The Milwaukee Brewers have had an excellent season, but they are not perfect.
For the Milwaukee Brewers, the 2026 Major League Baseball Season has gone swimmingly, but are there any flaws that can be identified in a team that has the best record in the sport and is on pace for 100 wins?
The answer to that may surprise you.
The Brewers are cruising along and, after Monday’s 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, they have claimed the National League Central Division for the fourth year in a row. Milwaukee’s success is a reflection of organizational competence, but even the most well-run clubs are not perfect.
The good and the bad
Recently, ESPN MLB Insider Bradford Doolittle released his annual exercise in which he identifies the biggest success and the biggest disappointment for all 30 clubs.
For the Brewers, the biggest success in Doolittle’s view lies in the evolution of Jacob Misiorowski, who is well on his way to winning the National League Cy Young Award. This may seem obvious, but it is worth breaking down.
All season long, Misiorowski has been a dominant force. His record-breaking velocities have kept opposing hitters flummoxed throughout the spring and summer, and it has catapulted him to the top of the leaderboards in several categories.
At the time of writing, Misiorowski leads baseball in ERA (1.89), WHIP (0.81), strikeouts (243) and opponent batting average (.160). What makes things even better is that Misiorowski is only 24 years old, so his prime years are still ahead of him.
Before the season began, Misiorowski’s talent and potential were well documented. He set a record in 2025 by becoming the fastest player ever to be named an All-Star.
However, when the Brewers chose to trade Freddy Peralta in January, it raised questions about how good the starting lineup could be without him. Misiorowski has taken it in stride and has become even better than Peralta was when he donned a Brewers jersey.
This brings us to the disappointing side of the Brewers, which was difficult for Doolittle to identify. Ultimately, he landed on the regression of Kyle Harrison.
This makes sense as Harrison has experienced a precipitous drop in production. Before the All-Star break, his 8-2 record and 3.01 ERA during the first half of the season made him look like he could also contend with Misiorowski for the Cy Young Award.
However, Harrison has been a disaster in the second half of the season after a stint on the Injured List due to left forearm tightness. Over five starts in August, he posted a 5.01 ERA, and in September, he has a nightmarish 19.64 ERA in two appearances.
