Rehabbing Brewers starting pitcher turns in strong performance at perfect moment

Major League Baseball's midseason trade deadline is now just three days away. Though a pair of somewhat bizarre trades have been executed over the last week, the otherwise lack of trade activity suggests that baseball fans are in for an exciting weekend. With the group of selling teams becoming more obvious in recent days, contending teams, like the Milwaukee Brewers, now have a clearer understanding of what kinds of upgrades are available via trade before Monday evening.

Many are expecting the Brewers to be more aggressive at this year's trade deadline, and paired with the fact that Milwaukee's top priority appears to be adding another "playoff-caliber arm" to their rotation, the Brew Crew has constantly been linked to Detroit Tigers' ace Tarik Skubal, who is the reigning back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner and reportedly available on the trade market.

Fans and league insiders, who desperately want to see the Brewers use their top-ranked farm system to execute an "all-in" move like the one that would be required to land Skubal, are dreaming about Milwaukee's front office constructing something of a super rotation in their effort to topple the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers in the postseason. Already with NL Cy Young front-runner Jacob Misiorowski at the top of their rotation, the Brewers would form not only the best 1-2 punch in baseball by adding Skubal to their roster, but their top two starters would be one of the best duos in MLB history.

While Miz and Skubal alone would give the Brewers an excellent chance of defeating the defending back-to-back world champion Dodgers, Milwaukee's elite rotation doesn't stop there. See, when fans and analysts discuss the possibility of Skubal joining the Brewers, they never say that Milwaukee would simply be forming the best starting pitcher duo in the game, but rather they extend that projection to the Brew Crew having one of the best trios of starting pitchers in baseball by including 2026 breakout Kyle Harrison.

Kyle Harrison turns in dominant rehab outing as conversations regarding deadline rotation additions heat up

While Matt Arnold and the Brewers' front office consider whether or not to add another playoff-caliber arm to their starting rotation, Harrison, Milwaukee's current No. 2 option behind Misiorowski, is just beginning a rehab assignment. Harrison, who posted a stellar 3.01 ERA during the first half of the season, was placed on the IL during the week leading up to the All-Star break after experiencing forearm tightness.

Just last night, Harrison made his first, and what could likely be his only, rehab start. Pitching for the High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Harrison covered 5.2 scoreless innings, while allowing just one hit and collecting five strikeouts. He did walk three batters, but after throwing 68 pitches and maintaining his velocity throughout the start, Harrison certainly looked ready to return to the Brewers' rotation as early as next week.

When discussing the Brewers' starting options for an anticipated future postseason series, many assume that Harrison will be the dominant pitcher that he was during the first half of the season. Talks of the Brewers having a super rotation with Miz, a top-tier trade acquisition, and Harrison, imply that the latter will return from his injury with as much success as he found prior to his brief IL stint. While some may have looked at that as wishful thinking, especially as Harrison resided on the IL with a forearm injury, the young southpaw's start in Appleton last night proved that he hasn't lost a step despite missing the final three weeks of July.

With Harrison nearing a return, and fans expecting the Brewers' front office to add a frontline starter ahead of Monday's trade deadline, Milwaukee could add a pair of necessary reinforcements to their pitching staff during next week's homestand. With a grueling stretch of 17 games in 17 days beginning today, which includes a trip back to the West Coast on August 10, the Brewers could certainly use a momentum boost, and it appears as if they are about to get one not only in the form of a deadline addition, but also through the return of their stellar southpaw.

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