THREE UP, THREE DOWN
Welcome to the first edition of the Milwaukee Baseball Report. Normally we’ll be profiling an individual Brewers player in these newsletters, but to kick things off, I thought I’d start by looking at three storylines that I’ll be keeping an eye on this season, “up” with the big league club in Milwaukee, and three more that I’ll be monitoring “down” on the farm in the minors.
• Milwaukee’s pitching rotation
The Brewers set their rotation for the start of the season, with Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick, Brandon Sproat, Kyle Harrison and Brandon Woodruff listed as the first five starters. There are plenty of question marks with that group, and as we’ve seen in the past, there will certainly be things that change throughout the course of a 162 game season. Last season alone, the Brewers used 17 different starting pitchers to get through the year.
Aaron Ashby may make some spot-starts as an “Opener”, while Quinn Priester will hopefully return sooner than later to bolster the staff. And there is plenty of depth at the Triple-A level as well, with Logan Henderson, Robert Gasser, Shane Drohan, Carlos Rodriguez and Coleman Crow all in the mix.
Milwaukee has built up a lot of pitching depth, but the question remains as to who will step up and take the reins as the staff ace. Misiorowski got the first shot on Opening Day and turned in a memorable start, with a dominating five innings of one-run baseball, striking out 11. And Chris Hook, Jim Henderson and company have earned some trust, so it should be a fun storyline to follow throughout the 2026 season.
• The return of a healthy Garrett Mitchell
Healthy once again, Garrett Mitchell could be one of the keys to Milwaukee’s success this season. Heading into his fifth big league season, Mitchell has not appeared in more than 69 games in a season due to a series of injuries. But when healthy, he may be one of the most athletic players on the Brewers roster.
A plus defender in center field, Mitchell can hit for power and runs like a deer, and a full season from him could go a long way towards helping the Brewers build upon last year’s success and getting them back to the playoffs.
• How will the platoon at third base shake out?
When the Brewers traded away Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Siegler to the Red Sox, there were questions about who would man the hot corner in Milwaukee this season. Getting the first crack at it will be David Hamilton, who the team re-acquired in the Boston deal, and veteran Luis Rengifo, who the Brewers signed as a free agent in mid-February.
If those two falter, Jett Williams, and/or Brock Wilken could get their shot with strong showings at Triple-A Nashville, and it might seem far-fetched, but don’t rule out Andrew Fischer getting a look later in the year either.
Which brings us to our next topic.
• Will Andrew Fischer force his way to The Show
Heading into Spring Training, I heard some people speculating that Fischer would be opening the year at High-A Wisconsin. After a strong Spring Training and an impressive showing in the World Baseball Classic, I’m a little less sure of that. After 19 games in Appleton last year, it could be short stint with the T-Rats in 2026 if he even sees time there at all.
Fisher played first base at Tennessee, but has shown himself capable of handling third thus far, and currently ranks as MLB Pipeline’s #1 third base prospect, so if Hamilton and/or Rengifo don’t seize the third base job in Milwaukee, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Fischer in the mix as soon as late this season.
• How aggressive with Milwaukee get with Jesus Made?
With so much hype surrounding him, it’s easy to forget that Jesus Made doesn’t turn 19 until May. One of the top prospects in baseball, Made will be starting the year at Double-A Biloxi, where he got his feet wet with five games at the end of last year.
Made continues to exceed expectations, despite a very high bar, and came into camp this spring looking noticeably more muscular. He saw plenty of action in the Cactus League, and certainly looked the part. So the question is, how aggressive will Milwaukee get with their uber-talented infielder?
If Made can make the jump to Double-A look effortless, will the Brewers push him to Triple-A at mid-season? Or will they give him more time to smooth out any rough edges? If they follow the same approach they took with Jackson Chourio, it might not be all that crazy to dream on Made being a significant contributor to a postseason run at the big league level as early as sometime later this season.
• Which pitchers will be next to step up?
With Brandon Sproat and Logan Henderson likely to graduate from prospect status at some point in 2026, who will be the next Brewers pitching prospect to take a leap forward? The popular choice may be right-hander Bishop Letson, who ranks as the organization’s #9 prospect heading into the year.
An 11th round pick in 2023, Letson spent most of last season at High-A Wisconsin, but missed several months due to injury. He returned late in the year, and finished out the season with a brief stint in Biloxi. The Brewers gave Letson the nod in their first Spring Breakout game this year and his name has been thrown around a lot this spring as a player to keep an eye on.
Others in the mix for that number one pitching prospect spot could include RHP Tyson Hardin, who started the team’s second Breakout game against the A’s, LHP J.D. Thompson, a 2025 draftee, and young hurlers like Ethan Dorchies and Bryce Meccage.
And don’t forget about RHP Josh Knoth. The 33rd overall pick in the 2023 Draft, Knoth made 21 starts at Single-A Carolina in 2024, but missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in January of 2025. 14 months later, Knoth will be looking to return to game action with hopes of reminding people why the Brewers thought so highly of him.
