MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski isn’t satisfied with simply being the fastest-throwing starting pitcher in the sport. He has his sights set on being the very best — and there’s a strong argument he’s already reached that level.
At just 24 years old, Misiorowski is reaching pitch velocities that have never been recorded for a starting pitcher since Major League Baseball began tracking such data in 2008. Over the past month, his dominance on the mound has been unmatched by any pitcher in more than 100 years.
Heading into his Friday start against the Atlanta Braves, Misiorowski had surrendered just a single run across his previous eight outings. He says there wasn’t one defining moment that flipped the switch for him.
“It’s more that it finally clicked,” said Misiorowski, who carries an 8-2 record with a 1.34 ERA and 131 strikeouts — both MLB-leading figures. “Everything started settling in and feeling good.”
The fact that he used the word “finally” to describe a breakout in his very first full big-league season speaks volumes about how high he sets the bar for himself.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy has compared Misiorowski to Forrest Gump, a nod that prompted the pitcher to post a photo on social media with his own face placed over the famous Tom Hanks movie character.
“It’s for sure meant to be a compliment for a guy who didn’t put in limits on himself and his naiveté,” Murphy said. “It was a factor in a positive way, where he went out and achieved whatever he set his mind to, and didn’t let the outside forces, weren’t even aware of the outside forces, and didn’t let anything hold him back.”
Misiorowski earned an All-Star selection last season after only five starts. He hit some rough patches late in the year before posting a 1.50 ERA during Milwaukee’s run to the NL Championship Series. Now he’s widely considered a frontrunner for the Cy Young Award.
The numbers that grab attention most immediately come from the radar gun. During a 6-0 Brewers win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, Misiorowski hit 104.5 mph — the highest velocity ever recorded for a starting pitcher in the pitch-tracking era — and crossed the 100 mph threshold on a record 58 pitches in that single game.
He has now thrown 460 pitches at or above 100 mph this season, already eclipsing the previous record for a starter set by Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene, who threw 337 such pitches back in 2022.
But the truly staggering numbers go beyond raw speed.
According to MLB.com, Misiorowski’s 0.17 ERA since May 1 is the lowest ever recorded over any eight-start span since earned runs became an official statistic in 1913. Against Philadelphia, he became just the third pitcher since 1900 to throw a complete-game shutout with 15 strikeouts while allowing no more than one baserunner total.
Opposing hitters are batting just .140 against him this season. According to SportRadar, no starting pitcher has held opponents to a batting average of .166 or lower over a full non-pandemic season since at least 1910. Boston’s Pedro Martinez held opponents to a .167 average in 2000, and Cleveland’s Luis Tiant held them to .168 back in 1968.
Those who know Misiorowski’s background say his development into a polished, complete pitcher shouldn’t come as a shock. The pitchers he looked up to growing up offer a revealing glimpse into his pitching philosophy.
His list of childhood idols includes Adam Wainwright, Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw, and Chris Sale. While Sale and Kershaw relied heavily on velocity, Wainwright and Greinke built their success on craft and consistency rather than overpowering stuff.
“Every game, you felt like they could trust them to get a win,” Misiorowski said. “That 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.”
Off the mound, Misiorowski is equally passionate about baseball history. He maintains a baseball card collection numbering in the thousands — though he admits his Pokemon card collection may actually be even larger.
“Since I was a kid, my dad got me into it,” he said of collecting baseball cards. “It’s huge right now. I think I need to downsize it a little bit, but it’s fun.”
That same enthusiasm carries over to his preparation. During the offseason, he focused heavily on building leg strength to handle the physical demands of a full major league season, and the payoff has shown up in his stamina and command.
“He could rest on his laurels. ‘Hey, I was an All-Star in my first year. I pitched in the playoffs. I pitched well. I can do it. I’m fine. I’ll be all right,’” Murphy said. “Or you can say, ‘I’m going home. I’m going to get stronger. I’m going to do whatever I can do to come back and dominate.’ That’s what he’s done.”
Misiorowski’s excellence has helped the Brewers weather a wave of pitching injuries and build a solid lead in the NL Central. With Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison — who is 8-1 with a 2.47 ERA — anchoring the rotation, Milwaukee ranks fourth in the majors in ERA.
Over his last eight starts, Misiorowski has struck out 80 batters while issuing just nine walks and giving up 14 hits across 54 1/3 innings. The lone extra-base hit allowed over his last nine starts was a double by Houston’s Isaac Paredes on May 31.
The improved command is particularly notable given that control was a persistent issue during his rookie campaign. He walked 31 batters in 66 innings last season, but this year he regularly gets ahead in the count and stays there.
“He’s winning the 0-0 and the 1-1 (counts) a lot,” pitching coach Chris Hook said. “When he doesn’t, it stands out to be like, ‘Oh, God, he didn’t win the 0-0. He didn’t win the 1-1.’ Like that’s weird, for him to go to a two-ball count.”
Once a hitter falls behind, their chances of success drop dramatically.
New York Yankees slugger and three-time MVP Aaron Judge faced Misiorowski for the first time last month and observed that “he’s almost basically releasing it in the catcher’s glove” because of the extension Misiorowski generates with his 6-foot-7 frame.
MLB Network analyst and two-time All-Star pitcher Ryan Dempster compared Misiorowski to Hall of Fame lefty Randy Johnson — who stood 6-foot-10 — saying both pitchers appear to be releasing the ball right in front of the plate from a hitter’s perspective.
“You can tell yourself to swing, but your brain doesn’t quite compute until it’s out of the hand,” Dempster said. “By the time it’s out of his hand, it’s already on you. I haven’t seen a fastball like this since Kerry Wood.”
Wood’s career was ultimately cut short by arm injuries, raising familiar concerns about whether hard throwers are more vulnerable to serious arm damage. Dempster pointed out that Misiorowski benefits from pitching in an era of lower pitch counts, and also noted that he generates elite velocity without appearing to overthrow.
“He sure is repeating his delivery, and when you repeat your delivery, you tend to stay healthy,” Dempster said. “Guys who don’t repeat deliveries and get out of whack and something’s a little off, they struggle with that. I really think he will stay healthy, just me personally.”
