I am extremely worried about Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski. It began nearly a month ago when analysts began noticing that the Cy Young favorite was going to his off-speed pitches more and more.
In the starts following, Misiorowski demonstrated a consistent downtick in pitch velocity. He is still the hardest-throwing starting pitcher of all time, but the consistent 103-mile-an-hour fastball started turning into 101 and 100, not that there’s much to complain about there.
And obviously, the on-field production stayed high as The Miz plowed through every lineup he saw. That was until Wednesday night when the Chicago Cubs were able to jump on him at Wrigley Field, resulting in the first bad outing of Misiorowski’s season.
Now, the several articles myself and others had posted pointing out the fact that the pitcher may be slowing down had a little bit more validity.
However, in the eyes of many, the only thing that can truly validate a writer’s take is the same sentiment being echoed by an actual player.
Enter Jake Peavy.
Jake Peavy pitched 15 years in the big leagues, striking out more than 2,000 batters, and was named the 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner.
Peavy issued a somewhat daunting warning to the best team in Major League Baseball as they quickly approach what will be their best shot at a World Series title this century.
“In my career, once I started leaking oil, it was hard for me to even take a week or two off and get what I had back, if it was over usage,” said Peavy during a discussion on MLB Now.
“They’ve got to skip him a start or two and get him feeling fresh again. If he’s fresh, they can win the World Series…to win a World Series, you have to ride this guy.
“If they’re going to make the run they’re making, it’s going to have to be on the back of Misiorowski. Not to put too much on the young man, but this is just how you win. You’ve got to get him healthy, rested, let’s go.”
To say I agree with Peavy would be the understatement of the decade. Misiorowski has not looked the same since August began. He has already more than doubled his pitch count in Major League Baseball.
We all know that baseball changes in October. The pitchers who are used to throwing once a week start throwing once every few days.
A pitcher like The Miz has never existed before. Nobody knows what a starting pitcher throwing seven innings of triple-digit fastballs does to a body.
The Brewers have a more than capable surrounding cast, and if Misiorowski has to miss his next three starts to regain his untouchable stuff, I think it is worth the risk.
More MLB: It’s Time For Brewers Fans To Smash Panic Button On Jacob Misiorowski
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