MILWAUKEE -- Paul Skenes and Jacob Misiorowski had never met before they chatted in the outfield at American Family Field on Monday. But the connections are everywhere, from a brush as teammates at LSU to their between-starts routines to their 100 mph fastballs producing eye-popping introductions to MLB.
The 23-year-olds will connect again on Wednesday in a dream matchup for everyone but the hitters. It will be Skenes vs. Misiorowski when the Pirates and Brewers conclude their three-game series beginning at 1:10 p.m. CT -- and it will be the MLB.TV Free Game of the Day.
“I think it’s going to be really entertaining to watch,” said Misiorowski, Milwaukee’s rookie righty. “Two guys that are at the top of their game right now. So, I think it’s cool. It’s going to be fun.”
Mother Nature made the matchup happen. Misiorowski pitched into the sixth inning without allowing a hit in his June 12 MLB debut against the Cardinals. He was supposed to make his second start against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on June 18. But that game was rained out, and when the Brewers opted to keep ace Freddy Peralta on his normal start day, it further bumped Misiorowski to Friday at Minnesota, where he carried a perfect game into the seventh inning of a Brewers win over the Twins.
It was history. The 11-inning hitless streak to open a career was the longest by a starting pitcher in the Modern Era (since 1900), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
But despite being 56 days younger than Misiorowski, Skenes has already dominated Major League hitters for over a year. He started last year’s All-Star Game for the National League, won the NL Rookie of the Year Award and finished third in NL Cy Young Award balloting with a 1.96 ERA that was the lowest of any rookie pitcher who made at least 20 starts in the Live Ball Era (since 1920). This season is more of the same. Skenes’ 1.85 ERA leads MLB qualifiers and his 0.88 WHIP is tops in the NL.
"Everything just flows off his back. He never lets anything affect him too much,” said Pirates manager Don Kelly. “To be 23 years old and to have the power stuff we all see, but it's that pitchability that has really made him special, in my opinion."
There’s also the matter of navigating the hype.
“I wouldn't say that Paul's a guy that is searching for attention, but he's comfortable in the spotlight, if you will,” Kelly said. “I think back to José Fernández, playing with him in Miami. He loved the spotlight. He wanted to be the guy -- and he was. God rest his soul, he would've been the face of baseball in a few years if [the accident that took Fernández’s life in 2016] didn’t happen.
“Seeing the way that different guys handle that, and Paul isn't necessarily out there looking for the spotlight. He's in it, but he's comfortable in it. And he dominates in it as well."
That’s the aim for Misiorowski, who has been hitting triple digits with his fastball for several years. It was only when he harnessed some command in Triple-A this season that he earned his call-up.
“It’s unfair to compare them,” said Brewers manager Pat Murphy. “It’s a lot to not have divided attention when you’re garnering that much [hype]. I worry for [Misiorowski] that way.”
Skenes has been a star since college at LSU, where he and Misiorowski were nearly teammates. Skenes was already committed to going to Baton Rouge in 2022 when Misiorowski, having boosted his stock at Crowder Community College in Neosho, Mo., scored his scholarship offer. But the Brewers loved Misiorowski’s promise even though he was raw. They made him a second-round pick.
Any lower, Misiorowski said Monday, and he would have gone to LSU. He could have been Skenes’ teammate on a team that won the 2023 National Championship a month before the Pirates drafted Skenes No. 1 overall.
“It would have been crazy,” Misiorowski said. “I mean, they didn’t need me, but it would have been really cool to have me. It would have been fun.”
Skenes has played a small part in Misiorowski's early success, even if he doesn’t know it. Skenes’ extensive warm-up routine includes using a water bag to activate his core, and now it’s part of Misiorowski’s regimen. He had help from Triple-A Nashville pitching coach Justin Meccage, who came to the Brewers’ system last winter after previously serving as the Pirates’ big league bullpen coach.
“He brought that over from [the Pirates] and I kind of rode with it,” Misiorowski said. “I watched a few videos on Skenes and what he does, and I took a little bit from him, yeah.”
The Brewers' rookie is embracing the opportunity to go head to head, saying, “It’s me versus the guy across the field, too. I’m trying to beat him in going deeper into the game with fewer runs.”
It has the potential to be a marquee matinee.
“Good luck to the hitters,” Brewers veteran starter Brandon Woodruff said.
This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy's Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.