Jacob Misiorowski Showed What Nationals Don't Have in Their Pitching Staff
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Velocity, control and stuff; that's what the Washington Nationals are trying to add to their pitching staff under the leadership of Paul Toboni.
That was on display Friday. However, it was from the opposing starting pitcher, as Jacob Misiorowski threw 5 1/3 no-hit innings before he exited the game early with what was later reported as being a hamstring cramp. The 24-year-old right-hander was dominant. While he did walk two batters, he also struck out eight and showcased why many consider him to be one of the best young arms in the sport.
"He's really tough," Nationals manager Blake Butera said after the game, per Jessica Camerato of MLB.com. "Not really sure how anybody hits him. Just the extension, he's sitting 100, 102 [mph] the whole time, and secondary's in the mid 90s -- it's just not an easy at-bat. It's really good stuff."
Jacob Misiorowski Did Something in First Inning Nationals Haven't Done All Season
The differences between Washington's pitching staff and Misiorowski were apparent from first pitch. During the opening frame, Misiorowski threw 14 pitches that were 100 mph or higher. The Nationals have yet to have a pitcher hit that mark this season. And before the young phenom exited his start, 43 of his pitches were 100 mph or higher, which is more than Washington's arms have recorded in the pitch-tracking era (30).
It's not breaking news the Nationals don't have a pitcher on their MLB staff like Misiorowski. That's a huge reason why this new front office regime is putting a ton of time and resources into building a "pitching lab" on the farm that will develop prospects into someone who can have the same level of velocity, control and stuff that Misiorowsi displayed on Friday.
Toboni preached patience when it comes to seeing those types of arms on Washington's major league roster, but they have been impressed by the early returns in their pipeline.
Nationals Are Trying to Develop Their Misiorwoski
From Miguel Sime Jr. to Jarlin Susana to Travis Sykora, there are a few flamethrowing, high-strikeout pitchers the Nationals have in their farm system. Luis Perales also has nasty stuff, and Alejandro Rosario projects to be a top-of-the-rotation arm at some point in his career. But unfortunately, only Sime has not dealt with a major injury in his career thus far, as both Sykora and Rosario underwent Tommy John surgery, Susana is recovering from a lat procedure and Perales just returned from his own Tommy John operation this year.
Despite all five of these pitching prospects ranked in the top 30 of Washington's pipeline -- with Susana and Sykora both ranked in the top 100 of the sport -- it's not a guarantee that any of these youngsters can become a rising superstar at the major league level.
Still, at some point in the coming years, the Nationals need to infuse velocity, control and stuff into their pitching staff. The benefits of having that was clear when they faced Misiorowski.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai