Jacob Misiorowski’s 100+ MPH Stuff Wows In Second Start
Image credit: Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (32) delivers a pitch during the second inning of the MLB game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins on June 20th, 2025, at Target Field in Minneapolis, MN. (Photo by Bailey Hillesheim/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Two starts into his MLB career, Jacob Misiorowski’s 100 mph stuff could be described this way: imagine peak Jacob deGrom.
It’s hard to imagine what more Misiorowski could have done to announce himself to the larger baseball world. He threw 11 hitless innings to begin his MLB career. He carried a perfect game into the seventh inning on Friday. His 11 hitless innings to start his career are the best by a starter.
But it’s the stuff that makes comparisons almost impossible. Misiorowski sat at 100-101 mph on Friday, and he averaged 100.4 mph with his fastball. He threw only four fastballs under 99 mph all night, three of which were in the seventh inning. His 95-96 mph slider is something that the game has never seen.
After sitting for 20 minutes during a long top of the seventh, Misiorowski’s stuff wasn’t the same when he finally came back out. His velocity dipped by 2-3 mph as he walked the first batter he faced on four pitches and then gave up a two-run homer to Matt Wallner. He was quickly pulled after that.
That first hit Misiorowski allowed provided only a slight blemish on an exceptionally loud introduction to the majors. One of the best aspects of a phenomenal debut is trying to draw comparisons. For many, Stephen Strasburg’s electric debut remains the most dominant memory of a highly-touted rookie living up to expectations. Paul Skenes similarly dominated from day one.
Dominating Debuts
As good as Stephen Strasburg’s MLB debut was, Misiorowski is showing significantly better stuff and better command. Strasburg was pitching in an era with less stuff, but he sat 98 mph and touched 100.1 mph once in his debut. His changeup was a 90 mph pitch and he threw a low-80s curve.
Misiorowski dropped in an 86-87 mph curve to keep hitters off balance. It seemed almost unfair to add that to his 100-102 mph fastball and mid-90s slider.
In this second MLB start, Misiorowski threw 29 100+ mph pitches. Only Hunter Greene and Jacob deGrom have thrown more than that in an MLB start (since Statcast measurements began in 2008, which is the case for all of these stats).
Those 29 100+ mph pitches by themselves would slot him at the 23rd most in an MLB career by an MLB starter.
Throw in the 14 100+ mph pitches he had in his first start, and he already ranks 18th on the Statcast starting pitcher career list. At this rate, he’ll move into the top 15 with his next start.
His 18 101+ mph pitches already rank as the seventh most in a career by a starter. Only Hunter Greene, Jacob deGrom and Justin Verlander have more than 40 in a career.
A Ferocious Slider
Misiorowski’s his slider may be even crazier to explain. Just don’t ask Willi Castro.
Misiorowski threw four 96+ mph sliders, three of which were strikes. He threw four in his first start, as well. No other MLB starter has thrown more than three at that velocity in their career. Every other starter since 2008 combined have just 17.
But Misiorowski didn’t just throw—he pitched. As we detailed last month, Misiorowski throws strikes nowadays at a rate that seemed hard to believe just last year. Misiorowski had never thrown 60% strikes in a minor league season coming into this year. He had a 64% strike percentage in the minors this year , and he has a 65% strike percentage in his first two MLB starts.
He consistently found the edges of the plate. He threw his slider for strikes 78% of the time. He dropped in his curve for strikes 73% of the time, and he threw his fastball for strikes 63% of the time. Only four batters got to a three-ball count.
Where does Misiorowski go from here? Down. No one can keep this up. But even if he loses a bit from this best-in-baseball stuff he’s shown so far, he looks like a starter no team wants to face and one who could be a brutal matchup for any team in a playoff series.
