The most electrifying young pitcher in baseball might not be Paul Skenes anymore.
Not at the moment, anyway.
Jacob Misiorowski holds that honor, after yet another mind-blowing display Sunday. Five days after unleashing 57 pitches of 100 mph-plus, Misiorowski threw 39 more in a 2-0 victory over the Houston Astros — including all 14 of his first-inning offerings. His last pitch of the game clocked in at 102.
Have you seen anything like this? I have not.
In a memorable May, Misiorowski went 5-0 with a 0.23 earned-run average. He had 57 strikeouts and six walks in 38 innings. It was so ridiculous that Philly ace Christopher Sanchez might not even win Pitcher of the Month even though he had a 0.00 ERA in May — zero runs in 39 innings.
Misiorowski has a real chance to become the first pitcher to strike out 300 batters since Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander did it in 2019. He might be the biggest story in baseball — and his team isn’t far behind.
Wasn’t this supposed to be a step-back year for the Brewers?
Didn’t they trade All-Star pitcher Freddy Peralta before his walk year? Didn’t they strangely deal popular infielder Cale Durbin — who finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting last season — to the Boston Red Sox?
Yes, they did.
They also lost Christian Yelich, Brandon Woodruff and Jackson Chourio for extended periods and are still awaiting the return of 13-game winner Quinn Priester — yet they’re on pace to win 101 games!
They’re also on pace to win their fourth consecutive NL Central title and fifth in the past six years.
General manager Matt Arnold appears to have won the Durbin deal by knockout. Durbin’s below The Ozuna Line in Boston, hitting .183, while the player the Brewers got in return — lefty Kyle Harrison — is 6-1 with a 1.57 ERA.
The biggest difference between the Pirates and Brewers, however, has been the bullpens, as reflected in one revealing statistic: save percentage.
The Brewers have had 27 save opportunities and converted 18 for a 70% rate. That’s tied for sixth in baseball with the Dodgers.
The Pirates have had 23 save opportunities and converted just 11. That is a pathetic 48% rate, third-worst in the majors, ahead of only the Angels and Tigers.
And yet, having said all of this, the Brewers remain within striking distance in the unbelievable NL Central, where every team has a winning record. The Pirates are just five games back (just a half-game out of a wild-card spot) and appear to have righted themselves after slipping to .500 again. Even their bullpen had a good weekend.
Skenes has been very good but not his usual self, sporting a 2.89 ERA. He has plenty of competition for the Cy Young Award and All-Star game start, likely more than people thought in Sanchez, Misiorowski, Shohei Ohtani, Chase Burns and Chris Sale.
I’d still take Skenes over Misiorowski because he has shown lasting power over three seasons. Skenes is built for the long haul. We’ll see about Misiorowski.
But, man, can you imagine if the Brewers really do have their own Paul Skenes?
That wouldn’t even be fair.