Jacob Misiorowski shines in first matchup against Pirates phenom Paul Skenes

Two of Major League Baseball’s best young pitchers squared off last week in a game the entire baseball world had its collective eye on.

The Milwaukee Brewers hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates at American Family Field on Wednesday, June 25. It was the best-attended game in Milwaukee this year, with a 42,774-person crowd marking the stadium’s fifth sellout on the season.

The reason so many fans showed up and tuned in: Up-and-coming Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski faced one of the league’s best starting pitchers in Pirates second-year man Paul Skenes.

Misiorowski vs. Skenes might become one of baseball’s most electric pitching matchups, and their first head-to-head did not disappoint. But before we dive into last week’s game, let’s learn a little more about Miz.

More about Misiorowski

The 6’7”, 23-year-old right hander came into the Majors last month as the fourth-ranked Brewers prospect by MLB Pipeline, and their number 68 overall prospect.

Simply put, the dude’s got a Howitzer.Coming into the Bigs, Misiorowski’s fastball averaged just under 98 MPH, but he’d hit 103 with it in AAA-Nashville in May, and he’s been able to maintain velocity with consistency. He’s got some off-speed stuff in his bag, too, mixing in a changeup, curveball, and slider.

The Brewers selected Misiorowski out of Crowder Community College in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft at 63rd overall. Over 233 1/3 Minor League innings, Misiorowski put up a 3.04 ERA with 320 Ks, and over 63 ½ innings in AAA-Nashville this season, he posted a 2.13 ERA and 80 strikeouts.

Considering Miz’s Minor League pedigree and what he’s put on the field so far with the Crew, I think the Brewers brass was correct in their assessment that he was ready for The Show when they called him up.

Misiorowski’s other appearances

Misiorowski made two appearances before his matchup against Skenes last week.

He made his Major League debut in Milwaukee against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday, June 12, and boy howdy, was it a debut to remember. Miz hurled five no-hit innings with four walks, five strikeouts, and no earned runs on 81 pitches over five innings in the Brewers’ 6-0 win.

Eight days later, in a 17-6 dub over the Twins in Minnesota, Miz tossed six perfect innings before giving up a walk and a two-run home run in the seventh. He ended the day with one hit, one walk, six Ks, and one earned run on 86 pitches.

Miz started his Big League career with 11 consecutive no-hit innings, which, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, is the longest such streak by a starting pitcher in the Modern Era (since 1900). Is that good? That seems good.

Miz vs. Skenes

Misiorowski’s first pitch of the Pirates game hit 100 MPH, which pretty much set the tone for his start. Although he ended up walking Pittsburgh’s leadoff man, right fielder Adam Frazier, Miz settled in, getting designated hitter Bryan Reynolds to fly out to center before striking out first baseman Spencer Horowitz and second baseman Nick Gonzales. Of his 21 pitches in the first frame, 12 (!) hit 100 MPH or higher. Not a bad way to start the day!

Skenes, in the bottom of the first, was also not goofing around. He, too, walked the first batter he faced – Brewers right fielder Sal Frelick – but he retired the next three batters. Center fielder Jackson Chourio grounded into a fielder’s choice to second, and designated hitter Christian Yelich and first baseman Rhys Hoskins each went down on strikes.

The top of the second inning was a quick one for Misiorowski. Center fielder Oneil Cruz flied out to left on the second pitch of the frame, and left fielder Tommy Pham struck out looking on three pitches (insert the Jason Bateman in Dodgeball “Ouch Town, population you, bro!” gif here). The inning ended after third baseman Jared Triolo flew out to center on the sixth pitch of the at-bat.

The bottom of the second was conversely, uh, not a quick one for Skenes. Left fielder Isaac Collins got things going by drawing a walk, and second baseman Brice Turang and third baseman Caleb Durbin followed with a base hit each. With no outs and the bases loaded (the second time all year up to that point Skenes had juiced the bases), shortstop Joey Ortiz hit a dribbler back to Skenes, bringing in Collins to put the Crew up 1-0. A bloop double to center by catcher Eric Haase brought in another run, and after Frelick hit the ball to second, the defender chose to throw home rather than take the out at first. Bad idea, man! The throw was way off the mark, and even if it had been dead on, Durbin probably would’ve been safe. With the score 3-0, Yelich hit a base knock to left to score Haase. The inning ultimately ended with the Brewers putting up a four-spot against last year’s National League Rookie of the Year and All-Star Game NL starter. A total of nine batters faced Skenes in the 37-pitch frame. Skenes had never allowed four runs in an inning in his 40 career starts, and he’d only allowed more than four runs in a game twice up to that point. There’s no other way to say it: The Brewers’ offense simply went the heck off against one of the league’s premier arms – one pitching for a division rival, no less. You love to see it.

Skenes returned to form in the third and fourth innings, but it was too little too late. His stat line on the day: 78 pitches, four hits, two walks, four strikeouts and four earned runs while taking the loss. I wouldn’t bet on Skenes having many days like this against the Brewers going forward, so we should probably savor this one while we can, folks.

The bottom of the second would be it for Milwaukee’s offense as far as scoring goes, and the Pirates would go on to bring two runs across against the Brewers’ bullpen, but Misiorowski was just getting started heading into the top of the third. The phenom remained impressively locked in, ending the day with 74 pitches, two hits, two walks, eight strikeouts and no earned runs in five innings. He also got his third career win in his third career start.

Something worth noting: Although he’s known for his fastball, Miz mixed it up on his Ks – three came on the heater, two on the curveball, two on the slider, and one on the changeup. In total, Miz had 19 pitches of 100 MPH or faster on the day, and his 102.4 MPH scorcher was the hardest pitch ever recorded from a Brewers pitcher.

Another cool wrinkle: Misiorowski took the mound wearing custom New Balance cleats with the initials TM on them – a shoutout to his dad, Tom Misiorowski, who’s battling Parkinson’s disease. His kicks also had a rose on them, which is the official symbol for awareness of the disease.

The big picture (so far)

So, all in all, how has Misiorowski been in his first three Big League starts? Simply put: phenomenal.

Miz has posted an ERA of 1.13, allowing two runs on three hits, with 19 Ks and seven walks. Batters’ average against him is currently .061. Yes, you read that correctly. Oh, and he’s thrown 62 100 MPH-plus pitches. Again: Howitzer.

Look, three starts is not nearly a large enough sample size to crown Misiorowski as the Brewers’ next Certified Dude on the mound. But in the few appearances we’ve seen from him, he’s demonstrated an ability to reel himself in when things get a little dicey. To see a young pitcher maintain his cool – and his dominance – with consistency is certainly something for Brewers fans to be excited about.

Miz takes the mound tomorrow

Misiorowski is slated to take the mound again tomorrow (Wednesday, July 2) in New York against the Mets. First pitch is at 6:10 p.m. You might wanna tune in.

Jalen’s columns, “The Free Play” and “Movies You Gotta See,” can be found online at www.medium.com/@jalenmaki.