Playing at the level the Milwaukee Brewers' core of starting pitchers has in the 2026 season is no easy feat, and sustaining it late into the season is even harder. Sprinkle in the fact that the team's most electrifying pitchers are all in their third season or fewer, and it makes the situation feel far more volatile than it actually has been this season.
That's what makes the most recent stretch of performances by Brewers starting pitchers concerning, with the Playoffs just 22 games away.
Don't get me wrong — the Brewers' pitching has been immaculate this season as a whole, with their 3.48 ERA ranking second in the league and best in the National League. However, the numbers have been trending in the wrong direction, with the team's ERA growing every month since May.
Wondering if the Brewers need to be concerned about this... It's the combined ERA of their starters by month. pic.twitter.com/tSQe6NVj0d
— Dylan Hunter Carter (@DylanHCarter) September 3, 2026
It's coming to a head in late August and early September as the Brewers are getting blown up defensively, yielding 36 runs in their last five games. That includes tough starts for Jacob Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison, and Dustin May — each of whom is expected to be a key contributor for Milwaukee's bullpen come playoff time.
So while it's probably not time to sound the alarms over it, we have to be honest about where the Brewers' bullpen stands today and why they were reportedly so aggressive in trying to upgrade it at the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline.
The Milwaukee Brewers' starting pitchers have everything to prove heading into the 2026 MLB Playoffs.
It doesn't matter what they accomplished in the regular season — the postseason expectations for the Milwaukee Brewers are practically nonexistent. Even after dispatching their rival Chicago Cubs in an elimination game during the 2025 playoffs, Milwaukee still came up short, getting swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. So regardless of their final record, the Brewers' slate is wiped completely clean at the start of the postseason.
The same could be said of the team's starting pitchers, who need to be ready for the ultimate test when it arrives in about a month. And if things keep trending the way they have, Milwaukee might be in some trouble defensively — an area they've dominated for most of the season, just at the same time their offense has come alive in a meaningful way.
Milwaukee's core pitching trio of Jacob Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison, and Logan Henderson are totally unproven in the postseason. While the Miz has three solid Playoff games under his belt, that won't serve him if he's not at 100% by the time his name is called in the postseason. Harrison and Henderson, meanwhile, have no postseason experience at all to lean upon.
So while we're excited by the Brewers' World Series hopes are real and alive, it's not going to be an easy path to get there, and Pat Murphy needs to do everything within his power to prepare his young starters for what's to come, even if that means sacrificing of a few starts down the stretch of the regular season and keeping them as fresh as he possibly can.
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