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.
In Other News...
Cardinals Prospect Story Just Sparked A Perfect Umpire Troll
When Hancel Rincn made his major league debut on Sept. 4, one of the more memorable moments had nothing to do with a pitch. Umpire Doug Eddings told the young right-hander to straighten the angle of his hat, and the quick fix instantly became the kind of quirky baseball detail that travels fast through a clubhouse and even faster through a fan base.
Springfield, Rincns former Double-A stop, has now turned that brief bit of attention into a promotion, announcing a "Crooked Caps" giveaway for Sept. 10. It is a fitting little wink from a team that has already clinched a Texas League playoff spot and continues to stock several names the Cardinals are hoping will matter in St. Louis before too long. [Read more 🡒]
Thomas Saggese Is Making The Cardinals Reconsider Third Base
Injuries have pushed Thomas Saggese into regular duty, mostly at shortstop, and the Cardinals have seen enough to make the next question unavoidable: where does he fit when everyone is healthy? Lance Lynn has already backed the young infielder to keep playing every day, pointing to the steady bat that has followed him through the minors and into the majors.
Saggese has also added some real pop lately, with home runs in consecutive games helping turn a short-term fill-in into a more interesting roster conversation. If he keeps producing and stays on the field, the Cardinals may have to look past the emergency plan and consider a much longer look at third base. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Rookie Wave Is Changing More Than This Year's Playoff Race
A season that was supposed to be about subtraction has turned into one of the more encouraging developments in recent Cardinals memory. St. Louis moved quality players, signaled a rebuild and still found itself outperforming expectations, helped along by a rookie class that has given the clubhouse and fan base something real to watch in the middle of the summer. Joshua Bez and JJ Wetherholt have both made notable debuts, adding to the sense that this is more than a temporary detour from the plan.
Bez, in particular, has already stamped the year with a kind of instant history by becoming the first MLB player to hit three home runs in his debut game, the sort of burst that can change how a season feels even before the standings do. With the Cardinals still hanging around the playoff race, the bigger takeaway may be what these first looks say about what comes next, because the young core is starting to make this feel less like a teardown and more like the opening of something sturdier. [Read more 🡒]