• The big news that broke just hours before the Brewers season got underway, was outfielder Jackson Chourio landing on the injured list with a fractured left hand. Chourio originally suffered the injury when he was hit by a pitch in an exhibition game against the Nationals on March 3rd, and he re-aggravated it last week on a check swing. When the team got back to Milwaukee, Chourio underwent an MRI, where the fracture was revealed. Early estimates are that he should be sidelined between 2-4 weeks.
• Milwaukee also swung a trade prior to Opening Day, acquiring relief pitcher Jake Woodford from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for pitching prospect K.C. Hunt. Woodford, a 2015 first-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals, made his MLB debut in 2020 and has logged 256 big league innings between the Cardinals, White Sox, Pirates and Diamondbacks.
• After their Opening Day beatdown of the Chicago White Sox, the two teams get a day off today, before playing two more on Saturday and Sunday at American Family Field. Saturday’s 6:10 PM start will see Chad Patrick get his first start of the year against Sean Burke. Sunday afternoon is a 1:10 PM first pitch, with Brandon Sproat making his Brewers debut against Anthony Kay. Then the Tampa Bay Rays come to town on Monday after three games in St. Louis. The Rays lost to the Cardinals on Opening Day by a score of 9-7, but much like the Brewers, Tampa’s roster features a plethora of young and talented players, including Wisconsin’s own Gavin Lux. If everything holds, former Brewer Drew Rasmussen, who was part of the Willy Adames trade in 2021, is likely to make the start for Tampa in the series finale on Wednesday.
• The Brewers released a couple of minor league arms in recent days, including Alejandro Parra, Aldrin Gonzalez and Miles Langhorne. Langhorne, who will turn 23 in a few weeks, had recently pitched for Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic after splitting last season between Carolina and Wisconsin.
• The AAA Nashville Sounds will be the first affiliate to get their season started, opening the year on the road, in Virginia, with three games scheduled against the Norfolk Tides (Orioles). Coming off a strong showing in his final Cactus League tune-up, Robert Gasser gets the start for the Sounds, when they get things going just a few hours from now.
The Sounds home opener comes on Tuesday evening, when they welcome the Charlotte Knights to First Horizon Park, for a six-games series against the White Sox Triple-A squad.
• The Double-A Biloxi Shuckers will host an exhibition game on Wednesday night, against a talented Pearl River CC Wildcats roster, that includes catcher Bryce Duszak, a 2024 Menasha High School graduate.
The Shuckers then begin their season on Friday night, with a three-game series at the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Angels).
• Milwaukee’s High-A affiliate, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, will host their Fan Fest and Rummage Sale on Wednesday, April 1st, that will include a scrimmage scheduled for 3:00 PM.
The T-Rats start their regular season with the intra-state rival Beloit Sky Carp (Marlins) coming to Fox Cities Stadium for three games, beginning Thursday, April 2nd.
• Finally, at the Single-A level, the Wilson Warbirds will make their debut on Friday, April 3rd, starting a three-game series against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Astros). Formerly the Carolina Mudcats, the Warbirds move from Zebulon to Wilson, North Carolina, and begin the year with nine straight road contests, before their home opener on April 14th.
• It’s certainly possible that I might have missed a player or two, but by my count, after an initial scan of rosters, there were 49 former Brewers who were on Opening Day rosters in 2026.
In the National League East, the Mets led the way with four former Brewers on their roster, including Freddy Peralta, Tobias Myers, Devin Williams and Tyrone Taylor. The Miami Marlins roster features Anthony Bender, Janson Junk and Michael Petersen, while the Braves have Joel Payamps and Mauricio Dobon, the Nationals include Joey Wiemer and Gus Varland, and the Phillies have Dylan Moore.
Our division rivals in the NL Central have mostly avoided adding former Brewers, except, of course, the Chicago Cubs, who rostered pitchers Hoby Milner, Colin Rea and Caleb Thielbar to start the year.
Over in the NL West, the San Franciso Giants had three Brewers alumni on their initial roster, including Adrian Houser, Willy Adames, and Jared Oliva, while the Rockies squad includes Jose Quintana and Brett Sullivan, and the Diamondbacks have first baseman Carlos Santana.
In the American League East, the Toronto Blue Jays lead the way, with three former Brewers, including pitchers Eric Lauer and Cody Ponce, along with catcher Tyler Heineman. The Red Sox feature infielders Caleb Durbin and Andruw Monasterio, while the Orioles have Grant Wolfram, the Yankees have Trent Grisham and the Rays have Drew Rasmussen.
The Brewers are well represented in the AL Central, with 13 alumni. The White Sox feature Shane Smith, Erick Fedde, Reese McGuire and Tristan Peters, the Royals roster includes Lucas Erceg, Nick Mears and Isaac Collins, the Twins have Anthony Banda, Taylor Rogers, Justin Topa and Victor Caratini, and the Guardians roster includes David Fry and Rhys Hoskins.
And finally, out in the AL West, the Astros are led by Josh Hader and Bennett Sousa, the Angels include Brent Suter and Drew Pomeranz, the A’s have Aaron Civale and the Rangers feature Tyler Alexander and Jakob Junis.