In only his third major league outing, the Milwaukee Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski outdueled once-in-a-generational arm Paul Skenes. He held the Pittsburgh Pirates to only two hits over five scoreless innings and helped the Brewers notch a 4-2 win. Now, just a fortnight later, he has once again topped Skenes in the All-Star Game annals.

Misiorowski is now gearing up to join the National League All-Star team after a mere five major league outings and 25.2 innings pitched. He is a replacement for Chicago Cubs star Matthew Boyd, who is set to start Saturday’s game for the Cubs. For the record, Misiorowski just broke Skenes’ record for the fewest career games played before making an All-Star appearance. The Pirates star had set the previous record last year, reaching the All-Star game after only 11 outings.

Shortly after the announcement, Misiorowski had tears in his eyes when he made a media appearance. While speaking to the reporters, he said, “Um, yeah, I mean, I’m speechless. I mean, it’s, it’s awesome. It’s, yeah, very unexpected, and it’s an honor.” With his voice starting to crack, he added, “I mean, it’s just been a long time coming. And you know, I just want to honor the guys around me and, you know, be a Brewer.” 

The All-Star nod is more than just an opportunity; it’s a reward for his poise, performance, and dominance on the mound. During his first outing as a Brewer, the rookie threw five hitless innings as the Brewers handed a brutal 6-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. He was just as electric in his following games. Still, when he was asked if he had envisioned something like this happening, he said, “No, not even close.”

Speaking on how the front office broke the news to him, he replied, “I got called into the Brewers’ office. And, uh, sitting in there, he’s like, hey, close the door. Come on, get in here. And yeah, basically broke it to me. I had to sit there the whole game and not tell anyone.”

However, when he got the opportunity to tell everyone, they were immensely proud of him. Misiorowski will be joining fellow Brewers pitchers Trevor Megill (reliever) and Freddy Peralta (starter) on the NL roster. Speaking of NL, the rookie also dominated the National League leaders in his recent outing.

Jacob Misiorowski helps Brewers hand the Dodgers a tough loss

The Los Angeles Dodgers actually had to prepare to face the Brewers’ ace, Jacob Misiorowski. Perhaps they kept a close eye on his past four outings. Manager Dave Roberts gave the team one strategy: “Stress him as much as we can,” he shared it during a pregame media appearance. The Dodgers’ strategy was to get quick outs, extend at-bats, and drive up his pitch count. According to Roberts, creating a stressful environment for the Brewers’ phenom would help the team to get extra big hits.

Shortly after, during the game, Misiorowski gave up a leadoff home run to Shohei Ohtani. Soon enough, the 23-year-old rookie struck out 12 batters at American Family Field. The Dodgers certainly couldn’t stress him, but Misiorowski definitely put stress on the entire Dodgers lineup. By the end, he finished the night with six powerful innings and helped the Brewers hand a tough 3-1 loss to the Dodgers.

Ironically, the last time a pitcher struck out 12 Dodgers in a game, it was Ohtani himself when he played for the Angels. In fact, veteran Clayton Kershaw also acknowledged Misiorowski’s talent and appreciated his efforts. Misiorowski’s own teammates, his opponents, and the league overall are currently going wild over the rookie’s impressive outings. All that everyone awaits now is his All-Star Game appearance.