MILWAUKEE -- The good news is that it’s unlikely there will be any controversy about Jacob Misiorowski pitching in the All-Star Game this time around.
The bad news is that barring a change of plans, Misiorowski won’t pitch in this year's All-Star Game at all.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy told reporters this week that the 24-year-old ace is lined up for two starts on regular rest in the immediate runup to the break. That means Misiorowski would pitch Tuesday in one of the doubleheader games against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, then July 12 against the Pirates at PNC Park in the final game before the break
By rule, a pitcher who starts on that final Sunday of the first half is ineligible to pitch in the All-Star Game two days later. So, if the Brewers and Misiorowski stick to the schedule they have laid out, he would only be able to attend the Midsummer Classic on July 14 at Citizens Bank Park as a spectator.
“I get it,” Misiorowski said after Thursday’s 7-2 Brewers loss to the Reds at American Family Field. “We’re not looking for right now, we’re looking for September and October. It sucks. Obviously, I want to throw in a game like that. So be it.”
If it’s the case that he is not a candidate for the All-Star Game, it would help answer one of the pressing questions as the event approaches: Who will get the start for the National League?
Besides Misiorowski, who remains MLB’s leader in ERA (1.47), strikeouts (156), WHIP (0.78) and batting average against (.150) among qualifiers even after allowing a pair of home runs to the Reds, the worthy candidates include hometown favorite Cristopher Sánchez of the host Phillies and two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers, whose scheduled start on Wednesday night was pushed to Friday.
Misiorowski is less than 13 months removed from his Major League debut, but he has already experienced what it’s like to pitch in the All-Star Game. It generated quite a bit of debate when he was a last-minute addition to last year’s squad with only five MLB starts on his resume, but Misiorowski showed he belonged by delivering nine triple-digit pitches while dealing a scoreless eighth inning in the NL’s 7-6 win.
That experience helps dull any disappointment about missing a chance to pitch in the event again this year.
“It makes it a little easier, makes it a little cooler that you get to be one of the veterans that you were there with last year who kind of got to be in the background and watch it,” Misiorowski said.
One factor to keep an eye on is Misiorowski’s workload after he pushed past the 100-inning mark on Thursday. He’s already thrown 104 innings in his first 17 starts -- on pace for 183 innings if he were to make 30 starts in the regular season. Last year, he threw 141 1/3 innings between Triple-A Nashville and the Brewers, including the postseason.
“I’m being honest: We’re just trying to win games,” Murphy said. “You see the way the Cubs are playing. You see how good everyone in our division is. … Miz’s health is important.”
“I feel really good,” Misiorowski said.