Jacob Misiorowski and Chase Burns are about to meet in a major league spotlight that felt close to happening once before, only without the same stakes or the same kind of electricity.
The Brewers and Reds right-handers are lined up to face each other Thursday at American Family Field, giving fans a first look at two young arms who have raced past prospect talk and into real big league relevance. They were originally set to oppose one another in a Spring Breakout prospect game between Milwaukee and Cincinnati in March 2025, but the Reds changed plans and Burns never took the mound. Misiorowski did pitch that day, and it went badly: 1 2/3 innings, three hits, three earned runs, one walk, four strikeouts, a wild pitch, a balk and a pitch timer violation.
Since then, both have taken off.
Misiorowski, 24, enters Thursday leading MLB in ERA at 1.45, strikeouts with 146, WHIP at 0.77 and opponents’ average at .144. He’s also coming off a start against the Cubs in which he hit 105.5 mph, breaking his own mark for the fastest pitch by a starting pitcher since pitch tracking began in 2008. Only one pitcher has thrown harder since then, and both of those pitches came in relief: Aroldis Chapman at 105.8 mph in 2010 and 105.7 mph in 2016.
Burns has built a strong case of his own. The 23-year-old is 9-1 with a 2.36 ERA over 16 starts, and before his most recent outing he had ripped off 12 straight starts in which he went 8-0 with a 1.69 ERA. That run ended Saturday against the Pirates, when he gave up five runs on a season-high nine hits.
“You kind of grow out of being a prospect, but it still feels the same,” Misiorowski said. “It’s cool to match up against guys like that.”
“It’s gonna be fun,” Burns told the Cincinnati Enquirer about the matchup. “He’s good, so I’m pumped.”
The intrigue isn’t just in the box score. It’s in what this kind of game says about where things are headed.
“I think it just shows you where the game is going,” Brewers pitching coach Chris Hook said. “It’s young players, and the game not only needs them to step up and develop quicker, but also it shows you they can.
That’s the cool part. That has to be exciting for fans, to see a guy develop that quick.
That goes for [Burns], too.
“It’s just a small microcosm of where the game is now. Guys are getting here quicker. They may have some bumps in the road, but when they’re elite talents like those two guys are, you’re going to see exciting things.”
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