Now fully healthy, Henderson ready to build on brilliant start to career 

MILWAUKEE – Logan Henderson would have loved to pitch for the Brewers in the National League Championship Series. But just being there, ready to go, represented a springboard into what the 23-year-old hopes is a healthier 2026.

Henderson still has rookie status going into 2026 – he’s No. 5 on MLB Pipeline’s Brewers Top 30 Prospects list, and he briefly climbed into baseball’s overall Top 100 last season – but he has more of a foothold than most of the players on those lists. Henderson made his Major League debut in April and went 3-0 with a 1.78 ERA in five Milwaukee starts before a right flexor strain ended his regular season in August.

“Spending time in rehab sure makes you not take the game for granted,” Henderson said.

Henderson made his last Brewers start on Aug. 3 before landing on the injured list. Thankfully, the team’s run into October provided a chance to return, and Henderson was able to resume throwing bullpen sessions by the middle of September. That in turn positioned him to face hitters in early October at the team’s complex in Phoenix, where he was part of a group of extra players at what the club loosely called its “stay ready” camp.

Those sessions went well enough that Henderson was summoned back to Milwaukee prior to the start of the NLCS against the Dodgers. He said he actually had real hope about being added to the series roster as a relief option.

“I wanted nothing more than to be able to contribute and help the team in the playoffs,” Henderson said. “But I understood the position I was in, coming off injury and built up to no more than 30 pitches. It was a really cool experience being in the dugout. I just wish it could have gone a different way.”

So do the Brewers, who will try to run it back again in 2026 with what could be a young rotation, depending on Brandon Woodruff’s health and whether Freddy Peralta is traded. The next starting pitching options are all young prospect types: right-handers Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick and Henderson, and left-hander Robert Gasser.

Barring any setbacks, Henderson is positioned to deliver significant innings for a club built around run prevention, so finishing the year healthy was a big deal – especially given that this was the second time that Henderson dealt with an injury since the Brewers made him a fourth-round Draft pick in 2021. Henderson was limited to seven outings in '22 because of a right elbow injury that didn’t require surgery.

“I think we left it in a really good spot,” said Brewers senior VP of player development and performance Cam Castro. “We spent a lot of meaningful minutes on that buildup, and I think Logan and us felt really confident about where he finished the season. I think the biggest thing is he showed that he belongs.”

Henderson also showed he can miss Major League bats while throwing just shy of 90% fastballs and changeups.

“We just didn’t know. Not only can he start, but can he handle it?” said senior special assistant Carlos Villanueva, who threw a pretty good changeup in his own pitching days. “He’s a really nice kid. Was he going to come to the big leagues and be overmatched? Or was he going to be a dog out there and compete? To show you belong is important.”

Henderson is focused on his secondary pitches beyond his bread-and-butter fastball and changeup, including a curveball he’s carefully reintroducing this winter. Henderson threw more cutters last year and intends to continue that progress. And his slider is a usable fifth pitch.

“I want a full arsenal instead of just using two pitches,” Henderson said. “I know there’s still a lot of ways for me to grow.”

Henderson is “full go” this offseason, and he's expected to resume throwing off a mound in late December or early January. He has the perfect throwing partner in former Cinco Ranch High School (Katy, Texas) teammate Spencer Arrighetti, the Astros right-hander whose season was similarly cut short by a right elbow injury.

Next time the Brewers make the playoffs, Henderson aims to be more than a cheerleader.

“It definitely makes you want to get back even more,” Henderson said.