Jacob Misiorowski is doing things MLB has never seen before

The hype around Jacob Misiorowski was already growing entering Memorial Day, but what happened Monday against the St. Louis Cardinals pushed the conversation into a completely different category.

This was no longer just another dominant outing from one of baseball’s hardest throwers. This was a historic performance that continued to rewrite what people thought was possible from a starting pitcher.

Misiorowski overpowered the Cardinals in the Major League Baseball on Monday, striking out 12 batters over seven innings while helping lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 5-1 win. He allowed just one run and carried a no-hit bid into the sixth inning, but the numbers behind the outing were even more ridiculous than the stat line itself.

The 24-year-old right-hander threw 57 pitches at 100 mph or harder, which is the most by any starting pitcher in the pitch-tracking era. He also hit 103 mph or higher eight times in the first inning alone and finished the game with a staggering 22 pitches at 102-plus mph.

That kind of velocity is normally reserved for closers throwing one inning at maximum effort. Misiorowski is doing it deep into starts while piling up strikeouts and barely allowing contact.

According to MLB.com, all other starting pitchers combined had thrown just 40 pitches at 102 mph or harder since 2008 entering this season. Misiorowski already has 67 by himself this year.

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The most terrifying part? He’s getting stronger

Even more impressive is that the velocity is not fading as games continue. Misiorowski’s fastball averaged 101.1 mph Monday, which was actually above his already absurd season average. In the seventh inning, he was still touching 102 mph like it was the opening frame. That combination of power and endurance is what has made him nearly impossible to deal with throughout May.

Over his last five starts, Misiorowski has allowed just one earned run while striking out 49 batters in more than 31 innings. Sports Illustrated noted that he has now recorded at least eight strikeouts in six consecutive starts while not allowing an extra-base hit during that span. The dominance is becoming routine, which almost makes the numbers feel even more absurd. Opposing hitters are not just struggling to square him up. Many barely look competitive once he starts piling up triple-digit fastballs deep into games.

Brewers pitching coordinator Jim Henderson admitted the organization is watching something special unfold in real time.

“We’re seeing it happen before our eyes, so you start believing it,” Henderson told MLB.com.

MLB may be watching the sport’s next true unicorn

The scary part for the rest of baseball is that Misiorowski still believes there is another level coming. Earlier this month, he openly talked about wanting to eventually reach 105 mph, a number only a handful of pitchers in baseball history have ever approached. That is what makes this stretch feel different from a typical breakout season. Plenty of young pitchers can light up a radar gun for an inning or two. Almost nobody can maintain that kind of velocity while also dominating lineups multiple times through the order.

Misiorowski is not just overpowering hitters. He is redefining what scouts, coaches and fans thought a starting pitcher could realistically sustain over the course of a game. After Monday’s masterpiece, the towering Brewers ace sounded completely unfazed by the attention.

“That’s what I do,” Misiorowski said. “I throw hard.”

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