MILWAUKEE (AP) 鈥� Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski isn鈥檛 content with merely being the game鈥檚 hardest-throwing starting pitcher.
He鈥檚 intent on becoming the best. He already may be there.
The 24-year-old is hitting unprecedented velocities for a starter in MLB’s pitch-tracking era that began in 2008. Over the last month, he’s dominated unlike any pitcher in the last century.
Misiorowski has allowed just one run heading into his Friday matchup with the Atlanta Braves. He says he can鈥檛 come up with a specific moment or decision that sparked this surge.
鈥淚t鈥檚 more that it finally clicked,鈥� said Misiorowski, who is 8-2 with a 1.34 ERA and 131 strikeouts to lead the majors in the latter two categories. 鈥淓verything started settling in and feeling good.鈥�
The fact Misiorowski used the word 鈥渇inally鈥� to describe an emergence in his first full major league season underscores his exacting standards.
Misiorowski’s rise has Brewers manager Pat Murphy comparing him to Forrest Gump, which prompted a social media post by the pitcher his own face over the Tom Hanks movie character鈥檚 body.
鈥淚t鈥檚 for sure meant to be a compliment for a guy who didn鈥檛 put in limits on himself and his naivet茅,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淚t was a factor in a positive way, where he went out and achieved whatever he set his mind to, and didn鈥檛 let the outside forces, weren鈥檛 even aware of the outside forces, and didn鈥檛 let anything hold him back.鈥�
Misiorowski was selected to the last season after He struggled late last year before producing a 1.50 ERA during Milwaukee鈥檚 run to the Now he鈥檚 a Cy Young Award favorite.
Misiorowski is more than just a hard thrower
The eye-popping numbers most associated with Misiorowski come from the radar gun. He reached 104.5 mph 鈥� the fastest velocity by any starter in the pitch tracking era 鈥� and got to 100 mph on a record 58 pitches during the Brewers鈥� over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.
He’s thrown 460 pitches at least 100 mph this season, already surpassing the record for a starter set by Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene with 337 such pitches in 2022.
But his most impressive statistics have more to do with results than velocity.
According to Misiorowski鈥檚 0.17 ERA since May 1 is the best in an eight-start stretch for any pitcher since earned runs became an official statistic in 1913. Against Philadelphia, he became the third pitcher since 1900 to throw a shutout while striking out 15 and allowing no more than one baserunner.
Opponents are batting just .140 against Misiorowski this season. SportRadar says no starting pitcher has allowed an opponent batting average of .166 or below over a full non-pandemic season since at least 1910. Boston鈥檚 Pedro Martinez had batters hitting .167 against him in 2000. Opponents hit .168 against Cleveland鈥檚 Luis Tiant in 1968.
Misiorowski鈥檚 development into a complete pitcher should come as no surprise, considering who he grew up watching.
The pitchers Miz admires most aren’t necessarily smoke throwers
The list of pitchers he admired growing up includes Adam Wainwright, Zack Greinke, and Chris Sale. While Sale is a hard thrower and Kershaw also had outstanding velocity early in his career, Wainwright and Greinke succeeded without overpowering fastballs.
They had one thing in common.
鈥淓very game, you felt like they could trust them to get a win,鈥� Misiorowski said. 鈥淭hat was the big thing. You looked at those guys and they were going out there and going to perform for seven or eight innings to secure the team a win.鈥�
His appreciation for baseball history includes a collection he says numbers in the thousands, though he probably owns even more cards.
鈥淪ince I was a kid, my dad got me into it,鈥� Misiorowski said of his baseball card collection. 鈥淚t鈥檚 huge right now. I think I need to downsize it a little bit, but it鈥檚 fun.鈥�
His enthusiasm shows on the mound and in his work ethic. He devoted the offseason to upgrading his to withstand the rigors of a full season and results are showing in his improved endurance and command.
鈥淗e could rest on his laurels. 鈥楬ey, I was an All-Star in my first year. I pitched in the playoffs. I pitched well. I can do it. I鈥檓 fine. I鈥檒l be all right,鈥欌�� Murphy said. 鈥淥r you can say, 鈥業鈥檓 going home. I鈥檓 going to get stronger. I鈥檓 going to do whatever I can do to come back and dominate.鈥� That鈥檚 what he鈥檚 done.鈥�
He’s stabilizing an injury-riddled rotation
Misiorowski鈥檚 growth has helped the Brewers overcome pitching to build a comfortable NL Central lead. With Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison (8-1, 2.47) leading the rotation, the Brewers rank fourth in the majors in ERA.
Over his last eight starts, Misiorowski has struck out 80 while allowing nine walks and 14 hits over 54 1/3 innings. The only extra-base hit he鈥檚 allowed over his last nine starts was a double by Houston鈥檚 Isaac Paredes on May 31.
The low walk totals are notable after Misiorowski battled control issues as a rookie. He walked 31 batters in 66 innings last year, but now constantly gets ahead of hitters.
鈥淗e鈥檚 winning the 0-0 and the 1-1 (counts) a lot,鈥� pitching coach Chris Hook said. 鈥淲hen he doesn鈥檛, it stands out to be like, 鈥極h, God, he didn鈥檛 win the 0-0. He didn鈥檛 win the 1-1.鈥� Like that鈥檚 weird, for him to go to a two-ball count.鈥�
Once hitters fall behind in the count, they have little chance.
After facing him for the first time last month, slugger and Aaron Judge 鈥渉e鈥檚 almost basically releasing it in the catcher鈥檚 glove鈥� due to the extension Misiorowski gets with his 6-foot-7 frame.
MLB Network analyst and two-time All-Star pitcher Ryan Dempster says Misiorowski reminds him of 6-10 in that regard because their hands seem right in front of the plate to the batter when they let go of the ball.
鈥淵ou can tell yourself to swing, but your brain doesn鈥檛 quite compute until it鈥檚 out of the hand,鈥� Dempster said. 鈥淏y the time it鈥檚 out of his hand, it鈥檚 already on you. I haven鈥檛 seen a fastball like this since Kerry Wood.鈥�
Wood鈥檚 career was derailed by injuries, leading to worries of hard throwers being susceptible to blowing out pitching arms. Dempster notes Misiorowski is playing in an era with lower pitch counts. Misiorowski also produces elite velocity without overthrowing.
鈥淗e sure is repeating his delivery, and when you repeat your delivery, you tend to stay healthy,鈥� Dempster said. 鈥淕uys who don鈥檛 repeat deliveries and get out of whack and something鈥檚 a little off, they struggle with that. I really think he will stay healthy, just me personally.鈥�
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AP freelance writers Jack Albright and Rich Rovito contributed to this report.
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