The Brewers' Triple-A rotation is better than some MLB starting staffs

The Milwaukee Brewers have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to their starting pitching options. With the emergence of Jacob Misiorowski, the return of Brandon Woodruff, and the imminent return of their major offseason acquisition, Nestor Cortes, the Brewers have had to make some difficult decisions when it comes to who stays in the big league rotation.

Already those decisions have resulted in Aaron Civale being traded to the Chicago White Sox, Logan Henderson remaining in Triple-A despite proving he's ready for MLB in his few big league opportunities, and 2024 breakout pitcher Tobias Myers and 2025 breakout pitcher Chad Patrick being sent down to Triple-A despite both of them being big league caliber arms.

The result is a Nashville Sounds rotation that resembles a big-league staff. In fact, when you look around the league at some of the lesser starting rotations in MLB, you could easily make the argument that the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate holds more talent in its starting staff than some major-league clubs. Let's break it down.

Nashville Sounds rotation

Currently, the Nashville Sounds' starting rotation consists of Logan Henderson, Tobias Myers, prospect Coleman Crow, former big-leaguer Bruce Zimmerman, and now Chad Patrick.

For much of the season, Brewers' No. 22 prospect, Carlos Rodriguez, was a regular starter for the Sounds, but a scary forearm injury (generally a precursor to an elbow injury) has kept him out since late May. Additionally, as most Brewers fans are aware, Misiorowski made regular starts for the Sounds, up until his MLB debut on June 12. Finally, it's likely that Quinn Priester will soon join the Sounds' rotation upon Cortes' return, as he is the only Brewers starter (other than Miz) with minor league options still remaining. However, for the purposes of this comparison, let's take a look at the current five arms on the Sounds' starting staff.

Chad Patrick: (2025 MLB Stats) 3-7 with a 3.52 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and 95 strikeouts in 94.2 IP. Through the first two months of the season, Patrick looked like he would be squarely in the NL Rookie of the Year race. While he cooled off over his five starts before being demoted, he's still clearly a big-league arm with middle-of-the-rotation upside.

Logan Henderson: (2025 MLB Stats) 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP, and 29 strikeouts in 21 IP. Sure, it's a small sample size in the big leagues, but Henderson has looked more than comfortable on a big league mound when given the opportunity this season. His four-seam-changeup combo is head-turning, and he's paired it with exceptional command.

Tobias Myers: (Career MLB Stats) 10-7 with a 3.25 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP, and 142 strikeouts in 158 IP. Myers has collected roughly one full season of MLB starts over the last two years, and while he got off to a slow start this season, what he's done in Triple-A since being demoted, paired with his 2024 breakout season, proves he can still be an above-average major league arm.

Coleman Crow: (2025 MiLB Stats): 4-1 with a 3.24 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP, and 64 strikeouts in 50 IP. Coming off a lengthy Tommy John rehab process, Crow has proven why he's one of the most exciting pitching prospects in the Brewers' organization this season. He has an elite curveball and a good rising fastball that should help him impact the Brewers' rotation sometime next year.

Bruce Zimmerman: (Career MLB Stats): 8-10 with a 5.57 ERA, a 1.46 WHIP, and 126 strikeouts in 158.1 IP. Added on a minor league deal as starting depth with major league experience, Zimmerman doesn't have quite the upside of the other names in the rotation, but you'll find that his numbers don't look too bad when compared to certain rotations in MLB.

Colorado Rockies rotation

The Colorado Rockies have the league’s worst starting pitcher ERA this season at 6.33. That is perhaps an unsurprising stat as the team plays half of their games a mile above sea level in the least pitcher-friendly ballpark imaginable.

The team's rotation has generally consisted of proven veterans Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela, Germán Márquez, and Austin Gomber, as well as rookie Chase Dollander (who was optioned to Triple-A three days ago). To be fair to the Rockies starters, let's only compare their road stats to the Nashville Sounds rotation, theoretically mitigating the Coors Field effect.

Kyle Freeland: (2025 road stats) 1-6 with a 4.53 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and 38 strikeouts in 51.2 IP. Freeland has had some solid seasons — he finished 4th in NL Cy Young voting in 2018 — but 2025 has been a rocky path for the nine-year veteran southpaw.

