Milwaukee Brewers fans have plenty to chew on after Jacob Misiorowski’s latest start, because the warning signs that had been building for weeks finally showed up in a loud way on Wednesday night.
A month ago, the velocity on Misiorowski’s fastball had already started to dip. The pitch mix changed with it, too, as he began leaning on his second and third pitches more than he ever had before in his career.
At the time, the right-hander was still stacking wins, with three straight victories coming against very strong lineups. But the trend line was heading in one direction, and it kept going that way in his next two outings.
Then came the night at Wrigley Field, where Misiorowski was batted around for the first time all season.
Misiorowski pointed to the weather when explaining what went wrong. The conditions at Wrigley were miserable, and he said the dampness made it hard to grip the ball.
“I didn’t feel wonderful, didn’t feel great,” Misiorowski said. “Obviously it felt soggy the whole time.
The weather played a factor in that, so I lost grip. I had to make it work.”
He also had issues with the mound, something that has been part of the challenge for the 6-foot-7 hardballer throughout his career. On the wet clay, that problem got worse with his landing leg.
“You start second-guessing everything,” Misiorowski said. “You start trying to make pitches too big and start trying to make things too spot-on. You have to calm yourself down and figure out a way to get through it.”
Even so, this wasn’t just one bad night in isolation. Misiorowski has had trouble in each of his last five outings, and that’s why the concern is starting to feel real.
At the same time, the baseline remains absurdly high. Even with the recent wobble, a struggling Misiorowski is still better than every other pitcher on Earth.
Still, the explanation here feels less like a one-off and more like a 24-year-old flamethrower running into the first real grind of a full Major League Baseball season.
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