As spring injuries take a toll on the Brewers’ rotation, Logan Henderson and Chad Patrick could be early season starters
The Brewers’ starting rotation has taken some hits this spring. Entering the spring, Brandon Woodruff and Robert Gasser were both expected to start the season on the injured list. That has grown as Aaron Ashby and DL Hall also were injured this spring. The latest injury came on Saturday, as Tobias Myers left his start with an oblique strain. The news on Myers is somewhat encouraging as he could return before the end of April.
Even so, that leaves the Brewers looking for options to start the season in the rotation. Currently, here are the projected starters: Freddy Peralta, Nestor Cortes, Aaron Civale, and Jose Quintana. The first time they’ll need a fifth starter is in their sixth game against the Royals on April 2. Per Adam McCalvy, one of those options could be pitching prospect Logan Henderson.
Ranked No. 13 on the Brewers’ top prospect list from MLB Pipeline, Henderson pitched between Double-A Biloxi (nine starts) and Triple-A Nashville (six starts) last season. In his six starts in Nashville, he had a 4.56 ERA in 23 2⁄3 innings, as well as 26 strikeouts compared to six walks. This spring, he’s pitched 5 2⁄3 innings and not allowed a run, along with eight strikeouts and one walk. He is also starting today’s game against the Padres.
Henderson isn’t the only player under consideration for the rotation. Chad Patrick is another player that could have a shot. In 2024, he pitched the full season with Nashville, posting a 2.90 ERA in 26 games (24 starts) with 145 strikeouts and 39 walks. He’s also appeared in three games this spring, allowing three runs in five innings. That includes six strikeouts and no walks.
Both Henderson and Patrick are on the 40-man roster but have been optioned out of camp. They can return to make starts and attend meetings. As for their option status, while it has been used, they wouldn’t officially use up an option year until they’ve spent 20 regular-season days in the minors.
McCalvy also notes that the Brewers have some other options for covering innings early in the season. Tyler Alexander, Connor Thomas, and Elvin Rodriguez are all on the 40-man roster and still in camp. They could all make spot starts or extended appearances to cover innings early on.
Looking at the Brewers schedule, they could decide to skip the fifth starter with off-days as much as they can. Whether they would do that is debatable, though. Early in the season, they may opt to give the starters as much rest as they can to ease them into the season workload. However, with four off-days between the first game on March 27 and the end of April, the chances to do that are very limited. They have a streak of eight games (March 29-April 6), nine games (April 8-16), and 10 games (April 18-27). At minimum, they’ll need four starts from a fifth starter. Paul Dietrich will talk more about the starting rotation tomorrow.