MILWAUKEE -- After matching the club record by using 17 different starting pitchers last season, the Brewers are well on their way to breaking that mark in 2025.
On the same day right-hander Quinn Priester carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning of his first home start for the Brewers and teamed with four relievers on a one-hit shutout in Tuesday¡¯s 5-0 win over the Tigers at American Family Field, another fresh arm arrived. It belonged to right-hander Logan Henderson, a former fourth-round Draft pick and MLB Pipeline¡¯s 12th-ranked Milwaukee prospect.
Henderson was available out of the bullpen on Tuesday night, but there were already hints that he could eventually join Priester on the list of Brewers¡¯ 2025 starters if the pieces align. After originally listing veteran swingman Tyler Alexander as their scheduled starter for Easter Sunday against the A¡¯s, the Brewers changed that to TBD in the pitching probables, and manager Pat Murphy indicated he¡¯d like to return to using Alexander in long relief.
If that start goes to Henderson, he would be Milwaukee¡¯s ninth starter in 22 team games. And if Tobias Myers, last year¡¯s Brewers Most Valuable Pitcher, rejoins the rotation on April 24 in San Francisco as is tentatively scheduled, he would make it 10 starters in 26 team games.
Yet, the Brewers are staying afloat with a 9-9 record that includes four shutout victories.
¡°We have a special group of guys in this clubhouse who want to win, and they understand that part of winning is developing those relationships,¡± Priester said after Tuesday¡¯s gem, during which he allowed one hit and three walks with four strikeouts in five-plus innings. ¡°It¡¯s been really cool to be welcomed with open arms and be myself.¡±
As for Henderson?
¡°I¡¯m just super thankful to be here,¡± he said.
The 23-year-old from Houston was a candidate for the Brewers¡¯ Opening Day rotation before command problems hurt his chances. Henderson then walked eight batters over nine innings in his first two starts for Nashville before a terrific outing on April 9 in which he pitched five scoreless innings with two walks and no hits against Memphis.
¡°Of course I wanted to make the team, but at Triple-A, I was just trying to be where my feet were,¡± he said. "I had to take care of business down there to get up here."
Whether Henderson's is a short stay or a long one depends on performance and circumstances. The Brewers have already used eight starters this season, with a chance to keep adding if Anderson remains in the bullpen and Henderson or someone else starts in Sunday¡¯s open spot.
¡°We¡¯ve had stretches like this where we¡¯ve had to adjust, but this is pretty heavy,¡± Brewers assistant GM Karl Mueller said over the weekend in Arizona. ¡°We have so many guys on the IL right now. This is probably the most trying stretch we¡¯ve ever had.
¡°We¡¯re always trying to insulate ourselves as much as we can and layer on as much depth as possible. That¡¯s such an important part of our offseason, just stack up Minor League free agents and other players. You never think a scenario like this is going to happen, where we are already onto our ninth or 10th starter. But going back to when we got Colin Rea [in 2023] and had him eighth or ninth up, and then he got into our mix, that woke us up to, like, ¡®Always add.¡¯ If you can add, add.¡±
Henderson¡¯s first pro season was shortened by right elbow surgery -- not the Tommy John variety -- in 2022, but he bounced back to deliver solid seasons in ¡®23 and ¡®24, rising all the way to Triple-A with a high-quality changeup at the forefront of his arsenal.
¡°He's got pitchability," Murphy said. ¡°In today's game, there's more chuckers and heavers than there are pitchers. And I think this is a time when you've got to have a kind of a combination of both in your repertoire. So, we're excited to have him."
The same goes for 24-year-old Priester, a former Top 100 prospect picked up last week in a trade with the Red Sox who has held the Rockies and Tigers to one run over 10 innings in his first two Brewers starts, including Tuesday¡¯s five scoreless innings.
¡°The ivory tower does it again,¡± said Murphy, who is known to playfully refer to Milwaukee¡¯s front office that way.
Priester began the sixth but gave up Gleyber Torres¡¯ leadoff double, then watched as Jared Koenig, Abner Uribe, Nick Mears and Grant Anderson finished a shutout victory that snapped Milwaukee¡¯s three-game losing streak.
¡°That¡¯s what it¡¯s all about in this game: Just keep responding,¡± Murphy said. ¡°The game is going to deal you a lot of tough luck. You have to be able to respond mentally, and I think our guys went out and did it.¡±