MILWAUKEE -- Quinn Priester is sidelined until May by thoracic outlet syndrome in his right arm. Brandon Woodruff flirted with a stint on the injured list to allow more time to build endurance. Kyle Harrison ended the spring managing a minor blister issue. Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick and Brandon Sproat are lined up to start the first three games of the regular season, even though all of them are shy of one year Major League service.
It’s a lot to worry about for the manager of a team coming off a Major League-best and franchise-record 97 wins. But manager Pat Murphy points to recent history, which suggests that the Brewers will squeeze the most from this particularly young group of starting pitchers, just like they did when Woodruff, Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta were in that same position.
“We’re inexperienced,” Murphy said, “but that doesn’t mean we’re not good.”
The Brewers believe they will be good. Here’s a preview:
WHAT NEEDS TO GO RIGHT: The kids can pitch
The Brewers have an exceptionally young group of starters -- so young that longtime ace Woodruff is the only rotation candidate with more than two years of Major League service. If you add up service time for the four starters ahead of Woodruff -- Misiorowski, Patrick, Sproat and Harrison -- and then add depth options like Robert Gasser, Logan Henderson and Shane Drohan, you still come short of Woodruff’s seven years, 161 days in the bigs.
If enough of them hit, this rotation could be solid. But they will have to prove it first.
“The talent level is incredible,” Woodruff said. “The stuff these guys feature is incredible. I know I used to throw hard, and I still feel like I’ve got some of that in me, but these guys wake up out of bed and throw 100 [mph]. It’s amazing to really watch bullpens and watch how their stuff is incredible.
“For them, it all becomes consistency, preparation. ‘How can they use their stuff against hitters? How can they execute with runners on?’ That’s the challenge. And to put that together over a full season is one of the most difficult things. I’m excited to see what we can do.”
GREAT UNKNOWN: Brandon Woodruff
When the Brewers extended Woodruff a qualifying offer and he accepted, it locked in the highest single-season salary for a pitcher in franchise history. And yet, nobody knows exactly what to expect. Woodruff, Milwaukee’s longest-tenured pitcher, had shoulder surgery at the end of 2023, spent all of ‘24 rehabbing and then returned for 12 incredibly promising Major League starts in ‘25 (7-2, 3.20 ERA) before a lat strain signaled that he was simply out of bullets. Woodruff and the Brewers devised a build-up that emphasized being healthy in September and October rather than being ready for Opening Day, and debated right up until the end whether to pitch him at the back end of the opening rotation, or place him on the IL and have him miss the first three series of the regular season.
“There’s a lot to play around with,” said Woodruff, who will tune up with one final simulated game on Wednesday. “I felt like personally, I was in a good spot. I was recovering. My pitch count is a little less than some of the guys coming out of camp, but the stuff was there. I didn’t necessarily want to go pitch in Minor League games. I’ll roll with it early on and get that good base under me.”
How many starts will he deliver? Will it work if the “angry” fastball that made him great never fully returns? Can he factor in the postseason after being denied that chance the past three years? Considering the youthful options around him, the Brewers have a lot riding on those answers.
TEAM MVP WILL BE: William Contreras
Imagine catching 100 mph fastballs with a fractured middle finger on your glove hand, then being expected to hit on top of that. Under those conditions, Contreras finished fifth in NL MVP Award balloting in 2024 and still managed a 111 OPS+ in 2025, an incredible achievement considering the pain he endured. Now he’s healthy, having undergone surgery during the offseason to correct the fracture. And he’s motivated going into his next-to-last year before free agency. Considering that Corbin Burnes, Devin Williams and Freddy Peralta were all traded to big markets with one year to go, this could be Contreras’ last year behind the plate for the Brewers.
TEAM CY YOUNG WILL BE: Abner Uribe
The Brewers’ concerns about the toll last year’s run to the National League Championship Series could impose a year later are well-founded. Pitchers -- especially relievers, and especially high-leverage, high-emotion relievers -- often pay a price for a heavy workload in the following year, and Uribe logged 80 appearances including the postseason. He was so electric, and so under control of the emotions that got him into trouble before, that he’s a candidate for a major breakout in 2026 if he can claim the closer’s role. Murphy has said that Trevor Megill would get most of those chances early on, and why not? Megill was an All-Star closer last season before a flexor strain sidelined him and prompted a chance to Uribe. For now, chalk it up as a great problem to have.
BOLD PREDICTION: A 30-30 season for Jackson Chourio
Didn’t we already predict this last year? Maybe, but Chourio continues to generate those kinds of projections after becoming the youngest player ever to secure a 20-20 season as a rookie in 2024 and then the youngest to log multiple 20-20 seasons in ‘25. Chourio has been putting in the work with the famously-focused Contreras, and will be heading into his age-22 season in ‘26 with some experience under his belt. If he can cut his chase rate and stick to a disciplined plan from at-bat to at-bat, the sky’s the limit.
“Jackson’s coming into his own,” Murphy said. “He’s maturing. Some of the at-bats he had Saturday [against the Padres], the strike-to-ball [awareness] and his maturity at the plate, I hope that can continue.”