Friday, May 15

MILWAUKEE -- Twice in the past three starts, Jacob Misiorowski’s electric outing ended because of cramping in his right leg. Misiorowski isn’t worried. The Brewers don’t seem worried. 

Fans? They seem a little perturbed, and maybe it’s natural to ask questions about how a finely tuned professional athlete with an army of doctors and strength coaches -- even a traveling nutritionist and a massage therapist -- could succumb to something as common as a muscle cramp.

So, we went to pitching coach Chris Hook for an explanation. 

“I think it's just an engine that runs really, really hot. And that engine starts from the ground up,” Hook said. “I think he is learning. He's holding his best velo longer than he ever has, right? He's getting stronger.”

Misiorowski looked to be at his strongest yet last time out against the Padres. Two starts after a no-hit bid in Washington ended at 5 1/3 innings and 84 pitches because of cramping in his right hamstring, and one start after drawing raves from Aaron Judge for a six-inning, 95-pitch, 11-strikeout performance against the Yankees, Misiorowski was humming along for seven innings on 93 pitches against San Diego on Wednesday night.

Around the fourth or fifth inning, he found a new gear. Here was his pitch count per inning:

First: 21 

Second: 22 

Third: 16 

Fourth: 8 

Fifth: 8 

Sixth: 7  

Seventh: 11  

Misiorowski’s final pitch of the seventh was a 103.2 mph fastball for Strike 3. That was unprecedented during the pitch tracking era, which began in 2008. 

In fact, Misiorowski is the only starting pitcher to hit at least 103 after the first inning in the tracking era:

103.6 mph -- May 8 vs. NYY, top 2 (facing Spencer Jones)

103.6 mph -- May 8 vs NYY, top 2 (Jones again)

103.2 mph -- May 13 vs SD, top 7 (Nick Castellanos)
103.0 mph -- May 8 vs NYY, top 5 (Ryan McMahon)

So, he was showing no signs of fatigue. And he wanted more. Misiorowski asked to go back out for what would have been the first eighth inning of his professional career, Majors or Minors. 

“I felt like I was in a good spot to keep rolling,” he said. 

After one warm-up pitch, he paused. He later said he felt a cramp building in his right quad. He walked to the back of the mound and tried to will the muscle not to contract. 

But it did. 

His night was suddenly over.

“He fought me about going out in the eighth. I didn't really want him to do it, but he earned the opportunity to do that,” Hook said. “I'm like, ‘I don't have much to say for you not to.’ I thought he emptied the clip, but he's telling me, 'I want some more.' He's at 93 pitches, and I'm like, 'Yeah, let's give him 100 and see where he's at.’ 

“He's holding his best velo longer, so his body is kind of calibrating all this. I think that would be the best way to understand it. There's a calibration going on, like, 'Hey, I'm pushing the limits longer, more often.’ It also was less rest in between [Misiorowski pitched on four days’ rest instead of five], and that's part of the equation, too. I give him a lot of credit. It's like he's running a new race every time, and what I mean by that is he's running a longer race, and he's running it faster than he ever has before. 

“I think he's just kind of pushing the limits of his body every time out, which is kind of a positive thing. Now, he's gonna have to start reading a little bit more cues and clues to when that's going to happen.” 

Avoiding those cramps at the end is not only about strength training, which Misiorowski has taken to the next step since the start of Spring Training, according to Murphy, and not just about hydration. It’s also about fueling the body just right, Hook said. He pointed to fellow promising right-hander Logan Henderson, who can be seen eating oranges and carb-loading between innings. 

That’s what works for Henderson. Everyone is different.

“They're fueling themselves,” Hook said. “Some guys don't like to eat before the game. [Misiorowski] is eating some, and he's fueling, for sure, with [fluids]. I don't think they're fueling him a lot with eating, so we're figuring that out, too. It's all give and take. You learn as you go how that works. 

“I think that's the hard part about the Minor Leagues, is they never get to the same intensity down there. We want them to be up here, so it's like, you don't want to push them too hard, but we need to push him to get him acclimated. The acclimation part is happening now.”

And by the way, it’s not just the pitchers. Brewers bullpen coach Charlie Greene has been coaching Brewers catchers for years, and he has helped plenty of them get through persistent muscle cramping. 

“Guys cramp everywhere,” Greene said. “Guys cramp in the NFL; that’s why they take IV fluids at halftime. Everybody’s different. I think you just get used to it as you build stamina.” 

Hook believes Misiorowski will get there. He thinks the 6-foot-7 flamethrower is right on the cusp of something great -- if he’s not already there.

“It’s pretty special,” Hook said.

• A quarter of the regular season was in the books with Thursday’s win over the Padres. Here’s a look at where the Brewers stand statistically. More >>

• The Brewers face another decision on Christian Yelich after he missed a second consecutive game on Thursday with back tightness. More >>

• How did Brice Turang quietly become a superstar? My colleague Brent Maguire dug into the numbers. More >>

• There’s a new No. 1 overall prospect in baseball, and he’s a Brewer. Sam Dykstra has the story of Jesús Made’s ascent. More >>

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