3 Brewers who should have more prominent roles in 2026 than they had in 2025

55 total players played for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2025. 55! Their roster at any given time only consisted of 26 players (28 in September), meaning more than double the amount of players on an active roster were relied on during the Brewers' franchise record-breaking season.

The 97 wins that the Brewers amassed in 2025 were the product of many of those 55 players outperforming their preseason projections. Players like Caleb Durbin and Chad Patrick were much more important pieces than fans expected them to be prior to the start of the season. The result was each of them earning a larger role on the team, which led to more opportunities to prove their talent and so on and so forth.

However, other players were on the wrong side of this positive feedback loop, with the unexpected performances from other players in the organization forcing them out of the more prominent role that they were expecting to fill in 2025.

That said, in an organization like Milwaukee’s, just because the opportunities weren't there for certain players in one season, doesn't mean they won't pop up again the following year. The Brewers preach a strategy of roster fluidity that capitalizes on the "hot hands," so to speak. Given the competitive nature of the NL Central, Milwaukee generally can't afford to wait around for its former key contributors to find their footing once again, especially when a suitable replacement waits in Triple-A, but that doesn't mean players won't once again be given an opportunity to prove themselves at some point. As a result, here are three players who should expect larger roles in 2026 than they had in 2025.

1. RHP Tobias Myers

2025 was a rollercoaster for Tobias Myers. After being named the Brewers' Most Valuable Pitcher by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWA) in his rookie season in 2024, the expectations were high for the now-27-year-old Myers entering the 2025 season. However, a left oblique strain in spring training delayed the start of Myers' 2025 campaign to the 24th of April.

Myers returned to the mound in the same starting role that he held in 2024, but he struggled to find consistency, especially when it came to his command. After a solid 6.3% walk rate during his rookie season, Myers' walk rate ballooned to 10.4% in his first six appearances with the big league club in 2025. The result was a shuttling back-and-forth between Triple-A and MLB, made worse by uncertainty involving the health of other Brewers starting pitchers at the time.

In late July, Myers returned to the big leagues after more than two months in the minor leagues. However, this time around, the Brewers elected to throw Myers out of the bullpen, partly due to their full starting rotation at the time, and partly due to them feeling that Myers could be more successful in a relief role. They were correct in their assumption as Myers made 16 appearances over the final two months of the season and maintained a 2.64 ERA during the stretch. His walk rate improved to 4.0% and he was even included on the Brewers' NLCS roster.

Myers is no doubt an important piece of the Brewers' 2026 plans. The team will almost certainly convert him back into a starting pitcher before the start of next season, but Myers' ultimate role next year could come either as a starter or a reliever. Either way, expect Myers to cover more than the 50.2 innings he threw in 2025.

2. RHP Logan Henderson

The circumstances of Logan Henderson's 2025 campaign were far different from those of Myers, but both ended up throwing fewer innings than they will most likely be asked to cover in 2026. While Myers had already proven himself in MLB the season prior, Henderson came into the 2025 season hoping he would make his debut, but needing some unfortunate developments to occur in order for it to happen. Those unfortunate developments, injuries to many of the Brewers starting pitchers, occurred and Henderson was given a shot to prove himself on April 20 -- likely earlier than he was expecting.

That first start couldn't have gone much better; Henderson went six innings, struck out nine batters, and allowed just one earned run on a solo shot while the Brewers were up 8-0. Unfortunately for Henderson, he didn't earn a chance to follow up his excellent debut until mid-May, at which point he made three consecutive starts in the Brewers rotation, and allowed a total of three earned runs while covering 15 innings.

Henderson then had to wait until August 3 to once again make a major league start. It was another strong one -- he covered 13 outs and allowed just one run -- but the rookie right-hander experienced elbow inflammation and was shut down until late September. He was eligible for the Brewers' NLCS roster, but ultimately passed up as he didn't have any recent in-game experience.

Henderson's role in 2025 was limited by opportunity, not by his performance, which suggests that as the Brewers roster takes shape this offseason, with veterans like José Quintana and possibly Brandon Woodruff expected to depart, a role will be carved out for Henderson. Whether he's a part of the starting rotation on Opening Day, the team's sixth starter who covers multiple innings out of the bullpen, or the next man up waiting in Triple-A, expect Henderson to be an important part of the Brewers in 2026.

3. 1B/OF Tyler Black

Tyler Black was expected to be an important contributor for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2025, but much like Myers, a spring training injury started him off on the wrong foot. It was a hamate bone fracture in his right hand for Black, and it forced him to miss the first month and a half of the season. A lengthy rehab assignment in Arizona meant that Black wasn't playing Triple-A games until June 11. Then, it took him a while to warm back up to Triple-A pitching, and it wasn't until the end of July that Black finally got the call back up to the majors.

He ended up appearing in just five games for the Brewers this season, after playing in 18 a season ago. The sample size is too small to draw any concrete conclusions from, but Black's final month in Triple-A tells a story of a player who simply needed more time to get back to his true form; in September, Black slashed .316/.426/.474 with six doubles in 57 at-bats for the Nashville Sounds.

The ship is far from sailed on Black, who was selected with the 33rd overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, but what he needs is more exposure to big-league pitching to demonstrate his full potential. The problem is, injuries, paired with his lack of defensive acumen, have prevented him from logging consistent playing time at the major league level. That could change in 2026.

All signs point to Andrew Vaughn being the Brewers' Opening Day first baseman in 2026, but who will be backing him up is less clear. Left-hander Jake Bauers is projected to make $2 million in arbitration this year according to MLB Trade Rumors, but the Brewers could instead opt for Black as the team's left-handed option at first base, making Bauers a non-tender candidate this offseason. The choice would save the Brewers more than $1 million and give Black the opportunity to prove why Milwaukee selected him in the "first round" of the 2021 MLB Draft (Black was technically selected in the Competitive Balance Round A portion of the draft, but such players are still considered first-round picks).

Milwaukee has done an excellent job of giving their young players an opportunity to succeed at the big league level in recent years, and the result is a roster that should experience very little turnover this offseason, outside of a few key veterans. Expect Myers, Henderson, and Black to fill the void left by the potential departures of said veterans.