Jacob Misiorowski Announced Himself On The Biggest of Stages

[Jake McKibbin]

Image courtesy of © Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

There were considerable questions on whether Jacob Misiorowski would even make the Brewers' NLDS roster after some dramatically poor outings since the All-Star break. In the second half, he had a 5.36 earned run average (ERA) while hitters were getting on base at a .354 clip. Given that this is far and away the most Misiorowski has pitched in a season, both by innings and pitch count, it seemed unlikely that he would be a difference maker in October. And yet...

Without the young fireballer, it's fair to say the Brewers may not have survived the NLDS matchup against the Cubs, playing key roles as a bulk pitcher in games two and five. Game two featured some of his liveliest stuff, hitting 104 mph repeatedly on his fastball, and using that raw stuff to navigate some of the wildness that had typified his profile. His two outings, however, were anything but wild, combining pitchability, a varied arsenal, and still regularly hitting over 100 (if not quite the 104 mark). Misiorowski has leaned heavily on his slider and curveball to startling effect.

I wrote earlier in September how Misiorowski's slider is the weakest of his four pitches and has proved the most hittable in his arsenal. He would consistently catch too much of the strike zone with it, and, despite being a poor swing and miss offering, he was using it heavily in two-strike counts to finish hitters off. It just wasn't working. Combining that with his issues under pressure with men on base, it all seemed like, despite the raw talent, Misiorowski had a lot of learning to undergo before he could be considered a top-of-the-line starter.

Fast forward to his last two October appearances, and Misiorowski has thrown more sliders than ever. I'm ready to eat humble pie, but there is one big difference:

The slider/cutter is the pitch he feels most comfortable locating in the strike zone; he has better control of it than his other offerings. It's a pitch ideally suited to getting ahead, and if hitters make contact, they'll still struggle to square it up and can produce some cheap, quick outs early in the count. That, at least, was the profile in the regular season, but one thing has changed: he's now using it against left-handed hitters.

Previously, his usage chart looked something like the chart below for left-handers (from the article in September). Not the incredibly heavy four-seam usage on the first pitch and when the batter got ahead of left-handed hitters, in dramatic contrast to those two situations above.

He's destroyed the predictability of how left-handed hitters faced him, and they've really struggled as a result. Left-handers slugged over .500 against fastballs and cutters against Misiorowski across August and September (.462 in August, .571 in September). That number is at .067 in October with just a single base hit given up to a left-hander this postseason.

He's finding the zone consistently with his slider/cutter, and one very interesting thing pops out from a stuff perspective, too:

Looking at the above chart comparing Misiorowski in August/September vs October, and you'll see his slider grades out impressively higher from a stuff perspective. The characteristics haven't changed a whole lot, with more spin and perhaps a slightly lower arm slot (often associated with some fatigue, and completely normal). However, the fastball being up a couple of ticks has a big effect, and that velocity separation being greater means that hitters can't sing at the fastball and hope that, if they're wrong, they can still catch the slider out in front. Instead, those swings are turning into whiffs, and the pitch has been almost impossible to square up this October.

I'll hold my hands up: I was wrong about the slider and its usage in September. That being said, a couple of things stand out as to the sustainability of this. The first is that Misiorowski has had a bump in velocity from the postseason adrenaline, and it remains to be seen whether he will consistently sit 100-101 throughout a full season. Secondly, he was helped somewhat by the shadows at Dodger Stadium, which made picking up any form of spin nigh on impossible. It was a perfect situation for him, but even so, he answered every question posed until fatigue began to kick in.

There are more answers to come in 2026 for the phenom. That being said, his calmness, poise, and competitive instincts have shown huge strides, and the way he's bounced back from adversity was perhaps his biggest sticking point this season. That has now been put to bed.

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[SF70]

I think we see Misiorowski unleash his CH on the baseball world next season. Those of us that watched him throw that devastating pitch in AAA saw a plus pitch that would take the Miz to another level.

I’ve rarely seen a pitcher make more improvement than Miz in such a short time, maybe Burnes of 2020, but Miz is a special talent and I’m thankful we have 6 more control years with what could be the best pitcher in baseball.