Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski has emerged as one of baseball's top pitchers with a league-leading 1.62 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 111 innings.
- Milwaukee holds a five-game lead in the NL Central and recently acquired Lance McCullers Jr. to bolster their injury-depleted rotation.
- Misiorowski's next start comes on July 20 against the New York Mets, giving him extended rest as the Brewers aim to protect their key starter.
There was a big difference between Jacob Misiirowski’s first and second All-Star Game appearances, something the Milwaukee Brewers ace pitcher readily admits,
When Misiorowski was selected for last year’s game in Atlanta, the big right-hander had made just five starts in the Major Leagues. Though he was 4-1 with a 2.82 ERA, he was more of a novelty act than a star.
Though he did not pitch in this year's edition because of arm fatigue, Misiorowski certainly earned his way to this year’s Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia. The 24-year-old has emerged as one of the top pitchers in the sport.
“I feel like making the second one adds more to the point of, hey, I deserve this,” Misiorowski told FanSided last weekend as the Brewers were swept by the Pirates in a three-game series in Pittsburgh to end the first half of the season.
Jacob Misiorowski explains All-Star absence after stellar first half
The sample size is certainly bigger in 2026, and Misiorowski has become one of the best pitchers in baseball. He is 10-4 in 18 starts with an MLB-leading 1.62 ERA. Misiorowski is also first in WHIP (0.757) while striking out an MLB-best 167 batters in just 111 innings.
Yet the standings mean more than the statistical leaderboards to Misiorowski, and he knows the most important thing is that the Brewers currently hold a five-game lead in the National League Central over the Chicago Cubs as they seek a fourth consecutive division title. That is why Misiorowski was reluctantly amenable to not pitching in the All-Star Game and being scratched from his scheduled start last Sunday against the Pirates and fellow All-Star Paul Skenes.
“I’m happy with the way the season is going, and I feel good about how I’ve done my job so far, but there’s still a lot of baseball left, and I want to be ready for it,” Misiorowski said.
The Brewers need Misiorowski to continue to pitch at a high level, particularly with three rotation-mates on the IL: Kyle Harrison, Quinn Priester and Brandon Woodruff. The Brewers made a move on Wednesday that they feel will boost their rotation by trading for the Houston Astros’ Lance McCullers Jr., who himself has been on the IL for two months with shoulder inflammation. Milwaukee is hopeful McCullers can pitch this weekend against the visiting Miami Marlins.
Misiorowski will likely make his next start on July 20 against the New York Mets at home, which would give him an extended rest of 12 days. His 111 innings are just 18.1 less than his professional career-high of 129.1, set last season between the Major and Minor Leagues.
The Brewers understandably want to protect their best starting pitcher, yet they did not want to hinder his development because Misiorowski has made great strides since the Brewers chose him in the second round of the 2022 draft from Crowder College, a two-year school in Neosho, Mo.
How Pat Murphy helped Jacob Misiorowski transform from raw prospect to MLB ace
Misiorowski was considered a hard thrower who lacked polish when he entered professional baseball. However, Brewers manager Pat Murphy, who was then Milwaukee's bench coach, saw something a little different.
“The kid had pitchability,” Murphy said. “He wasn't just a brain-dead human. You could see the potential for finesse. I never dreamed he'd throw 103 (mph), but you know, you could see that he was a pitcher.”
Though he's been voted as the NL Manager of the Year each of the past two seasons, Murphy is a player development person at heart. He was a college coach in a past life, including stops at Notre Dame and Arizona State, before becoming a Minor League manager in the San Diego Padres’ organization and eventually a big-league coach and manager.
One of the key developments in Misiorowski’s rapid ascent to being a two-time All-Star is that he added leg strength — which, in turn, led to increased velocity. Now, Misiorowski is the hardest thrower in MLB, where pitchers touching 100 mph becomes more commonplace every season.
Misiorowski leads all starters with a 100.5-mph average four-seam fastball velocity and has thrown a big-league high of 670 pitches at 100 mph or higher.
However, the transition from the Minors to the Majors isn’t just physical. There are mental adjustments to make that can be daunting, and that is where Murphy has come into play in Misiorowski’s development, sometimes using the tough-love approach that a 67-year-old baseball lifer can give.
“Early on, I think he had a tougher adjustment to the big leagues,” Murphy said. “It was not understanding the big leagues as well as he does now. He wasn't as comfortable in the locker room as he is now. He wasn't as comfortable with himself as he is now.
“He did not understand the work that needed to be done in between starts. He did not understand how tough it is up here and how everything, boom, can change in an instant in a big-league game. Now, he comes back, and he’s a different guy, and he’s taking steps in the right direction. He’s getting more comfortable and more confident.”
Add us as a preferred source on Google