Will Pat Murphy Trust Chad Patrick and Tobias Myers to Make Big October Contributions?

[Harold Hutchison]

Image courtesy of © Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

By the numbers, Pat Murphy has done a superb job in his two seasons as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, notching two division titles and winning more games than any other team in baseball. But the team made an early exit in 2024, in heartbreaking fashion. Could that happen again, despite their having earned a bye this time around and being able to rest while they await the winner of the Wild Card Series?

Right now, the Brewers are in a bit of a pinch with their starting rotation, due to injuries to Jose Quintana and Brandon Woodruff. Chad Patrick pitched very well early in the season, but as was noted in a review of Robert Gasser’s 2025 debut with the Crew, Murphy doesn’t seem to trust him.

Patrick’s numbers, though, have been solid: A 3.56 ERA over 23 starts and an additional three relief appearances in the regular season. His ERA is lower than those of Jacob Misiorowski and the injured Quintana. Patrick’s latest outing was only three innings, but he racked up six strikeouts against two hits and two walks.

Why Murphy doesn’t want to trust Patrick as a starter is a bit of a mystery. Patrick helped keep the team competitive when injuries ravaged the rotation early on, setting the stage for the Crew to take command of the NL Central. He was out of sight (and thus, out of mind) for much of the team's torrid July and August, but during that sojourn in the minors, he added a slurve—a very hard breaking ball, for such a big-moving one—and has struck out 30.3% of opposing batters since. He looks like a hurler with the potential to dominate in October.

Also languishing in the doghouse (despite an excellent 2024 and some solid work in the bullpen) is Tobias Myers. In fact, calling Myers a solid bullpen option may be quite the understatement. In 15 outings as a reliever, he’s posted a 2.13 ERA over 25 1/3 innings, with a WHIP of 0.99.

Myers also has a track record of stepping up in the postseason. In last year's Wild Card Series against the Mets, he pitched five shutout innings, ending up with a no-decision. The Crew lost the game he started by a score of 2-1, but that was due to the offense only pushing a single run across the plate.

A look at how a postseason pitching staff figures to come together may be in order. As of now, Freddy Peralta and Quinn Priester are the top two in the rotation, with Misiorowski the third by default for the NLDS. That leaves room for 10 relievers, though it's unlikely that the team will carry that many. Given the recent shakiness of Misiorowski, the Crew may want to look to Myers, Patrick, Aaron Ashby and DL Hall to eat innings or piggyback. That would make sense, at least according to the stats.

The question is whether Murphy will actually let Patrick and Myers take the mound in close games in a playoff series. Murphy has leaned heavily on Abner Uribe, Jared Koenig and Nick Mears (as well as Ashby) when hunting wins. If closer Trevor Megill does make it back and onto the playoff roster, it will get difficult to find space for Patrick and Myers—let alone to find high-leverage work for them.

Quietly, both Patrick and Myers have done well in 2025, but if Murphy won’t use them, they can’t help the Brewers bring the Commissioner’s Trophy to The Ueck. They might be the best test of how flexible the manager is, at a juncture of the season when flexibility is vital.

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[Bob K]

Every time Murphy gives the ball to Fedde, McGee, Montgomery or other such journeymen pitchers instead of young guys with strong track records and high upside, I cringe….  Get over it Murphy. If it weren’t for Patrick’s and Myers’ significant contributions, the Brewers would not have even made the playoffs these past two years. 

[Ben Lepak]

23 minutes ago, Bob K said:

Every time Murphy gives the ball to Fedde, McGee, Montgomery or other such journeymen pitchers instead of young guys with strong track records and high upside, I cringe….  Get over it Murphy. If it weren’t for Patrick’s and Myers’ significant contributions, the Brewers would not have even made the playoffs these past two years. 

The Brewers have never handed the ball to a player by the name of Montgomery in their franchise's history. 😆

[David Crawford]

Chris Hook will have a lot of input on who pitches in the postseason.  He will be objective and Murph will trust him.  I think we can trust in that process.  

[rafa]

Patrick should and probably will see some prime time action in the playoffs.  Myers will definitely be used less but that doesn't mean he won't be important.

  I honestly think the middle relief with Patrick, Miz, Ashby and perhaps either Hall or Gasser will be the make or break in the NLDS.

[MattK]

1 hour ago, rafa said:

Patrick should and probably will see some prime time action in the playoffs.  Myers will definitely be used less but that doesn't mean he won't be important.

  I honestly think the middle relief with Patrick, Miz, Ashby and perhaps either Hall or Gasser will be the make or break in the NLDS.

They are likely to need more than 1 3 inning stretch out of the pen in the Division series. Would be nice to have as many of the more stretched out guys as possible. Heck, even when Priester was rolling, Hall would work 2-3 innings.