Brewers' rookie pitcher just showed Pirates why rotation depth is never optional

The Milwaukee Brewers are one victory away from the World Series, and one of their most important postseason pitching performances just came from a rookie who isn't exactly a household name.

Robert Gasser delivered five scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Wednesday's Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, striking out three and helping Milwaukee secure a 6-2 victory and a commanding 3-0 series lead.

For the Pittsburgh Pirates, watching another National League Central rival find success in October should be frustrating enough. But Gasser's performance also offered a particularly relevant reminder about something Pittsburgh learned the hard way in 2026: Pitching depth is a necessity, not a luxury.

On paper, the Pirates have the foundation of an outstanding starting rotation. Paul Skenes remains their ace, Jared Jones finished the season looking like one of baseball's most promising young starters, Bubba Chandler has tremendous upside, and Braxton Ashcraft emerged as an All-Star.

That's an impressive collection of talent. Unfortunately, the Pirates' 2026 season demonstrated why collecting talented pitchers and building a sustainable rotation aren't necessarily the same thing.

Pirates would be foolish to think their young rotation can survive without reinforcements

Mitch Keller's season ended in early August when he suffered a teres major injury in his right arm. Ashcraft followed him to the injured list in September after experiencing arm discomfort, ending a breakout campaign in which he posted a 3.65 ERA across 165 1/3 innings.

Suddenly, a rotation that had appeared to be one of Pittsburgh's greatest strengths was scrambling to get through the final weeks of the season.

The Pirates turned to bullpen games and inexperienced pitchers, including Wilber Dotel, Khristian Curtis and Antwone Kelly, to cover innings during a critical stretch of their fading playoff pursuit. The results weren't always pretty.

In a September 11 loss to the Chicago Cubs, Dotel, Curtis and Kelly combined to allow 12 runs over eight innings. Pittsburgh lost 12-2, a particularly damaging result for a team desperately trying to stay alive in the National League Wild Card race. That game illustrated just how quickly injuries can expose a roster's weaknesses, especially when there aren't enough reliable alternatives available.

Milwaukee, meanwhile, is demonstrating what happens when an organization develops enough pitching depth to withstand the inevitable uncertainty of a long season. Instead of being asked to carry the Brewers' rotation, Gasser is simply another capable arm Milwaukee can trust with meaningful innings, even against a star-studded Dodgers lineup on baseball's biggest stage.

The Pirates will presumably enter 2027 with Skenes, Jones, Chandler and Ashcraft occupying prominent places in their rotation plans. Keller should also return from his injury, giving Pittsburgh another established major-league option. But Keller is coming off an injury-shortened season, Ashcraft just experienced a substantial workload increase before his own season-ending injury, Jones has already dealt with significant injury setbacks, and Chandler is still establishing himself at the major-league level.

Assuming all five will remain healthy and effective throughout an entire season would be an unnecessary gamble. The Pirates don't necessarily need to spend aggressively on another frontline starter, but they do need another reliable major-league arm capable of making starts when injuries, workload limitations or performance issues inevitably arise.

That could mean pursuing an affordable veteran in free agency or acquiring a controllable starter through a trade. Either way, Pittsburgh needs more than a collection of exciting names and optimistic health projections.

The Pirates finished 82-80 and watched their postseason hopes disappear, in part because their pitching depth couldn't withstand the injuries that accumulated down the stretch. If they intend to make the leap from a winning record to legitimate playoff contention in 2027, they can't afford to repeat that mistake.

Four promising young starters might give the Pirates the foundation of a winning rotation. But organizational depth is what will give them a chance to keep winning when that foundation gets tested.

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