Jacob Misiorowski is emerging as an ace for the Brewers in 2025

What happened

Jacob Misiorowski is pitching like a true ace for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2025, improving across nearly every important statistical category and establishing himself as something more than the electric curiosity he appeared to be when he first arrived, per FanGraphs.

The 24-year-old right-hander made his presence known immediately when he broke in with Milwaukee last season, reaching 100.5 mph on his very first major league pitch. He topped out at 102.2 mph during five no-hit innings against the Cardinals in Milwaukee on June 12, then followed that with six perfect innings against the Twins before surrendering a walk and a home run. After just five starts, he joined the National League All-Star roster as an injury replacement — a sentence that still reads like a fever dream if you say it out loud.

That debut season leveled off, and Misiorowski finished with what FanGraphs describes as comparatively unspectacular numbers, enough to leave him an afterthought in NL Rookie of the Year voting. The 2025 version, per FanGraphs, is a different story entirely.

Why it matters

There is a particular kind of organizational relief that comes with watching a pitcher who arrived on a wave of velocity hype actually develop into the thing the hype suggested he might become. For Milwaukee, that matters operationally and competitively. The Brewers are 103-59 (.636), sitting first in the NL Central and riding a five-game winning streak. A rotation that can anchor a deep run looks different when the 6-foot-7 righty at the top of it is genuinely dealing rather than merely throwing hard.

Misiorowski's most recent outing, per FanGraphs, came once again against the Cardinals in Milwaukee — the same franchise against which he announced himself last June — and was described as both a gem and an awe-inspiring performance. There is something satisfying about the Cardinals serving as the recurring measuring stick here, even if they might not share that appreciation.

The broader arc matters too. Last season's late fade and the modest Rookie of the Year footprint left genuine questions about whether Misiorowski's debut was a preview or a peak. FanGraphs' framing — that he has improved in practically every important statistical category — suggests the former, though the piece stops short of declaring the case closed.

The numbers

The Brewers' record of 103-59 (.636) places them first in the NL Central, and the five-game winning streak gives the roster a particular kind of momentum heading into a stretch that includes a home date with St. Louis and a road trip to Houston.

Those figures are the organizational backdrop against which Misiorowski's individual emergence lands with the most weight. A staff ace means something different on a 103-win club than it does on a rebuilding one, and the Brewers are clearly not rebuilding.

Where the club stands

Milwaukee is 103-59 (.636), leading the NL Central and currently on a five-game winning streak. The schedule ahead is worth noting: the Brewers host the St. Louis Cardinals at American Family Field on Wednesday, May 27, with Chad Patrick listed as the probable starter against Dustin May. The club then travels to Houston for back-to-back games at Daikin Park — Coleman Crow against Kai-Wei Teng on Friday, May 29, and Brandon Sproat against Peter Lambert on Saturday, May 30.

Misiorowski does not appear in the listed probables for any of those three games, which means his next turn through the rotation is not yet publicly slotted in the available schedule. The Cardinals visit, in particular, carries a certain narrative weight given that Milwaukee's reportedly ascending ace has now twice made that matchup look very uncomfortable for St. Louis.

What we don't know yet

FanGraphs describes Misiorowski's improvement across nearly every important statistical category, but the piece does not specify which categories, by how much, or what the full 2025 season line looks like. The characterization is clear — he is pitching like a true ace — but the granular numbers behind that framing are not detailed in the report.

It is also worth noting that FanGraphs' piece is an analytical assessment, not a club announcement. The Brewers have not issued any formal statement about Misiorowski's status, role, or trajectory. What the report offers is a well-sourced evaluation of his performance arc, and that evaluation is notably positive — but it remains a report, not an organizational declaration.

The question of whether last season's late-season leveling off was a workload issue, an adjustment period, or something else is not addressed in the available material. Similarly, the report does not specify what "practically every important statistical category" means in terms of which metrics moved and which, if any, did not.

What to watch

The obvious follow-up question is straightforward: when does Misiorowski pitch next, and against whom? His name does not appear in the three upcoming probables currently on file, so his next scheduled start is not yet reflected in the available schedule. Given the rotation context and the Brewers' current position, his next outing will offer another data point on whether FanGraphs' assessment holds up in real time.

The Cardinals series on Wednesday is worth watching regardless, if only because that particular matchup has already produced two of the more memorable performances of Misiorowski's young career. Whether he is on the mound for it or not, St. Louis has seen enough of him to know the scouting report is not getting easier to execute.

More broadly, the question FanGraphs is implicitly raising — has Misiorowski completed the transition from electric prospect to reliable rotation anchor — is one that a 103-win club with playoff aspirations has a very direct interest in answering. The numbers, per FanGraphs, are reportedly trending in the right direction. The sample is still accumulating.