Cubs' biggest rival loses their controversial All-Star at the worst time imaginable

The Milwaukee Brewers usurped the Cubs for first place in the NL Central prior to the trade deadline, taking two of three in as important of a series as July can offer. Then, neither team did much at the July 31 trade deadline, opting to play things safe while adding around the margins.

Expect the NL Central to be a dogfight the rest of the way, with the Brewers holding a narrow three-game lead over the Cubs heading into Tuesday.

However, while the Cubs are set to get back a number of their key contributors in August, the Brewers just lost one of theirs, as star rookie (and controversial All-Star Game participant) Jacob Misiorowski is heading to the 15-day injured list with a tibia contusion.

Star Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski hits IL, challenging Milwaukee's depth

In seven starts (33 1/3 innings) this season, the 23-year-old flamethrower has authored a 2.70 ERA, 3.11 FIP, and a comical 36.4 percent strikeout rate. He absolutely was not deserving of an All-Star Game appearance after just 25 innings and change, but he's really, really good.

Of course, because they are the Brewers, Milwaukee has plugged yet another Top 100 pitching prospect into its rotation to fill the gap.

In five starts (25 1/3 innings) at the big league level in 2025, Logan Henderson, 23, has pitched to the tune of a 1.78 ERA and 2.99 FIP. He's also striking out hitters at an obscene rate (33.3%), and his walk rate (8.1%) is an improvement over Misiorowski.

It's silly that they have this kind of talent just waiting in the wings, but the Brewers are actually in a difficult spot right now with their depth and schedule.

Both Henderson and Misiorowski are staring down innings limitations in the back-half of the season. The former is already at 103 frames pitched this season after setting a previous career high of 81 1/3 last year, and the latter is just one shy of his career high (97 1/3).

Also, starting on August 15, the Brewers will play 19 games in 18 days. That includes the exceptionally important five-game set against the Cubs at Wrigley Field from August 18-21, which very well could decide the fate of the NL Central.

It's possible that Misiorowski returns for that series—his stay on the IL would need to be a near-minimum one to do so—but the larger issue is that Milwaukee is relying on a bunch of young players on both sides of the ball that have never played this much in their lives. There may very well be a wall that the team is about to hit.

Or, because they are the Brewers, maybe the wall will just keep backing up for no discernible reason. Only time will tell.