The Milwaukee Brewers have been perhaps the most unlikely story of the MLB season. In preseason predictions, the Brew Crew were generally seen as a middle-of-the-pack team at best. ESPN.com projected their final record at 80-82.
Yahoo! Sports saw Milwaukee at 81-81, while over at CBS Sports, five of their six experts saw the Brewers finishing second in the National League Central, and the fifth had them third.
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Yet here they were Sunday with just 52 games left to play in the season and the Brewers hold the best record in baseball with 66 wins against 44 losses. Heading into Sunday’s MLB slate, no team had won more, or lost fewer.
If the Brewers are the most compelling story of the season, the best story on the Brewers has been the sudden, sensational rise of 6-foot-7, 190-pound righty pitcher Jacob Misiorowski. Making his debut on June 12, he announced his presence by firing three straight pitches at 100 mph or above to start his big league career.
As of Sunday, Misorowski had thrown his four-seam fastball 301 times — with an average velocity of 99.3 mph, according to Statcast. That’s faster than any other starting pitcher this season.
More MLB: Dodgers 3,000 Strikeout Ace Forced to Eat Words After Dissing Rookie Phenom
Unfortunately for Milwaukee, just hours before Misiorowski’s scheduled start Sunday against the Washington Nationals, the Brewers were forced to make a disappointing announcement. The team placed the 23-year-old rookie — who was named to the NL All-Star team after making only five MLB starts, fewest ever for an All-Star — on the 15-day injured list.
The stated reason was a “left tibia contusion,” and the 15-day stint was made retroactive to Thursday.
Here is the line drive that hit Jacob Misiorowski on Monday night against the Cubs.
Today, the Brewers placed him on the IL with a left tibia contusion. pic.twitter.com/UAUcpaxiC5
— Hunter Baumgardt (@hunterbonair) August 3, 2025
“The Miz,” as he has become known to Brewers fans, suffered the contusion when he was hit on the left leg by a line drive off the bat of Chicago Cubs slugger Seiya Suzuki during his Monday start in Milwaukee.
“That the right-hander’s injury doesn’t involve his arm is surely heartening news for fans in Milwaukee, but it’s nonetheless worrisome for such a key piece of the club’s recent surge to miss any time at all while the team is locked in a heated division race with the Cubs,” wrote Nick Deeds of MLB Trade Rumors, reporting on the Brewers’ decision.
More MLB: Pitching Matchup of Century: Young Phenoms Set For Historic Mound Battle
The Brewers led the 64-66 Cubs by just two games going into Sunday’s games.
To take the start against Washington, the Brewers will turn to another top prospect, Logan Henderson, who was recalled from the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. Milwaukee’s No. 5 prospect, Henderson has made four starts at the big league level already this season, winning three with no losses and a 1.71 ERA in 21 innings pitched.
Before hitting the injured list, Misiorowski made seven starts compiling a 4-1 record and 2.71 ERA, with 47 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings.
More MLB: Brewers Sensational Pitching Prospect Has Bizarre, Mind-Blowing MLB Debut