Kyle Harrison's struggles continue as Brewers' difficult postseason roster decisions loom

With just nine games remaining in the regular season, and their ticket already punched to the 2026 postseason, the Milwaukee Brewers' focus is on securing the top seed in the National League and determining which players will be included on their playoff roster.

Most of the ongoing discussions surrounding the postseason roster are in regard to the pitching staff. While Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson are seemingly locked in as the Brewers No. 1 and No. 2 postseason starters, respectively, questions remain in regard to who will serve as Milwaukee's No. 3 starter in October and how the Brew Crew will round out their playoff pitching staff.

Perhaps the biggest question mark when it comes to the playoff roster is breakout southpaw Kyle Harrison. The 25-year-old Harrison, who the Brewers acquired from the Boston Red Sox in the Caleb Durbin deal back in February, was dominant during the first half of the 2026 season, putting together his best stretch of starts in his young major league career. However, ever since a month-long stint on the IL from early July to early August, spurred by forearm tightness, Harrison's effectiveness has dipped significantly. Since the All-Star Break, Harrison has posted a 7.85 ERA in eight appearances (seven starts), in large part due to decreased velocity and vertical movement on his once-dominant four-seam fastball.

As a result of these recent struggles, the Brewers temporarily relegated Harrison to a relief role, but on Thursday afternoon, in their series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee gave the young southpaw an opportunity to prove himself as a starting pitcher. The outing, however, didn't go as Harrison hoped it would. He covered just 1.2 innings and allowed four earned runs on four hits and two walks. While his velocity saw a slight uptick from where it's sat post-injury, the vertical movement on his fastball was still lacking, and, as a result, Harrison didn't miss many bats.

With time running out to prove himself before the postseason, Harrison's spot on the playoff roster is certainly in jeopardy. Such a reality has a ripple effect on the rest of the Brewers' postseason roster, one that could even change the team's strategy in regard to bullpen usage in October.

Kyle Harrison's postseason roster spot in jeopardy after discouraging performance against Pirates

At this point, in order to make the postseason roster, Harrison would need to turn in multiple, likely relief, appearances during which he demonstrates a restored effectiveness with his fastball. Seeing as just nine games remain in the regular season, such a reality seems unlikely, leading many to believe that Harrison's postseason roster fate is already decided.

While it's undoubtedly a significant blow for the first-place Brewers, Milwaukee certainly still has the arms to make a deep run in the postseason. Let's take a closer look at the pitching staff the Brewers could carry in the NLDS, keeping in mind that many teams will carry just 12 pitchers for the five-game series.

Brewers' potential 2026 NLDS pitching staff:

1. RHP Jacob Misiorowski
2. RHP Logan Henderson
3. RHP Dustin May
4. LHP Robert Gasser
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5. RHP Trevor Megill
6. RHP Abner Uribe
7. LHP Aaron Ashby
8. LHP JoJo Romero
9. RHP Chad Patrick
10. LHP DL Hall
11. LHP Shane Drohan
12. RHP Antonio Senzatela

Even without Harrison, the Brewers have multi-inning options like Gasser, Hall, Drohan, and Patrick who can serve as bulk pitchers if needed. It's likely the Brewers turn to a bullpen game or a modified bullpen game at some point in their first three games of the NLDS -- they did so in Game 2 of last year's NLDS matchup with the Chicago Cubs. Therefore, the separation of starting pitchers and relief pitchers above is more of a loose distinction than a steadfast line.

Regardless, the Brewers have the arms to achieve their postseason goals even without Harrison returning to form over the next two weeks. If Harrison miraculously restores his effectiveness between now and the Brewers' first postseason game, all the better, but as of right now, Milwaukee can't trust the once-dominant southpaw with innings in October.

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