⚡ LATEST UPDATE: Is Chad Patrick on the verge of a 2026 performance surge that could redefine his career ⚡.MH

After a rookie season with a 3.53 ERA, Chad Patrick is already set to be a fundamental player in the Brewers’ rotation plans come 2026. The 27-year-old righty spent parts of three seasons at the Triple-A level before breaking out with the major league club. Although his debut campaign was already remarkable, is there room for even more in Patrick’s profile?

Strikeout Rate

Patrick impressed this season with an odd portfolio of pitches — over 85% of his pitches were some variant on a fastball. Regarding that distinct approach, he also did it with mediocre fastball velocity. So how did he rack up a 29.6% strikeout rate over his last 14 games?

According to Stuff+, his four-seam fastball (111) and cutter (114) are both well-above average pitches. There’s enough variety in movement between pitch types, adding in his sinker (93), that he can fool hitters while keeping up maximum velocity. Even if he isn’t the hardest thrower, perhaps the similarity in velocity is enough to lead hitters astray in their guesses once their different movement patterns break off.

While Patrick was a solid strikeout pitcher in the minors, he didn’t maintain that 29.6% rate that he did last summer. In the minors, it was more around the 25% mark. So, moving forward, if Patrick maintains his surprising strikeout potential, that already gives him an incredible foundation.

Outing Length

One aspect to mention in Patrick’s performance down the stretch last year was that he rarely worked deep in games. From June 11 onward, Patrick never finished a six-inning appearance. Part of that could be attributed to the solid bullpen behind him, but if this year marked an incremental increase in workload, he could take another step towards dominating late in games.

After pitching 136 1/3 innings in 2024, Patrick’s workload bumped up to 162 in 2025. That’s already a notable standard for any pitcher, so it’s no surprise Patrick didn’t pitch much beyond that after reaching the career-high mark. Three of his final five appearances this season came as a one-inning outing. As a reliable innings-eater, Patrick would help stabilize a rotation that’s been searching for answers with various depth pieces over the past few years.

Pitch Types

As mentioned above, it was incredibly impressive how Patrick managed to record such a successful season with an arsenal almost entirely based on fastballs. Would he be able to add a pitch to make it an even more lethal assortment?

One plus of adding a pitch would be the variety he could impose on opposing batters after working through the lineup multiple times. Even if it’s not a dominant pitch, an extra option could stifle the penalty of working deeper through games.

The option that comes to mind here is an increase in his slider usage. Barely using the pitch 5% of the time last year, it does provide some interesting speculations. With a 27.1% whiff rate, his slider was as good of a swing-and-miss pitch as any of his fastballs (given the caveat that he rarely used the slider, so batters might have been unprepared).

Patrick’s slider recorded a 118 Stuff+, which is remarkable given how little he used it. Would he be able to develop more confidence in the pitch by next season? If the Brewers’ coaching staff deems it workable, it might be worth the time invested to make that more of a staple in Patrick’s arsenal. Out of his Baseball Savant metrics, Patrick doesn’t excel in many areas, but his chase rate is one of the few that are above-average. Could a slider bolster that ability, forcing batters to consider a breaking ball instead of just fastballs?

His initial season has already provided plenty of promise. Not only did he become a key part of the team’s rotation for much of the year, but he also finished seventh in NL Rookie of the Year voting. Regardless of any changes Patrick might make, he’ll be an exciting player to follow as he embarks on his second season with the Brewers.