Perhaps the most befuddling thing about this trivia, though, is the fact that its originator was not always some otherworldly prodigy. He was never a dynamo with an action-figure build. He did not hail from a glitzy SEC program and was not drafted out of high school.<\/p>\n
This long-armed Milwaukee Brewer, who starts Wednesday against the San Diego Padres, was long hailed as an intriguing player \u2014 but he was never considered the best pitching prospect in the sport.<\/p>\n
Only four years ago, Misiorowski was grinding with his brethren at Crowder College in Neosho, Mo., a town with a population of 12,590 on the western edge of the Ozarks.<\/p>\n
The junior college baseball experience tends to be one of grit and misadventure, a long way from the bright lights of the show.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose 10-plus hour bus rides, they\u2019re tough,\u201d Misiorowski said. \u201cIt was the grind I needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
One morning this season, the man they call \u201cThe Miz\u201d summed up his JUCO experience with the perfect whimsical anecdote: a winding story about the time a snow drift blocked his door. He and a couple of roommates escaped their apartment through a window, racing across campus in the dark and barely making a grueling 6 a.m. workout. They later returned and clawed the snow away from the door, only to realize they all left their keys inside.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur dumb\u2014es forgot,\u201d Misiorowski said, \u201cthat we broke open a window.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eventually, they all crawled back into the apartment. They slammed the window shut and laughed so hard they couldn\u2019t breathe.<\/p>\n
It was another day at Crowder. This unpretentious place happens to be where baseball\u2019s most menacing flamethrower started his ascent.<\/p>\n
Misiorowski went to Grain Valley High School in Missouri, 23 miles east of downtown Kansas City. The first time Crowder coach Travis Lallemand saw Misiorowski play was in a tournament way over the state line in Atoka, Okla. He was a junior at the time and still uncommitted. His fastball was touching the 90s, and though the stuff was raw, it was hard to ignore.<\/p>\n
\u201cSprayed the fastball around a little bit,\u201d Lallemand said, \u201cbut the velo was there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Misiorowski eventually committed to Oklahoma State, a Big 12 school with a shining new stadium. But his senior year of high school was 2020. When COVID hit, the ripple effects were numerous. Misiorowski\u2019s senior season was cut short, limiting his exposure. Only three MLB teams had watched Misiorowski throw a bullpen session at a KC-area facility that winter. The draft was then cut to five rounds, limiting the pool of players who would be selected.<\/p>\n
The pandemic also changed the calculus for colleges and players alike.<\/p>\n
In some cases, scholarships were cut or players wanted to stay home. Misiorowski ended up decommitting, and rather than seek out another Division I program, he turned his attention to Crowder, a mere three hours away in southwestern Missouri.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe became available with scholarship numbers being log jammed and things like that,\u201d Lallemand said. \u201cWe got on him, got him down here and visited. \u2026 It was the right fit for him. Obviously, the right fit for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Misiorowski, the junior-college route provided one obvious benefit: If things went well, he would be eligible to enter the MLB Draft after his freshman year. If he sought out another Division I school, he would have to wait a minimum of three years before going pro.<\/p>\n
When Misiorowski moved in at Crowder, there was a thought his stay there might be short. Lallemand once told an assistant: \u201cThis kid is going to throw 100 some day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sunday before school started, players headed to the field for an unofficial workout. In the words of catcher Adamo Stornello, \u201cYou compare yourself to the new guys on campus.\u201d Stornello, a year ahead of Misiorowski but granted an additional year of eligibility because of COVID, still remembers when teammate Logan Chambers pointed at Misiorowski, who was throwing in the outfield with another pitcher.<\/p>\n
Misiorowski was 6-foot-7, built like a telephone pole with loose wires dangling down the sides.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looked like he could scratch his kneecaps just standing up,\u201d Stornello said.<\/p>\n
Stornello turned to Chambers and asked: \u201cWho the hell is that?\u201d<\/p>\n
He quickly got the rundown. The kid had a funny last name. He had been committed to Oklahoma State.\u00a0 He threw harder than anyone else on the field. Stornello had a feeling this pitcher was going to be a force. Another thought also crossed his mind: \u201cGod, I really hope this guy can command the baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Misiorowski\u2019s first fall, command was indeed an issue. He was pumping gas but too often spraying it outside the tank. Perhaps a place like Crowder \u2014 \u201cthe definition of us is we have a very blue-collar mentality,\u201d Lallemand said \u2014 was exactly what he needed to find his command and find himself.<\/p>\n
Players marveled at the way Misiorowski seemed to make the baseball jump into light speed \u2014 by this time he was sitting 95 mph or above \u2014 but they didn\u2019t always know what to make of Misiorowski away from the field. He was reserved. He collected Pokemon cards. Misiorowski roomed in the dorms with right-handed pitcher Zach Voss, who came from the small Missouri town of Iberia.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you talk to him, he\u2019s just soft spoken,\u201d Voss said. \u201cJust a goofy guy. You wouldn\u2019t think that he would throw as hard as he does.\u201d<\/p>\n
