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The Milwaukee Brewers are calling up one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. Right-hander Jacob Misiorowski is expected to come up and start Thursday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals at American Family Field, reports ESPN. It will be his MLB debut. The team has not confirmed the move.
Misiorowski, 23, was the No. 63 overall pick in the 2022 draft. He has torn up Triple-A this season, pitching to a 2.13 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 63 ⅓ innings. According to Statcast, Misiorowski’s fastball has averaged 97.7 mph and topped out at 103.0 mph this season. At 98.1 mph, Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes is the only MLB starter with a harder average fastball than Misiorowski.
Our R.J. Anderson ranked Misiorowski the 48th best prospect in baseball entering the season. Here’s his write-up:
The short hook: Big stuff, walk rates
Misiorowski is a fascinating prospect. He’s averaged nearly 13 strikeouts per nine innings as a professional thanks to an outstanding arsenal (one pitch-quality model graded all five of his pitches as above-average) and a deceptive low-slot release. Unfortunately, his ascent has been slowed by a pesky little flaw: his well-below-average command. Misiorowski has handed out nearly six free passes per nine, calling into question his chances of lasting as a big-league starter. If the Brewers can help him tighten his handle, he has impact-starter upside; of course, if it were that simple, it would already be done. As such, Misiorowski seems more likely to land in a high-leverage relief role. We’ll give him another year to avoid that designation. MLB ETA: Summer 2025
Jose Quintana is currently lined up to start Thursday’s game. The Brewers are in the middle of a 10-games-in-10-days stretch, so it’s possible they are calling up Misiorowski for a spot start just to give their five starters an extra day to rest. If this is a more permanent promotion, it would likely be due to an injury. Milwaukee’s starters have largely pitched well lately.
The Brewers have lost two straight and four of their last six games, but not because of their pitching. They’ve scored 16 runs total in their last six games, and nine of the 16 came in one game. The offense has dragged them down. Misiorowski won’t help put runs on the board, but he can help prevent them. The best way to support a subpar offense is with good pitching.
At 35-32, the Brewers are in third place in the NL Central. They are 5 ½ games out in the division and three games out of a wild-card spot. Misiorowski will be Milwaukee’s 13th different starting pitcher this year, which will tie the Los Angeles Dodgers for the most in baseball. The Dodgers have been hammered by pitching injuries this season.