105.5?! Jacob Misiorowski Is Throwing Baseballs So Hard Even Radar Guns Are Filing Workers' Comp Claims
105.5 Miles Per Hour? Jacob Misiorowski's velocity continues to amaze! Ladies and gentlemen...at this point somebody needs to check if Jacob Misiorowski is actually human.
Forget drug testing. Check him for a rocket launcher.
Friday night against the Cubs, Milwaukee's flamethrowing monster decided baseball wasn't difficult enough, so he casually uncorked a 105.5 mph fastball to Pete Crow-Armstrong. Not only did it break his own record for the fastest pitch ever thrown by a starting pitcher in the Statcast era, but it also tied the third-fastest pitch EVER recorded.
Read that again: Ever.
The only guys ahead of him? Aroldis Chapman...and Aroldis Chapman. That's it.
Even crazier? Pete Crow-Armstrong actually fouled it off. I'm convinced his bat is now listed on the injured list with a bruised barrel.
The First Inning Looked Like MLB The Show On Rookie Mode
Misiorowski's first three heaters?
103.1 mph
104.3 mph
105.5 mph
That's not a pitching sequence. That's a NASA countdown. By the fourth pitch I was waiting for Houston to announce successful liftoff.
The Numbers Are Flat-Out Stupid
Through his first 16 starts this season, Misiorowski owns a 1.45 ERA. That is the third-lowest ERA through a pitcher's first 16 starts in the last 50 years.
75⅓ innings before allowing his first home run
Eight strikeouts Friday
Regularly touching 102-105 mph
He even threw 102.8 mph on pitch No. 107 to strike out Ian Happ with the bases loaded.
Most pitchers are begging for oxygen after 90 pitches, yet Misiorowski is apparently just getting warmed up. But wait, how does "The Miz" stack up against two other electric young arms everyone is talking about? Let's take a look...
Cam Schlittler
I love Cam Schlittler. The Yankees should love Cam Schlittler. His fastball sits around 96-99 mph, can touch 100, and his command has been outstanding. He's got swing-and-miss stuff, a wipeout slider, and projects as a legitimate top-of-the-rotation starter.
But let's be honest...when Misiorowski is throwing 105.5, Schlittler looks like he's throwing batting practice.
That's not an insult. That's just physics.
Shohei Ohtani
Now before the internet explodes...Shohei Ohtani is still the greatest two-way player we've ever seen.
His fastball generally lives between 97-100 mph, occasionally reaching 101-102.
His splitter is unfair.
His slider is nasty.
And oh yeah...He also hits 50 home runs because apparently being great at one thing wasn't enough.
But strictly as a pitcher? Right now, Jacob Misiorowski is making hitters look even more uncomfortable than Ohtani has this season. The velocity isn't even close.
The Stats Comparison
Jacob Misiorowski: 1.45 ERA; Top Velocity = 105.5 mph
Cam Schlittler: Excellent young starter with upper-90s heat; Top Velocity = 100 mph
Shohei Ohtani: Elite pitcher when healthy; Top Velocity = 101-102 mph
One guy throws gas. One guy throws premium gas. Misiorowski? He's throwing jet fuel. The Scariest Part? After the game he said, "Science says you can hit 108."
When pitchers start quoting science after throwing 105, that's when hitters start calling in sick.
Final Thoughts (for now)
I'm not ready to say Jacob Misiorowski is a better overall pitcher than Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani's résumé is in another universe, and Cam Schlittler still has a chance to become a frontline starter for years to come.
But here's what I am saying. Right now, nobody in baseball makes you feel like you're watching something that shouldn't be possible quite like Jacob Misiorowski. Every start feels like someone is about to invent a new speed. Forget the radar gun. Someone call Elon Musk because I'm pretty sure Jacob Misiorowski isn't pitching anymore: He's testing SpaceX engines on a baseball field.
And somewhere, hitters around Major League Baseball are looking at tomorrow's probable starters and whispering, "Please... anybody but The Miz."