Misiorowski also had family and a girlfriend not too far away, a lot different than Stornello, who had come all the way from Montreal and made the rag-tag baseball team his selected family.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was hard for him to identify with the grittiness of who we were,\u201d Stornello said. \u201cA little foul-mouthed, JUCO baseball group was maybe not his typical style.\u201d<\/p>\n
And though it was far from arrogance, Misiorowski operated with a level of seriousness not everyone had.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of us were trying to move on to Division I baseball,\u201d Stornello said. \u201cHe was trying to move on to professional baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 21 years at Crowder, Lallemand has won Region 16 Coach of the Year honors nine times and made it to the JUCO World Series in five different seasons. He has had big-time players come through Neosho before, including 41 players who eventually became MLB draft picks. Even fellow Brewers pitcher Aaron Ashby dominated for the Roughriders in 2017-18.<\/p>\n
To hear Stornello \u2014 who later coached one year at Crowder and is now an assistant at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville \u2014 describe it: \u201cCrowder is not an easy place to play.\u201d For a junior college, the facilities are actually quite nice. The field has lights and big, green walls. There\u2019s an indoor facility down the third-base line with enough room to replicate a full infield.<\/p>\n
But the schedule was demanding, the standards set high.<\/p>\n
On the field, Lallemand likes to refer to his practices as a pressure cooker. There are lots of live situations. A fast pace. And, players said, lots of yelling. No one is immune, not even 6-foot-7 pitchers who throw 95 mph.<\/p>\n
Lallemand, Stornello said, once let Misiorowski have it in front of the whole team as the pitcher struggled to throw the ball over the plate. In summary, the coach told Misiorowski that if his goal was to play professional baseball, his performance needed to start aligning with the dream.<\/p>\n
Sometimes there was tough love. But it was love all the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my head it was like, \u2018OK, I have to actually learn how to pitch,\u2019\u201d Misiorowski said. \u201cAnd then Lalle was like, \u2018Keep doing what you\u2019re doing and trust it.\u2019 He was a big, big part of my journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was still February when Misiorowski made only his second college appearance and his first start. The way Lallemand remembers it, there was a 2-1 count. Misiorowski threw another pitch for a ball. He landed awkwardly upon his release. He limped off the field after 1 2\/3 innings and went to see the trainer, who was Lallemand\u2019s wife. The diagnosis was soon clear: Misiorowski tore his meniscus. He would need surgery. He would miss the entire season.<\/p>\n
The Roughriders went on to make the JUCO World Series. They finished third in the country. Misiorowski was back home completing rehab when Lallemand asked for his ring size.<\/p>\n
Misiorowski responded: \u201cI\u2019ll earn mine next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking back now, the knee injury that confined Misiorowski to a second season at Crowder changed his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cA humility moment,\u201d Lallemand said.<\/p>\n
Voss, Misiorowski\u2019s freshman year roommate, had a firsthand glimpse at how the adversity altered the pitcher\u2019s mindset.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know that he was necessarily wanting to come back for another year,\u201d Voss said. \u201cBut I think that grounded him and shifted his focus to realizing there wasn\u2019t a different timeline for him. I think him accepting that and growing and learning, I think it honestly helped him in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n
The changes started physically.<\/p>\n
That summer and the fall that followed, Misiorowski started, ever so slightly, to grow into his gangly body. Part of it was natural maturation. Part of it was targeted work to strengthen his legs and his core, altering his delivery and helping him stay stacked as he moved down the mound.<\/p>\n
\u201cWatching his delivery,\u201d Lallemand said, \u201cit was a lot more controlled.\u201d<\/p>\n
One day, a video of Misiorowski hit the team group chat. There he was in the weight room, fellow pitchers gathered around him on the squat rack, four 45-pound plates stacked on each side of the bar.<\/p>\n
\u201cMiz, you can\u2019t squat that much,\u201d someone said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, watch this,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n
Misiorowski did the squat. The room went wild.<\/p>\n
\u201cA good camaraderie thing,\u201d Stornello said.<\/p>\n
From the start of fall ball, it became clear Misiorowski had evolved. Voss still remembers Misiorowski throwing three innings in the team\u2019s final fall scrimmage, striking out nine batters.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came back, and there were just some things that were clicking different,\u201d Lallemand said.<\/p>\n
Misiorowski ended up starting 15 games. He went 10-0 with a 2.72 ERA and struck out an eye-popping 136 batters in 76 innings.<\/p>\n
He committed to LSU but also had MLB scouts flocking to the field at Crowder. Once during a road game, Stornello went to the bathroom and had a horde of scouts stop him, wanting to know what Misiorowski was like.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d go down to warm up with him pregame,\u201d Stornello said. \u201cYou turn around and there\u2019s 10 scouts watching us play catch.\u201d<\/p>\n
