Back in starting role, Misiorowski ready to prove himself

This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy’s Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PHOENIX -- Six-foot-7 Brewers pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski was always a couple of inches taller than the other kids, so naturally he was pushed toward basketball as a boy. But by the time he reached middle school, he’d gravitated toward baseball.

You might be surprised to learn his first position on the field.

“Catcher,” Misiorowski said. “I just liked being in the middle of it.”

But as he graduated from coach pitch to machine pitch to kid pitch, Misiorowski learned that he could have the same feeling of control from the mound. He fell in love with pitching, even if he describes himself as average at it for a long time. Misiorowski learned to use his long levers to throw hard, matching velocities with some of the senior pitchers as a freshman. He thought to himself, “Maybe I’ve got something here.”

Yes, the 22-year-old -- Milwaukee’s second-round Draft pick in 2022, armed with a fastball that can top 100 mph when he wants to put a little extra on it -- does have something. After dabbling in relief late last season, Misiorowski is back in a starting role this spring, and he’s scheduled to make his unofficial season debut on Tuesday afternoon against the Guardians.

Misiorowski has come a long way in a short time. When he first discovered his velocity, it didn’t come with command.

“Oh, it was not there,” Misiorowski said. “I was lucky to hit the broadside of a barn. I was growing like crazy at that age, and you just made it work. There were definitely some days where I hit six or seven guys. But it’s high school, so, 'Sorry ‘bout it.' You just move on and start trying to make it better.”

By his senior year, he was pumping 96-97 mph fastballs. Then, as a freshman at Crowder College in Neosho, Mo., the same junior college that produced Brewers left-hander Aaron Ashby, Misiorowski touched 100 mph for the first time against a teammate in practice. He knew something had happened when a group of teammates huddled around a radar gun went nuts.

“I hit it once and never got it back,” Misiorowski said. “Then I finally hit it my sophomore year in Grand Junction in the big [JUCO World Series]. That’s when I really remember it.”

Gradually, he learned the value of pitching at 96-98 mph versus throwing at 100. His secondary pitches developed, too. Misiorowski also throws a slider and an occasional curveball, and like so many young pitchers, he’s been tinkering with the changeup. If it comes, it comes, he says. If not, he’s perfectly content to work with three pitches and see where it takes him.

It’s a good feeling to know that when he needs triple digits, he can reach back and find it.

“I’m happy that I have this God-given talent,” Misiorowski said. “It’s fun.”

It’s not just natural talent. Over the years, Misiorowski has been tutored by former Tigers, Rangers and Astros right-hander Mike Henneman, and Royals, Tigers and Orioles left-hander Jamie Walker, who both made their marks out of the bullpen. Henneman is second on Detroit’s all-time saves leaderboard, and Walker led the American League with 81 appearances in 2007. Together they combined for 1,106 games over 20 years in the big leagues.

Misiorowski, however, wants to take a different path. Even after having some success last season out of the bullpen -- a late-season move meant to position him for a callup were the Brewers to have a need -- he still wants to be a Major League starter.

“Of course,” Misiorowski said. “I’m never going to tell them ‘no’ to starting. That’s every kid’s dream, to be the big ace starting pitcher of the team. I think I’m always going to strive to be that. But if my time comes and they want me in the ‘pen, so be it.”

Was he disappointed to be passed over for a callup last season?

“It’s always in your mind, but it’s one of those things you have to push back and not worry about it,” Misiorowski said. “They brought all of these guys up before me, so you just have to trust it and know they have the right thing in mind for you.

“You have to think you’re that next guy up, but you also can’t get your hopes up and get upset when somebody goes in front of you. You’ve got to calm yourself down and worry about what’s happening today.”

Today, he’s on the mound with a chance to inch closer to Milwaukee.