Jacob Misiorowski's fiery take after Shohei Ohtani homer should terrify Brewers rivals

The legend of Jacob Misiorowski just keeps on growing. After taking the league by storm over the first four starts of his MLB career, the Milwaukee Brewers righty faced his stiffest test yet on Tuesday night, taking on Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and a star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers lineup — with Clayton Kershaw on the mound against him, no less.

At first, it seemed like that test might prove to be a little too much, too soon. On just his third pitch of the game, Ohtani took him way out to dead center field for a leadoff homer, a "welcome to The Show" moment if ever there were one.

Some young pitchers might fold under the circumstances. Misiorowski, on the other hand, seemed to treat it like he was playing with his friends in the backyard.

“It’s Shohei Ohtani,” Misiorowski told reporters after the game, per the AP. “You kind of expect (that). It’s cool to see him do it in action, but it fires me up even more coming back the next at bat and striking him out. I’m right there. I think it was a moment of like, ‘OK, now we go.’”

And go Misiorowski did: That was the only run the young flamethrower would allow on the night, striking out a career-high 12 batters over six innings while guiding Milwaukee to a 3-1 win over the World Series favorites.

It was already obvious that Misiorowski had the stuff to become an ace in the Majors; anyone who watched him for even an inning could tell you that. But his start against the Dodgers proved even more: that he's an absolute assassin on the mound, one whose attitude is as electric as his stuff.

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Jacob Misiorowski's confidence should have the rest of MLB on notice

Prior to Tuesday's game, Clayton Kershaw was asked about his impression of Misiorowski so far. His response wasn't disrespectful, necessarily, but it was eye-raising: "I don't even know who I'm pitching against," Kershaw said, " before referring to the Brewers righty as "the twisted-his-ankle guy" — referring to Misiorowski having to leave a no-hit bid due to an ankle injury last month.

That made some headlines, and those headlines made it back to Misiorowski himself. And while he wasn't upset by it, he did seem to take some pride in making sure the future Hall of Famer knew who he was moving forward.

“I saw something online that he didn’t know who I was, so I hope he knows me now,” Misiorowski said. “It’s kind of cool.”

Safe to say he accomplished that mission.

Of course, it helps when you can throw 100 mph with a slider that runs into the high 90s. But just as important to sustained success in the Majors is the ability to be mentally tough, to be able to fully commit to your plan and your stuff every time you take the mound and no matter what opponent you take it against. Misiorowski's arm is so electric that he shouldn't be backing down from anyone, and with a quiet confidence like this, the sky is truly the limit.