By then, Stornello had developed a tight bond with his ace. He caught every inning Misiorowski threw that year. When people ask him what it was like catching such filthy stuff, Stornello has an easy answer. \u201cMan,\u201d he says, \u201cI just reacted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Off the field, too, Misiorowski started meshing with his teammates like never before. He was both more invested and more comfortable. Stornello swears more teammates started making diving plays behind Misiorowski as a result.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt that point, it was, \u2018Hey, come out with the guys,\u2019\u201d Stornello said. \u201cHe started really coming out of his shell.\u201d<\/p>\n
Said Voss: \u201cYou could just tell he was a different player and different person.\u201d<\/p>\n
The real breakout came at that year\u2019s JUCO World Series. Before the first game, Lallemand remembers being worried about Misiorowski. He asked his pitching coach: \u201c\u2018Is he OK? He just doesn\u2019t look right.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Misiorowski\u2019s first pitch hit 101 mph.<\/p>\n
\u201cI go, \u2018Yeah, yeah, yeah, he\u2019s gonna be fine,\u2019\u201d Lallemand said.<\/p>\n
The game against Central Arizona was a wild one. There was a two-hour delay before a hail storm in the eighth inning. Stornello ended up hitting a walk-off in the 10th. Before all that, Misiorowski pitched six innings and held Central Arizona, the eventual national champion, to three runs.<\/p>\n
The 101 mph fastballs are the stuff of legend. But Stornello best remembers the slider Misiorowski threw early in the game. Playing on dirt fields across the plains, players rarely had in-game access to radar readings. It was different in the World Series, and Stornello couldn\u2019t believe it when he looked up after one nasty Misiorowski slider.<\/p>\n
The scoreboard said 93 mph.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got goosebumps,\u201d Stornello said. \u201cI\u2019m literally telling myself, \u2018I am catching Jacob deGrom right now.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
At Crowder, they refer to alums as \u201cGhostriders.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Misiorowski\u2019s time at Crowder ended, the Brewers drafted him in the second round. Command concerns lingered, and some evaluators viewed him as a reliever. But Misiorowski slowly refined his mechanics and found even more power in his ethereal arsenal. He debuted last June, stunned with his sheer stuff and even got a spot in the All-Star Game.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5882.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Crowder College baseball coach Travis Lallemand visiting with former players Jacob Misiorowski and Aaron Ashby in 2025. (Courtesy of Travis Lallemand)<\/p>\n
Sitting at his locker now, the hardest-throwing starter in baseball would not change the path he took. Had he been drafted out of high school, he fears he might still be asking himself, Do I deserve to be here?<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Crowder gave me a whole different mindset,\u201d Misiorowski said. \u201cNow it\u2019s understanding that I do deserve to be here, I worked my way through it and got to where I am now. I think without it, it would have been a whole different story.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last summer, Lallemand traveled to a game to see two of his old players. Ashby approached first. Then came Misiorowski. On the trip, Lallemand had marveled over Milwaukee\u2019s hysteria with its new budding ace. Everywhere he turned there was another T-shirt paying homage to Misiorowski\u2019s alter ego: \u201cThe Miz.\u201d<\/p>\n
But down the field, he was quickly reminded that not much has changed with the player he watched pitch in places like Atoka and Neosho. Misiorowski told a story about getting stopped at Target. Lallemand asked Misiorowski what in the world he was doing at Target on the day of a game.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuying toilet paper,\u201d Misiorowski said.<\/p>\n
Lallemand responded: \u201cYou\u2019ll have endorsement deals for Charmin one day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now at SIU-Edwardsville, Stornello has a player from Milwaukee named Brennen Grams. Grams is a big Brewers fan. One day this spring, he showed up to the team\u2019s clubhouse in one of those shirts that read simply: The Miz. Stornello stopped him. He wanted to take a picture, and he wanted to send it to The Miz himself. Grams could hardly believe it.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo them, he\u2019s MLB All-Star Jacob Misiorowski,\u201d Stornello said. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s just Miz. Just trying to make it through practice at Crowder was half the battle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, as Misiorowski sets the league on fire with a 2.45 ERA, 97 mph sliders and fastballs beyond belief, his Instagram bio reads simply: Rhp || GhostRider.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jacob Misiorowski is a mild-mannered hurler of ferocious force, a gangly stick of dynamite who is exploding past…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":641709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[2325,363,99],"class_list":["post-641708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-milwaukee-brewers","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=641708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/641709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=641708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=641708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=641708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}