The Brewers Need to Keep Logan Henderson in the Rotation for Good

This past Saturday, rookie Milwaukee Brewers starter Logan Henderson faced one of the toughest tests of his young career.

In the second inning of a 0-0 game, the Minnesota Twins already had a threat going. A Josh Bell single, Kody Clemens double, and Tristan Gray walk had the bases loaded with one out in the inning.

Henderson would not end up letting that phase him, though. He’d go on to strike out the next two batters and ultimately finish his outing by giving up one run over five innings on six hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. The Brewers would win and he’d earn his first win on the season.

It was another in a line of strong outings for Henderson. He’s pitched in eight games (six of them being starts) across Milwaukee and Triple-A Nashville and hasn’t given up more than two runs in any of them.

His success isn’t new either. Drafted in 2021, Henderson has excelled every step of the way with a 3.11 ERA in 65 career minor league games and a 2.49 ERA in nine games in the majors.

The Brewers selected Henderson in the fourth round out of McLennan Community College in Texas. Milwaukee has done well with their JUCO pitching prospects in the past with Jacob Misiorowski and Aaron Ashby, both from Missouri’s Crowder College, currently flourishing in the Majors.

But unlike Misiorowski and Ashby, Henderson doesn’t yet have a permanent spot on the Major League roster, despite how well he has performed at both the upper level of the minors as well as the majors.

Last year, it was the roster math. While Henderson performed when called upon in his spot starts, the Brewers had significant depth with a rotation that included Freddy Peralta, Quinn Priester, Jose Quintana, Brandon Woodruff, Chad Patrick, and Misiorowski.

This year, Henderson battled elbow soreness during spring training that didn’t delay the start of his minor league season, but may have helped prevent him from making the Opening Day roster. With injuries in the rotation, he’s now getting starts with the Brewers again.

In 2025, it made sense that Henderson had to bide his times in the minors. Now, though, it’s hard to argue that the 24-year-old isn’t one of the team’s five best pitchers even when the rotation is fully healthy.

The Brewers need to keep Logan Henderson in the starting rotation for good.

Right now, the Brewers are down starters Woodruff and Priester. So Henderson shouldn’t be leaving Milwaukee anytime soon.

When those two return, it is all but certain that they will join Misiorowski and the team’s newest reclamation project, Kyle Harrison, in the rotation. That leaves the No. 5 spot up for grabs.

Henderson isn’t the only pitcher with a strong claim to it. Patrick made 23 starts with the Brewers last season. He’s flipped back and forth between the bullpen and rotation this year, but the team is familiar with the body of work that made him finish seventh in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2025.

There is also Brandon Sproat. The top 100 prospect was acquired from the Mets in the Freddy Peralta trade, and though his start to the season in the rotation was rough (11 earned runs over 6.2 innings across two starts), he has a 3.97 ERA in 34 IP since (seven games, four starts).

Three solid pitchers, one rotation spot. The basic stats are what they are, but Henderson leads the way in many of the advanced statistics as well.

Henderson and Patrick both do a great job at limiting extra bases and baserunners overall. Sproat is behind on the season, but his rough start is also affecting that.

Henderson leads the trio by far in his strikeout to walk ratio. In fact, his 4.2% walk rate is seventh lowest in MLB among starters with at least 10 innings pitched on the season.

And he has done will with limiting hard contact. His hard hit rate leads the trio while his average exit velocity is tied with Sproat.

Henderson’s pitch mix is a huge part of why he’s able to be successful. He has an elite changeup that he matches with a very effective four-seam fastball, both of which have a career opponents’ batting average of .200 or lower. He mixes those with a cutter that has a lot of movement when it’s at its best.

To Patrick’s credit, he’s done well in whatever position the Brewers have put him in. In Henderson’s win over the Twins, Patrick came in to pitch the final four innings and earn his first career save.

But based on performance, Henderson has set himself apart as the best option for the rotation. If the Brewers truly want to move forward with a group of their top five pitchers when everyone is healthy, Henderson absolutely deserves to be a part of that group.