The rookie that could quickly become the Brewers' postseason X-factor

Another day, and still no word on the injury status of Brandon Woodruff. Despite Pat Murphy telling Milwaukee Brewers fans that they would receive an update on their fan favorite starting pitcher by the end of the day on Tuesday, the baseball world still doesn't know the fate of the Crew's presumed Game 2 starter.

Time is running out, as the Brewers will begin their highly anticipated postseason run in just two days’ time, and it's possible that their first game is a Saturday matinee, which would leave even less time for the team to offer an update on the health of their longest-tenured player.

While fans should absolutely still hold out hope that Woodruff will miraculously emerge as Milwaukee's starter in one of their NLDS contests, as the team has yet to rule out Woody being included on the roster for the team's first postseason series of 2025, it's also wise to start preparing for the reality that he will not be able to pitch this October.

In such an instance, where Woody is left off the postseason roster, the pressure is on for one of the team's other starting pitchers to step up. José Quintana remains a possible candidate to follow Freddy Peralta and Quinn Priester as the Game 3 starter, assuming Woody is unavailable, but Quintana is dealing with his own injury concerns. The veteran southpaw, who has pitched more postseason innings than anyone on the Brewers pitching staff, suffered a calf strain in mid-September that kept him out of the rotation for the final two months of the regular season.

While signs point to Quintana being ready for the NLDS in two days’ time, the Brewers may look to another option to cover bulk innings in Game 3, whether it comes at the beginning of the game or not.

If Brandon Woodruff is unable to pitch in the postseason, Chad Patrick's role becomes that much more important

Chad Patrick has a solid chance to make the postseason roster regardless of Brandon Woodruff's injury status, but should the latter miss the playoffs once again, the former will almost certainly be included as part of the Brewers' 26-man NLDS roster.

Patrick was a steady force in the Brewers’ rotation for most of the 2025 season. Despite being one of the better rookie starting pitchers in the league through the first three months of the season, Patrick was demoted to Triple-A to make room for Woodruff in the starting rotation. He returned to the pitching staff in late August and made five starts and three relief appearances over the final six weeks of the regular season.

All in all, Patrick posted a stellar 3.53 ERA in nearly 120 innings this season. He led all rookie pitchers with more than 100 innings pitched this season in FanGraphs' Wins Above Replacement (fWAR) and strikeout rate. That list includes presumed NL Rookie of the Year candidate Cade Horton.

Not only was Patrick a steady starter throughout the season, constantly giving the Brewers a chance to win in nearly every game that he pitched, but he also displayed impressive versatility that could be beneficial on a postseason roster. As previously mentioned, Patrick not only pitched at the beginning of games, but also made appearances out of the Brewers 'pen. Despite all four of his relief appearances being just one-inning outings, there's no doubt Patrick could cover six or even nine outs in the middle of a game this October.

Plan A is still to have Brandon Woodruff be a part of the Brewers' postseason rotation, with him, Peralta, and Priester forming a formidable trio. However, should Woody not be able to pitch in the upcoming NLDS, the combination of Quintana and Patrick should be able to cover Game 3. Between Quintana's postseason experience and Patrick's steady production this season, the duo offers a fine alternative to Woodruff.