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 Misiorowski might not pitch in this year's All-Star Game at all.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy told reporters on Wednesday that the 24-year-old ace is penciled in for three more starts prior to the All-Star break. Misiorowski will start Thursday’s series finale against the Reds in a premium matchup opposite Cincinnati’s Chase Burns. Then, he is lined up for two subsequent starts on regular rest: 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.
If that’s the case, it would help answer one of the pressing questions as the All-Star Game approaches: Who will get the start for the National League?
Besides Misiorowski, MLB’s leader in ERA (1.45), strikeouts (146), WHIP (0.77) and batting average against (.144), 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.
Misirowski 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.
These days, he’s setting velocity records nearly every time he pitches. Misiorowski touched 105.5 mph in his most recent start against the Cubs, the fastest pitch clocked by a starter since pitch tracking began in 2008, and he will be back on the mound Thursday afternoon in a premium matchup against Burns, the 23-year-old Reds standout who is 9-1 with a 2.36 ERA through 16 starts.
One factor to keep an eye on is Misiorowski’s workload as he pushes past the 100-inning mark on Thursday. He’s already thrown 99 innings in his first 16 starts -- on pace for 185 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.”