Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for tonight's All-Star Game, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here.
There was plenty of debate about Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski being named to the National League All-Star team after just five big league appearances. But tonight, the only thing that’s going to matter when it comes to the flamethrowing righty is the radar gun.
Because when the 6-foot-7 Misiorowski enters and starts firing 103 mph fastballs, any controversy about his selection is going to fade, and the only sounds we’re going to hear are the pop of the mitt -- and the collective gasps from the crowd at Truist Park.
With a stacked pitching staff at NL manager Dave Roberts’ disposal, there was certainly a chance “The Miz” wouldn’t appear in tonight’s game (Watch at 8 p.m. ET on FOX). But Roberts confirmed Monday that he plans to have Misiorowski pitch, giving the baseball world the opportunity to see his insane heater on the All-Star stage.
“I'm going to get him in there, probably the fifth or the sixth inning, something like that, the seventh,” said Roberts. “And it's going to be electric.”
Safe assumption, that is. Over five starts totaling 25 2/3 innings, Misiorowski has already thrown 89 pitches at 100 mph or faster, the second most among MLB starters behind the Reds’ Hunter Greene. Miz has topped out at 102.4 mph in the Majors, but with the added adrenaline of pitching in the Midsummer Classic, it’s possible we’ll see him dial it up to 103 mph -- a mark he reached in the Minors.
We've seen it done before, as A’s fireballer Mason Miller hit 103.6 mph to set the record for hardest pitch thrown in All-Star Game history (since pitch-tracking began in 2008) while earning the victory in the AL’s 5-3 win over the NL in last season’s Midsummer Classic.
Misiorowski should be well rested for tonight’s game to try to top that feat. His final start before the break came on July 8 against the Dodgers and was his most dominant yet, as he struck out 12 batters over six innings of one-run ball.
-- Thomas Harrigan