The Brewers’ rotation has gone from looking almost unfair to suddenly carrying a question mark, and Kyle Harrison is the reason why.
For most of the 2026 season, the 25-year-old left-hander looked like one of the best pitchers in baseball. Through 21 starts, Harrison owned a 2.79 ERA and a 10-3 record across 103 1/3 innings. Then the wheels came off over his last two outings.
On Aug. 31 against the Chicago Cubs, Harrison was tagged for nine runs in 3 2/3 innings. He followed that up Sunday by allowing four runs in just 3 2/3 innings against the Cincinnati Reds. In two starts, his ERA jumped from 2.79 to 3.66.
That kind of slide has prompted Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy to at least entertain a different look if the rough patch keeps going.
"Maybe he won't start," Murphy said, as transcribed by MLB.com's Jeff Wallner. "Maybe he'll end up being in the middle of the game or something like that ... I think it’s probably back him off a little bit [or] if he starts a game, go shorter."
For now, Harrison is still in the rotation. MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reported that the current plan is for him to make his next start, though the Brewers will "probably" have a long man ready behind him.
"Kyle Harrison is scheduled to make his next start on Saturday against the Reds. The Brewers will probably have a long man ready behind him, Pat Murphy said," McCalvy wrote on X.
The timing matters because Milwaukee’s rotation still has real upside. Jacob Misiorowski is the favorite to win the National League Cy Young Award, and Logan Henderson has been historically good when he’s taken the ball. If Harrison looks like the pitcher he was over his first 21 starts, a playoff group led by Misiorowski, Henderson and Harrison can stack up with most teams.
And the Brewers aren’t exactly short on options behind that trio. Dustin May, Robert Gasser and Shane Drohan are also in the mix.
But the last two starts have changed the feel around the staff. If Harrison keeps stumbling, the Brewers’ rotation starts to look a lot less intimidating. For now, he remains in place - but the pressure is obvious.
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