Brewers to promote hard-throwing starter Jacob Misiorowski: Reports

New York Times

2 days ago

Fresh off a start in which he threw 14 pitches over 100 mph, hard-throwing Milwaukee Brewers pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski will be making his major-league debut on Thursday, according to various reports. Misiorowski, who ranked No. 87 in The Athletic's Keith Law's preseason top-100 prospect list, has a 2.13 ERA in 63 1/3 innings for Triple-A Nashville this season. He is the Brewers' top pitching prospect.
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Misiorowski, 23, was a Brewers' second-round pick (No. 63) in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Crowder Junior College in Missouri. The 6-foot-7 right-hander has been one of the hardest throwing starters in minor-league baseball since turning pro. In his last start for the Sounds, Misiorowski threw 68 pitches, topping out at 101.5 mph. His fastball averaged 99.7 mph in that start and the slowest four-seamer he threw was clocked at 97.7. His fastball has been measured as high as 103 mph at various points this season. Misiorowski also throws a curveball, a changeup and a slider.

The stuff has always been premium and with a 3.04 ERA in 233 2/3 career minor-league innings, Misiorowski has gotten good results in the minor leagues. But, like many hard-throwers, he's struggled badly with command at times, which has limited his ceiling as a starter. Last season at Double A and Triple A, he walked 60 in 97 1/3 innings and this season he has 31 walks in 63 1/3 innings. He's mostly been a starter but does have some experience relieving.
Law says Misiorowski's arsenal is special but there are significant concerns about his mechanics and ability to command his pitches.
'Misiorowski has some of the best pure stuff of any pitcher in the minors, with a fastball that frequently touches 100 and has some ride up top and two breaking balls with high spin rates, with the slower one — you can call it a curveball, but the velocity is almost unheard of for that pitch — the more effective of the two.
'His mechanics are violent and he's never had anything approaching average command; for him to get there, he'd need to tone down the delivery, and that might take away from what makes his pitches so special. He's posted a lower walk rate this year but he's not actually throwing the ball in the zone any more often than he did in 2024. There just aren't long-term starters in the big leagues who pitch like he does; either he's an extreme outlier or he's going to end up in the bullpen, where he could be the inheritor of the throne previously occupied by Josh Hader and Devin Williams.'
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Though Misiorowski's future could lie in the bullpen, he will make his major-league debut in the rotation. He will get the start on Thursday against the Cardinals in a key game for Milwaukee, which currently sits 1 1/2 games behind St. Louis for second place in the National League Central. The Brewers are three games out of the third wild-card spot currently. The Brewers rotation is currently fifth in baseball with a 3.35 ERA. Overall, the Brewers staff ranks 16th with a 3.87 ERA. Injuries have impacted the staff, with Nestor Cortes, Robert Gasser, Connor Thomas and Brandon Woodruff all currently on the injured list.