Brewers Opening Day Roster Projection 2.0: Rotation Injuries Create Chaos

The home stretch has arrived, as Milwaukee Brewers fans now have two weeks of the World Baseball Classic to help them along until opening day on March 26.

With so many of the Brewers players away this week to compete in the WBC, a lot of the players on the roster bubble will get their chances to shine. And with the starting rotation suddenly mired in short-term injury concerns, the rotation battle has gotten very interesting.

Who's in, who's out, and what has changed since roster projection 1.0? Read on to find out.

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Full Brewers roster projection, version 2.0

Starting lineup vs. White Sox RHP Shane Smith:
1. Jackson Chourio LF
2. Brice Turang 2B
3. William Contreras C
4. Christian Yelich DH
5. Andrew Vaughn 1B
6. Sal Frelick RF
7. Luis Rengifo 3B
8. Garrett Mitchell CF
9. Joey Ortiz SS

There weren't any changes here from projection 1.0, and there probably won't be unless (knock on wood) anyone gets injured. The arrival of Rengifo removed a lot of uncertainty from the position player group, taking some fun competitions off the table.

By the way, the top six in this lineup all had OPS+ figures of 111 or better last season. A few of them could be 30-homer candidates as well. This team should hit more than the typical scrappy Brewers bunch.

Bench:
C - Gary Sánchez
1B/OF - Jake Bauers
INF - David Hamilton
OF - Blake Perkins

Milwaukee Brewers catcher Gary Sanchez talks with teammates in the bullpen during spring training workouts Saturday, February 14, 2026, at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Manager Pat Murphy has said that the Brewers are comfortable carrying three catchers and putting top prospect Jeferson Quero, who has yet to debut in the majors, on the opening day roster. Count us among the skeptics, as there just isn't anyone in the group above to take off.

Rotation:
1. Jacob Misiorowski (R)
2. Chad Patrick (R)
3. Logan Henderson (R)
4. Kyle Harrison (L)
5. Brandon Sproat (R)

Quinn Priester's wrist soreness isn't worse messing around with, and it already seems fairly certain Brandon Woodruff won't be ready to go. That leaves Misiorowski, who still only has 14 major league starts under his belt, to take the pill on opening day.

But where the Brewers win here is that the injuries allow both Harrison and Sproat, the two most exciting arms acquired in the trades that sent away Caleb Durbin and Freddy Peralta, to make their Milwaukee debuts in the first week of the season.

Bullpen:
CL - Trevor Megill (R)
SU - Abner Uribe (R)
Jared Koenig (L)
Aaron Ashby (L)
Angel Zerpa (L)
Rob Zastryzny (L)
Grant Anderson (R)
Craig Yoho (R)

Quietly the most fascinating part of the roster. So many lefties. Does the righty Yoho make the team over lefty DL Hall, considering both have options? Or could both force Zastryzny out, even though the latter is out of options?

It's of no bearing to who makes the team, of course, but keep an eye on the closer role this year too, as Uribe would be the ninth-inning man for most other teams, but Megill's All-Star nod last year has to be respected.