Brewers Have Obvious Quinn Priester Problem With No Clear Solution

Quinn Priester rehab starts have become one of the most somber plot lines in an otherwise good season for the Milwaukee Brewers.

After unexpectedly starring for the Brewers last season and earning a role near the top of the rotation, Priester came into the year with what was originally described as wrist soreness left over from last year, but was later revealed to be a case of thoracic outlet syndrome.

Since then, he's gone on the injured list, attempted a rehab stint, been shut down, then sent back out on rehab. Wednesday may have been the low point, as his latest struggles have to have the Brewers reevaluating whether he's on the right track.

Priester can't make it out of first inning Wednesday

Oct 8, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Quinn Priester (46) throws a pitch against the Chicago Cubs in the first inning during game three of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Priester allowed three earned runs and recorded just two outs in his latest rehab start for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. He threw only 18 strikes to 20 balls, and in 10 2/3 innings in the minors this season, he's now walked 17 batters and allowed a shocking 24 earned runs.

Quinn Priester’s rehab outing tonight didn’t produce any better results than the previous ones.

Threw 38 pitches, recorded 2 outs and allowed 3 hits and 2 walks with a strikeout. Velocity topped out at 93.3 mph.
— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) May 27, 2026

The statistics are bad enough, but the more pressing matter is that Priester simply can't throw strikes, which suggests there's still enough of an issue with his wrist that he can't get a proper feel for his pitches. Even if he's not pitching through much pain, he's still the worse for wear.

There are going to be plenty of folks who jump straight to the conclusion that Priester should just get surgery and look ahead to next season. We'll leave that to the medical experts, because as others have suggested on social media, surgery might not fix the root cause of Priester's command issues.

What's abundantly clear, though, is that the strategy of letting Priester pitch through those issues until he somehow reverts back to the guy he was last year, or even something close to that, isn't working.

End the rehab stint for a second time? Allow Priester to keep getting shelled until he feels a lightbulb go off? Shut him down altogether and reevaluate the injury from square one? These are conversations between the righty and his medical team, but at this point, predicting Priester will pitch at all for the Brewers this season seems unfavorable.

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