Jacob Misiorowski Just Threw 57 Pitches Over 100 MPH in One Game. Nobody Has Ever Done That.
Jacob Misiorowski did something on Monday night that no pitcher in the Statcast era has ever done. Then he tried to play it cool afterward.
The Milwaukee Brewers rookie threw 57 pitches at 100 miles per hour or harder in a single start against the St. Louis Cardinals. The previous record, set in the pitch-tracking era that began in 2008, was 47. Misiorowski blew it out of the water in seven innings, striking out 12, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth, and topping out at 103.4 mph.
The Brewers won 5-1. Misiorowski is now 5-2 with a 1.83 ERA in 11 starts and just became the first pitcher in the majors to reach 100 strikeouts this season. He is also the only pitcher on the planet who casually sits at 101 mph on his four-seam fastball deep into the seventh inning.
This Isn’t Sustainable. It Also Isn’t a Fluke.
Every reasonable person who watches Misiorowski pitch ends up in the same place. The fastball is unhittable. The slider is a swing-and-miss weapon at 92 mph. The guy is 6-foot-7 with arms that look like they shouldn’t be allowed in professional baseball.
And then the same person remembers what happens to pitchers who throw this hard for this long. The list of arms that flamed out before age 27 is long and unhappy. Stephen Strasburg. Nathan Eovaldi early in his career. Noah Syndergaard. The harder you throw, the more your elbow files lawsuits against you.
Misiorowski has already made adjustments. He told reporters he changed his routine after struggling with control earlier in the spring, and the walk rate has dropped from a worrying number in April to a tidy 2.7 per nine over his last six starts. He has 100 strikeouts against 19 walks. Those are Cy Young numbers.
The Misiorowski Tour Is the Best Watch in Baseball
Forget the analytics for a minute. There is one pitcher in the major leagues who can throw 57 pitches at 100 miles per hour in a single game without his velocity dipping in the seventh. Every Misiorowski start is must-watch television because you might see history.
His MLB debut featured five innings of no-hit ball and the fastest pitch ever thrown by a Brewer in the Statcast era. His second start was six perfect innings against the Twins. He became the first big leaguer to record 11 no-hit innings to start his career since 1961.
Now this. 57 hundies in one outing.
“I felt fine,” Misiorowski said when reporters asked him how he was still throwing 103 in the seventh. That was the entire quote. He almost shrugged when asked about the no-hitter.
The Brewers have a player development pipeline that just keeps producing. Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, and now this. Milwaukee may not have the payroll to chase Sandy Alcantara at the deadline, but with Misiorowski fronting the rotation, they may not need to.
What This Means for the NL Central
Milwaukee is sitting at the top of the division and the Cubs are right behind them. Chicago is reportedly the leader to land Alcantara if Miami sells. The Brewers do not need an ace. They have a guy throwing 103 in the seventh inning of starts and breaking records that have been around since the dot-com bubble.
If Misiorowski stays healthy, the rest of the division has a problem.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
