings would they be limited to? Are the Brewers ready to push them farther? An average of five innings per start over a full season equates to 160 innings. That would also mean more work for the bullpen, and that can also backfire if they are used too often.
We saw what happened with a depleted rotation in the 2025 playoffs. The Brewers had to get creative with their bullpen to make it through the NLDS, and they were alright in the NLCS (or at least, they weren’t the main problem). Some of that was just bad luck and timing, but some was also the consequence of growing pains in the rotation.
We also saw what dominant starting pitching can look like. The Dodgers’ four starters in the NLCS each made strong starts and kept pressure off the bullpen. It’s debatable how much the Brewers’ offense helped them look great. Despite that, it’s a level that shows what a very strong rotation with pitchers that can pitch deeper into games can do. The Brewers’ rotation doesn’t need to get there (especially since the Dodgers have the payroll advantage to supplement their pitching staff), but getting closer to that is what they should strive for.
All of this also assumes that all the pitchers continue to perform in 2026. We’ve seen pitchers fall in and out of favor quickly. Tobias Myers was arguably the best starter in 2024, but barely made an impact in 2025 (though he did have a strong finish to the season in the bullpen). Patrick fell out of favor for a bit when he was demoted and struggled in spot starts, but eventually came back stronger. Looking back earlier in the season, Aaron Civale had a spot to start the season, but didn’t pitch well enough to keep it.
There’s a lot of potential with the young pitchers. We saw what Misiorowski and Patrick did as part of the playoff bullpen (even though Misiorowski wasn’t much different from a starter, based on his innings). The potential for the future rotation is high. However, it’s also worrying for 2026 if they can’t cover enough innings. Keeping Peralta around will help with that. Another veteran presence would bring experience and reliability to a rotation that could use it, whether that is Woodruff, Quintana, or a free agent this offseason.
