Playoffs aren't usually a time for experimentation, but the Milwaukee Brewers don't play by the rules of the rest of the league. They march to the beat of their own drum, and no one carries that torch higher than manager Pat Murphy. That's why, despite all his late-season woes, Murph will give his ill-fated lefty pitcher, Kyle Harrison, another look for the postseason rotation.
Before his stint on the injured list for issues with his throwing arm and elbow, Harrison posted a 2.57 ERA for an 8-3 record, allowing 26 earned runs in 91 innings. After the injury, Harrison fell off a statistical cliff, posting a 1-6 record and a 7.90 ERA with 24 earned runs in 27 innings. He could no longer be trusted as a starter, shifting into a relief role down the stretch of the regular season.
However, Murphy's belief in Harrison has not wavered despite his woes, to the point where Murphy is giving him another chance to crack the postseason rotation, as shared by Hunter Baumgardt:
"If you look at his total body of work, it's really good. If you look at the last, I don't know how many outings, six or seven, eight, you're like, 'Ugh.' There's a lot of reasons for that," Murphy explained to Brewers media. "I'm looking forward to seeing what this week brings. It's not a tryout, but we're looking for consistency...
“I think he could definitely grab a spot here.”
This is a risky call by the reigning Manager of the Year, who's putting a lot of faith in Harrison's last appearance of the regular season against St. Louis, in which he threw 20 strikes on 29 pitches in two innings. However, the state of the Brewers' bullpen has left a handful of questions for them to answer from within, so there's still a chance for Harrison to redeem his late-season woes and etch his name into franchise history this October.
Kyle Harrison has a lot left to prove, but if Pat Murphy believes in him, Milwaukee Brewers fans should too.
Nothing has been officially declared by the Brewers, who announced the obvious expectation that Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderon will start the first two games of the NLDS. That third spot is still up for grabs, and if Harrison is able to break out in practice this week and prove that his velocity is back, there's a chance for him to regain a starting position for Milwaukee.
On the flip side, we must trust that Murphy isn't going to put Harrison out there unless he is confident that the 25-year-old southpaw is ready to perform. Because if he doesn't, it won't just fall back on him — it'll fall back on Murphy too, and while it's hard to deny Murphy's leadership, he still has plenty left to prove in the postseason.
However, a healthy and engaged Kyle Harrison could be just what the Brewers need to string together a historic postseason run. Before the injury, we suspected Harrison would be the No. 2 starter for the Brewers come Playoff time. If he can live up to that expectation, it'll solve the biggest problem left for the Brew Crew heading into one of the most critical playoff appearances in franchise history.
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