Antonio Senzatella: (2025 road stats) 1-7 with a 6.43 ERA, a 2.10 WHIP, and 18 strikeouts in 42 IP. Despite showing some promise in the shortened COVID-19 season in 2020, Senzatella has now put together five straight seasons with an ERA of 4.40 or higher, and his 13 losses this season lead all of MLB.

Germán Márquez: (2025 road stats) 2-4 with a 6.48 ERA, a 1.72 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts in 50 IP. Márquez was an All-Star back in 2021, a season in which he pitched three complete games. But injuries have made it difficult for the 10-year veteran to find his footing since.

Austin Gomber: (2025 MLB stats) 0-2 with a 5.92 ERA, a 1.56 WHIP, and 11 strikeouts in 24.1 IP. Gomber has made just two road starts this season, so his away stats don't tell us much. Originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2014, Gomber was a main piece in the Nolan Arenado trade, making his performance since joining the Rockies even tougher to stomach.

Chase Dollander: (2025 road stats) 0-5 with a 4.25 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, and 30 strikeouts in 36 IP. Coming up as a promising pitching prospect in the Rockies organization can't be easy. Dollander has proved his talent on the road, but a 9.37 ERA at Coors Field is detrimental to a young pitcher's confidence.

Baltimore Orioles rotation

With a 5.27 starting pitcher ERA, the Baltimore Orioles are the worst in the American League and the worst in MLB if teams that play half of their games in the mountains are excluded. After winning 192 games over the last two seasons, the Orioles simply didn't do enough in the offseason to replace Corbin Burnes and supplement a starting staff that needed impactful additions.

With Cade Povich working back from a hip injury, Baltimore's current rotation consists of MLB veterans Charlie Morton and Zach Eflin, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) legend Tomoyuki Sugano, whom the team signed this past offseason, and a pair of intriguing arms in their sixth year in MLB in Dean Kramer and Trevor Rogers.

Charlie Morton: (2025 MLB stats) 5-7 with a 5.47 ERA , a 1.55 WHIP, and 84 strikeouts in 77.1 IP. Morton's career resurgence starting in his age 34 season is nothing short of incredible. He's earned his two All-Star appearances and two World Series wins in the latter half of his career. But now, at 42 years old, his production is slipping considerably, and his retirement feels imminent.

Zach Eflin: (2025 MLB stats) 6-5 with a 5.95 ERA, a 1.44 WHIP, and 42 strikeouts in 62 IP. A former first-round pick in 2012, Eflin was incredible for the Orioles in the second half of 2024, after coming over from the Tampa Bay Rays in a deadline deal. However, 2025 has been a different story for the 31-year-old right-hander.

Dean Kremer: (2025 MLB stats) 7-7 with a 4.53 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and 81 strikeouts in 101.1 IP. Kremer showed some promise with a 3.23 ERA campaign back in 2022, but he appears to be plateauing with an ERA north of 4.00 in each of the last three seasons. He still serves as a viable innings eater on a big-league staff, but his ceiling seems to be dropping.

Tomoyuki Sugano: (2025 MLB stats) 6-5 with a 4.44 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and 57 strikeouts in 93.1 IP. At times, Sugano has looked like the Orioles’ best starter, but he's slipped as of late, posting a 6.75 ERA in his last seven starts, raising his season ERA to a pedestrian 4.44.

Trevor Rogers: (2025 MLB stats) 2-0 with a 1.57 ERA, a 0.87 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts in 28.1 IP. The only bright spot when it comes to Baltimore's starting pitching this season has been the stellar return of Rogers, whom the team gave up a lot to acquire at last year's trade deadline. Despite a tough stint in the second half of last year, he's back to his 2021 All-Star self since returning from the IL this season.

So you be the judge. Do the Brewers have a better rotation down in Nashville with their Triple-A squad than the Colorado Rockies or Baltimore Orioles do on their major league clubs? There's at least an argument to be had, and that alone is incredibly impressive. The future is bright for the Brewers’ starting rotation, and perhaps they can lean into their depth to add a bat at this year's trade deadline.