Brewers' Kyle Harrison on Thin Ice With Playoffs Looming

What's Next For Kyle Harrison?

Harrison hasn't looked like himself since the beginning of August. Since Aug. 5, Harrison has pitched in seven games and has a 7.00 ERA in 27 innings pitched. In comparison, he had a 3.01 ERA across his first 17 starts of the season. Since Aug. 31, he has specifically taken a turn for the worst with a 20.86 ERA in just 7 1/3 innings pitched. The lefty allowed 17 earned runs over that stretch and 19 total runs. Plus, he had a dip in velocity before his outing on Saturday.

The Major League Baseball season is long, to say the least. The regular season is 162 games and it's hard to keep the positive momentum going the entire time. There's a level of learning how to manage an entire season. Harrison is just 25 years old. He entered the 2026 season with just 42 games of big league experience under his belt across three seasons. Harrison already has tied his career high in appearances in a single season with 24.

When it comes to Harrison from here on out, the most important thing is to find a spot in which they can get at least a few innings out of him in an outing, while looking like himself, in preparation for the playoffs. On Saturday, the Brewers tried him out in the eighth inning.

Arguably, the next thing they should try is just throwing him behind an opener. Let someone go one inning and then see how he adjusts in the second inning and on. It's not a perfect idea. In a perfect world, Harrison would toss like he did earlier in the season and dominate from the first inning and on.

The Brewers know what they have in Harrison. When he is at his best, he is dominant. On the bright side, his velocity came back and looked good on Saturday. That's the most positive takeaway.

There are still a few weeks before the playoffs and then the Brewers will have a first-round bye, barring a sudden collapse. There is time to get Harrison right. Don't give up hope yet, Brewers fans.