The Brewers Have Been Waiting for This Version of Jacob Misiorowski

Nobody beats the Miz. That's what the Milwaukee Brewers hope when right-hander Jacob Misiorowski takes the mound against the San Diego Padres in Game 1 of the NLDS on Saturday night.

And yet, that's not exactly how Misiorowski's first postseason experience went a season ago. He pitched well, just not a lot -- a total of 12 innings over three appearances in the NLDS and NLCS. It's getting to be ancient history now, but Misiorowski's dominance as a rookie was pretty short-lived all the way around.

He made the NL All-Star team after making just five starts, and arm fatigue hung over his final 10 regular-season appearances in 2025. The hangover continued into the postseason, and it didn't help the Brewers take advantage of having the best record in the league come playoff time. They edged the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS, but the Dodgers never looked vulnerable in the NLCS.

Call it a Miz'd opportunity.

Talking to reporters Friday, Misiorowski remembered thinking his postseason outings would last longer, particularly his start in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Cubs.

"Honestly, there was a lot of adrenaline going into that game," Misiorowski said. "It didn't go exactly how I thought it was going to go. I thought I was going to get the ball a little deeper in the game."

That's at least one difference this time for the Brewers: The Miz has been healthy, and has been throwing hard as ever, reaching 101 mph in late September. He went at least six innings 18 times during the regular season, and faced at least 20 batters a total of 25 times in 30 starts. Misiorowski did have an arm soreness scare around mid-season, which prompted him to miss the All-Star Game.

He's staying in games longer because he's throwing more strikes. His BB% improved from 11.4% to 6.6%. And he didn't have to sacrifice strikeouts to do it.

"Being in zone," Misiorowski said. "I think that's the key to all my success this year: just being in zone, and command of zone, and really making guys trust that I'm going to attack them. They have to come to me and not wait on me to walk them, or something like that."

His strikeout percentage has dropped a bit in the later months, and his overall usage has been down in the second half. But those details seem to be baked into the Brewers' plans. It's not because Misiorowski is diminished, it's just so he doesn't become diminished.

Well, it's time for the Brewers to throw caution to the wind. And caution is best thrown about 105.5 mph.

Misiorowski is an effective pitcher for any length of time, but he's truly intimidating when he pitches without restrictions. Presumably that's what we'll see starting Saturday in the wake of Milwaukee giving him three innings here, and four there down the stretch.

The Brewers have been waiting on the World Series since 1982. Their fans can't wait to see what the Miz has in store for the Padres, and beyond.