ATLANTA -- No less an authority than Nolan Ryan has entered the discussion about where Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski ranks all-time among the sport’s flame-throwing starting pitchers.
Ryan, the bulldog right-hander who rode his “Ryan Express” fastball to the Hall of Fame, didn’t settle the debate during a chat with The Athletic’s Jayson Stark that was published this week (subscription required) ahead of Misiorowski’s first career start against the Braves in a 3-2 Brewers loss on Friday night at Truist Park. The tracking methods are so different today, Ryan said, that there’s simply no way to know. Ryan himself won’t say that he threw harder than other greats like Bob Feller and Sandy Koufax.
But Ryan is sure of one thing.
“He’s definitely the hardest thrower in the game today,” he told The Athletic. “That’s for sure.”
And Ryan has enjoyed following Misiorowski from afar.
“It’s a gift that he has, and it’s special,” Ryan said. “No doubt about it. Because you just don’t see many arms like it.”
Misiorowski’s arm was on a full week of rest Friday night against the Braves, when he dialed up the fastball as high as 104.2 mph and was working on another shutout until Atlanta’s Mauricio Dubón served a two-strike, two-out, two-run single to left field in the sixth inning to erase what had been a 1-0 Brewers lead. On one swing, the Braves scored twice as many runs as all of Misiorowski’s opponents combined in his previous eight starts.
It was the biggest swing of a hard-fought game that could have easily swung the other way. The Brewers lamented the outcomes of Andrew Vaughn’s 105.9 mph line-drive double play with two runners aboard in the sixth inning (expected batting average: .760, per Statcast), Christian Yelich’s flyout to Braves left fielder Eli White in the left-field corner with a runner on base in the seventh, Sal Frelick’s bases-loaded comebacker that was knocked down by Atlanta reliever Robert Suarez to end the eighth and, most of all, White’s throw home to just the right spot in the ninth to deny Jackson Chourio from scoring the tying run.
The Brewers’ dugout phone wasn’t working, but they didn’t need it to know it was the right time to challenge. Surely, something was due to go Milwaukee’s way. It didn’t.
“If that’s how they have to beat us,” Misiorowski said, “I think that’s a perk on our side. We’re right there competing with it.”
He tipped his cap to Braves star Matt Olson for resisting the urge to chase on the way to a nine-pitch walk in the sixth ahead of Dubón, who earned similar kudos from Misiorowski for putting a good swing on a 101.3 mph fastball in what proved Misiorowski’s final inning on a muggy night. He was charged with those two runs on five hits, all singles, in six innings. He walked one and struck out seven, boosting his Major League-leading strikeout total to 138.
“Miz was great. He was dominant. He was fantastic,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “You know, you’re going to give up runs if you’re a human.”
The most compelling inning prior to the Dubón showdown may have been Misiorowski’s Ryan-esque second, when a pair of well-placed Braves singles helped put runners at second and third with two outs for White. Misiorowski responded by throwing White four fastballs, all 102.9 mph and up, culminating with a 104.1 mph heater for an inning-ending swinging strike three.
There’s only one strikeout pitch on record -- pitch tracking dates back to 2008 -- thrown harder. It was Misiorowski’s 104.5 mph strikeout of Kyle Schwarber one week earlier in Milwaukee, where Misiorowski faced the minimum 27 batters, struck out 15, needed only 95 pitches for a complete-game shutout and was denied perfection by only Schwarber’s fourth-inning single.
The Phillies outing raised Misiorowski’s national profile to new heights, if that’s possible for a pitcher who made the NL All-Star team last year with just five starts on his résumé. The Brewers are mindful of the weight that comes along with that. So far, they are confident he can handle it.
“It’s all part of the journey, and I think he clearly understands what’s important,” said Murphy. “He’s got his priorities in order, and hopefully it stays that way.”
Murphy paused and smiled.
“I mean, Pokémon’s at the top of the list,” Murphy said.
Misiorowski’s trading card obsession is one of the things he and Ryan don’t have in common, but there is much that binds them. It starts with pure velocity, a topic that both MLB.com stats analyst Mike Petriello and national reporter Anthony Castrovince examined ahead of the Phillies start.
Ryan opted not to wade in too deep during his conversation with The Athletic. Rather, he voiced appreciation for Misiorowski as the young phenom that he is, saying, “he’s much further down the road now than I was.”
Misiorowski hadn’t seen those comments, but he certainly knows all about Ryan thanks to YouTube.
“That dude’s a legend,” Misiorowski said. “That’s cool.”
At 24, Ryan was just getting going. His breakout didn’t come until his age-25 season in 1972 with the Angels, when he led the Majors with 329 strikeouts, logged a 2.28 ERA and made the All-Star team for the first time.
“Would I compare myself to him? No, I wouldn’t,” Ryan said. “It’ll be interesting to see his career develop. The game needs more pitchers like that. I truly believe that. And it’s gonna be fun to watch.”