MLB's revealed postseason schedule rewards Brewers' starting pitching depth

Leading up to the midseason trade deadline, the conversation surrounding the Milwaukee Brewers was whether or not their front office could add a third playoff-caliber starting pitcher to their rotation alongside Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison. However, what that discourse failed to acknowledge was the fact that three postseason starters may not be enough with MLB's playoff schedule this year.

The Brewers ultimately did add a playoff-caliber arm at the trade deadline, acquiring right-hander Dustin May from the division rival St. Louis Cardinals in a deal that required Milwaukee to part ways with two highly-ranked outfield prospects in Alexander Frias and Josiah Ragsdale. The Brewers' front office also made the decision not to include Logan Henderson in their trade offer to the Detroit Tigers for Tarik Skubal, and in the time since, the rookie right-hander has rewarded them by tossing three quality starts, and proving that he too is a playoff-caliber starting pitcher.

Therefore, over the last three weeks, the narrative has changed from whether or not the Brewers have enough weapons in their starting rotation for a deep postseason run to which of their four worthy starters should be included in the playoff rotation. However, a closer look at MLB's 2026 postseason schedule reveals that the Brewers, and any other team in the Divisional Series for that matter, may need four starting pitchers, not three, thus rewarding teams like Milwaukee who have deeper starting rotations.

Teams may be forced to use four starting pitchers in Divisional Series due to MLB's 2026 postseason schedule

A season ago, during their memorable NLDS victory over the Chicago Cubs, the Brewers essentially used three starting pitchers: Freddy Peralta, Quinn Priester, and Jacob Misiorowski. Misiorowski was technically never used as a starter, but he served as the bulk pitcher in both Game 2 and Game 5. That luxury was afforded to the Brewers due to the number of off-days baked into last year's NLDS schedule. The Brewers and Cubs had a day off after Game 1, Game 2, and Game 4, meaning they could throw Peralta on normal rest in both Game 1 and Game 4, and Miz received four days of rest between his two outings as well.

However, this year, that rare off-day between Games 1 and 2 of the Divisional Series is no longer there. As revealed by MLB last week, the NLDS will take place between October 3-9 with just two off-days on October 5 and October 8.

MLB 2026 Postseason Schedule

With just two days off instead of three, the pitching schedule looks rather different. Pitchers who start Game 1 of the NLDS would have just three days of rest before hypothetically starting Game 4. The same would be the case for a pitcher starting Games 2 and 5. Though teams are more likely to send a pitcher back to the mound on three days' rest in the playoffs than they are during the regular season, clubs with four strong starting options seemingly hold an advantage.

Therefore, the Brewers having Miz, Harrison, May, and Henderson all looking like playoff-caliber arms could be a huge advantage should they find themselves in the NLDS again this year. The order of said starters certainly still has yet to be decided, but it's likely the Brewers would use Miz in Game 1 and Game 5 (if needed) rather than rushing him back for Game 4.

There are still six weeks left in the regular season and the Wild Card round before the Brewers would even encounter this decision. However, it's important to note that the NLDS schedule is not the same as it was last year, and the change will almost certainly impact Milwaukee's rotation strategy while rewarding them for having four strong playoff-caliber starters.

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