The Brewers have built a habit of turning October into a showcase for young players, and 2026 looks no different. Milwaukee’s postseason rosters over the years have repeatedly featured rookies stepping into big moments, and this season’s group could be asked to do the same.
That pattern goes back to 2018, when Brandon Woodruff made a strong first impression in the playoffs and even hit a home run off Clayton Kershaw in Game 1 of the NLCS. That same postseason also included Corbin Burnes as a dominant bullpen arm and Freddy Peralta, who worked three scoreless innings in Game 4 of the NLCS, a game that stretched to 13 innings.
The rookie impact kept coming in later years. Aaron Ashby gave Milwaukee another useful arm in 2021, appearing in two playoff games before landing a major contract extension the next season.
In 2023, Sal Frelick, Brice Turang and Abner Uribe all got their first taste of postseason baseball. Then in 2024, Jackson Chourio and Tobias Myers arrived on the October stage and delivered when the Brewers needed them, with Chourio posting a multi-homer game in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series against the New York Mets and Myers throwing five scoreless innings in Game 3.
Last season brought another wave of rookie contributions, as Caleb Durbin, Jacob Misiorowski, Isaac Collins and Chad Patrick all became part of the playoff story. Misiorowski was especially effective out of the bullpen, giving up just two earned runs over 12.0 innings and throwing four important innings in an elimination game against the Chicago Cubs.
Patrick also stood out, seeing his velocity jump in a way that caught attention. Durbin did his part too, collecting eight hits with three doubles or triples in 29 at-bats during the run.
Now the Brewers are looking at five more rookies who could matter when the postseason arrives again.
Logan Henderson is first on that list. He debuted in 2025, but because he made only five starts last season, he still qualifies as a rookie in 2026.
Henderson was not part of the playoff chase a year ago, but he has become a major part of the rotation since then. He enters this stretch with 22 straight outings to start his career allowing three or fewer earned runs, leaving him just one behind Zac Gallen’s MLB record.
Based on how he has pitched this season, Henderson looks positioned to take the ball as Milwaukee’s No. 2 starter in October.
Cooper Pratt has also made a quick case for a postseason role. When he reached the majors three months ago, there were real questions about whether his bat was ready.
He has answered them with a .276 average and a .343 on-base percentage, and he has been even better over the last three weeks. Pratt has reached safely in 13 of his last 16 games, including seven straight before Saturday night’s game in Baltimore.
That production has locked him in as a steady option near the bottom of the order, and the Brewers should be able to count on him at shortstop throughout the playoffs.
Shane Drohan has spent his rookie year handling whatever the Brewers have asked. The 27-year-old swingman has logged the second-most innings on the team, first working out of the bullpen in May before moving into the rotation when June arrived.
In October, he could fill a number of jobs: matchup work, length, or even high-leverage innings. That flexibility makes him a valuable part of Milwaukee’s pitching staff.
Luis Lara has already shown he can make a difference in a flash. His first stretch in the majors has included several catches at the wall and a walk-off hit, giving the Brewers a young outfielder who has already produced in pressure moments. That kind of profile could matter late in close playoff games, especially if Milwaukee is trying to protect a lead and leans on defense.
Robert Gasser rounds out the group. He debuted in 2024, but because he had limited service time after undergoing Tommy John surgery soon after that debut, he still counts as a rookie in 2026.
Earlier in the season, he looked like a roster bubble candidate, but his recent work has all but secured him a spot. Depending on what Kyle Harrison and Dustin May do down the stretch, Gasser could even find himself as Milwaukee’s No. 3 starter in October.
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For Milwaukee, the challenge is less about wondering whether Misiorowski can handle the moment and more about deciding how to handle him at all heading into October. He leads the majors in ERA, strikeouts, WHIP and opponents batting average, which only sharpens the tension around keeping his arm in line for the stretch run while preserving the kind of impact that makes him one of the Brewers biggest October variables. [Read more 🡒]