MILWAUKEE – Top Brewers pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski is bringing his 6-foot-7 frame and 103 mph fastball to American Family Field, where he’s expected to begin his career against a division rival.
Two sources confirmed to MLB.com that the Brewers will promote Misiorowski, No. 4 on MLB Pipeline’s list of Milwaukee’s top prospects and No. 68 overall, to start Thursday’s series opener against the Cardinals. The club didn’t announce the promotion because the roster move wasn’t yet official, but Misiorowski is expected to be in Milwaukee by Wednesday.
Misiorowski, 23, has posted a 3.04 ERA with 320 strikeouts in 233 2/3 Minor League innings since being selected in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft (63rd overall) out of Crowder (Mo.) Junior College, but some of his best work has come this season for Triple-A Nashville, where he was 4-2 with a 2.13 ERA while maintaining triple-digit velocity deep into outings.
After being passed over for a promotion to the Brewers’ bullpen last season after dabbling in relief at Nashville, Misiorowski’s move to the Majors as a starter has been imminent for at least the last month, since he touched 103.0 mph in the sixth inning of a May 15 start against Memphis, the Cardinals’ top affiliate, while completing seven full innings for the first time in his career. Since then, the Brewers have kept Misiorowski on controlled pitch counts designed to manage his innings in anticipation of a mid-June call-up.
"I certainly think Miz has the type of stuff that you want to take care of,” GM Matt Arnold said last month. “He has that kind of upside for us. And so you want to make sure if and when a guy arrives at the big league level that you put them in a position to succeed.”
Misiorowski last pitched Saturday against the Braves’ Triple-A club and threw 68 pitches in five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.
“Could we have brought him here sooner than this year and put him in the bullpen? And does that stunt his growth as a starter?” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “Those are the decisions you have to make based on the individual. But I think the intention was always that he would be a big league starter.”
Misiorowski will join a Brewers rotation that is actually the team’s strength, ranked second in the National League and fifth in the Majors going into Tuesday with a 3.35 ERA despite a spate of early-season injuries to starters. It wasn’t immediately clear who would be displaced by Misiorowski’s arrival to a group that currently includes Freddy Peralta, Aaron Civale, Jose Quintana, Quinn Priester and rookie Chad Patrick. Civale, who has averaged 4 2/3 innings in four starts since a stint on the injured list, took the loss on Monday against Atlanta and had a meeting with Murphy on Tuesday after news broke of Misiorowski’s pending promotion.
The Brewers have also received four great starts this season from fellow rookie Logan Henderson (Brewers No. 12 prospect), who is currently pitching at Nashville. So is Tobias Myers, last year’s Brewers Most Valuable Pitcher Award winner. And veteran ace Brandon Woodruff is getting closer to restarting a rehab assignment after his comeback from shoulder surgery was set back for a second time.
None of those pitchers can match Misiorowski’s velocity. He learned in high school in Grain Valley, Mo., that he could use his long levers to produce velocity as a freshman that matched the senior pitchers – though he didn’t always command it.
“Oh, it was not there,” Misiorowski said in Spring Training. “I was lucky to hit the broadside of a barn. I was growing like crazy at that age, and you just made it work. There were definitely some days where I hit six or seven guys. But it’s high school, so, 'Sorry ‘bout it.' You just move on and start trying to make it better.”
By his senior year in high school, he was pumping 96-97 mph fastballs. Then, as a freshman at Crowder College, the same junior college that produced Brewers left-hander Aaron Ashby, Misiorowski touched 100 mph for the first time against a teammate in practice. He knew something had happened when a group of teammates huddled around a radar gun went nuts.
“I hit it once and never got it back,” Misiorowski said. “Then I finally hit it my sophomore year in Grand Junction in the big [JUCO World Series]. That’s when I really remember it.”
Gradually, he learned the value of pitching at 96-98 mph versus throwing at 100. His secondary pitches developed, too. Misiorowski also throws a slider and an occasional curveball, and like so many young pitchers, he’s been working hard this season on the changeup. It’s a good feeling to know that when he needs triple digits, he can reach back and find it.
“I’m happy that I have this God-given talent,” Misiorowski said. “It’s fun.”
His promotion is the latest in a wave of notable call-ups across MLB, which included MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 overall, Roman Anthony, debuting for the Red Sox on Monday night.