MILWAUKEE -- He announced his arrival in the Major Leagues with a 100.5 mph fastball to begin five-plus hitless innings. Then he backed it up by taking a perfect game into the seventh inning in Minnesota and outdueling Pirates ace Paul Skenes back home in Milwaukee. There was a blip at the Mets followed by 12-strikeout brilliance against the Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw, who, yes, knows Jacob Misiorowski's name.
Get ready to hear more of it. Misiorowski, the 6-foot-7 Brewers right-hander with a fastball that’s been clocked as high as 103 mph, was named a National League All-Star on Friday as a replacement for Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd, who will be inactive.
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The honor came just one month after Misiorowski's memorable Major League debut, two years after he was pitching in the All-Star Futures Game and three years after the Brewers made him their second-round Draft pick.
If it seems like an unusually quick ascent from MLB debut to MLB All-Star, it’s because it is the quickest ever. Skenes’ 11 career games before he was an All-Star last season represented the fewest before Misiorowski came along, according to Elias.
Misiorowski will have five career games on his MLB resume when he enjoys All-Star Week festivities in Atlanta, but he’s no stranger to the All-Star Game. A Kansas City native, he recalled attending the 2012 Midsummer Classic at Kauffman Stadium when he was 10 years old.
“He’s our Forrest Gump,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.
The wonder of it all isn’t lost on the 23-year-old phenom. Murphy gave Misiorowski the news three minutes before he was due on the foul line for the national anthem prior to Friday’s 8-3 Brewers win over the Nationals at American Family Field, and told him to keep it a secret until after the game. Misiorowski said he squirmed all night.
Finally, Murphy told the rest of the team in the clubhouse after the game and Misiorowski spoke up to thank teammates for their role in his history-making honor. But he didn’t need to say anything. The tears in his eyes said it all.
“I’m speechless,” Misiorowski said. “It’s very unexpected and it’s an honor. It’s been a long time coming and I just want to honor the guys around me and be a Brewer.”
“When he addressed the team he was like only he could be, and that’s tremendously genuine,” Murphy said. “He was very grateful, very thankful, and he understands that this is the entertainment business and he’s garnered so much attention that while only five starts [into his career], he’s going to the All-Star Game.”
When he gets there, he’s likely to be a sensation.
“If he does what he's supposed to do and what everybody thinks he can do, it's not going away anytime soon,” Skenes said after their matchup in a 4-2 Brewers win on June 25. “So, get used to it and find ways to find peace and that kind of thing with it."
Fewest games to first All-Star game selection:
5 - Misiorowski, 2025
11 - Skenes, 2024
13 - Mark Fidrych, Tigers, 1976
13 - Hideo Nomo, Dodgers, 1995
13 - Dontrelle Willis, Marlins, 2003
Misiorowski has appeared quite comfortable so far. He is 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings since his arrival, and he has held opposing hitters to a .138 average. Take away one poor start against the Mets, when his velocity dipped, his command faltered and Brandon Nimmo touched him for a second-inning grand slam, and Misiorowski's ERA is 1.23 in his other four starts.
His most recent outing against Kershaw and the Dodgers on Tuesday might have been the most eye-popping. Misiorowski gave up a leadoff home run to Shohei Ohtani and then put on a strikeout clinic against the best lineup in the NL, whiffing 12 of the next 16 hitters on the way to completing six commanding innings of a 3-1 win.
He topped out at 101.6 mph while striking out Ohtani in a third-inning rematch.
“That was super impressive,” Kershaw said. “That was unbelievable. It was really special. I mean, everything. Obviously the velo, but he’s got four pitches, commands the ball and made it -- I mean, I don’t know how you hit that, honestly.”
“I saw something online that [Kershaw] didn’t know who I was,” Misiorowski said. “I hope that he knows me now, you know? It’s kind of cool.”
Misiorowski's angry fastball and aw-shucks demeanor has made him an instant hit in Milwaukee, where even his off-day endeavors were newsworthy. He spent Thursday on a Miller Brewery tour in the shadow of American Family Field.
“He’s just broken the shell, man,” Murphy said. “He’s just broken the egg and … he’s still got gooey stuff coming off him, all arms and legs. There’s something special about him. I’m excited for him, all of these opportunities and the way it’s happening for him.”
What does the fairytale start to his career say about opportunity and about seizing the moment?
“Just do it,” Misiorowski said. “I don’t think there’s any second-guessing it, you just have to take the opportunity and run with it.”