The Milwaukee Brewers ace nears Ben Sheets' legendary strikeout tally.
Barring a miracle, the odds of Jacob Misiorowski breaking the Milwaukee Brewers' single-season strikeout record in the regular season are slim to none.
Miz just threw his 247th strikeout of the season, expanding his league-leading number, though he's still 17 shy of the 264 batters Ben Sheets struck out back in 2004.
After a pair of short starts, it's clear manager Pat Murphy is playing the long game with Misiorowski, and rightfully so.
Winning the Cy Young Award is all but a guarantee, but the only other thing the Brewers can guarantee is the fact that they want, rather, need Miz available for the postseason.
At one point it seemed like Misiorowski was locked into the postseason rotation with Kyle Harrison, Logan Henderson, and Dustin May, but suddenly Harrison is out of the equation, and Robert Gasser has made a strong case to replace May.
Misiorowski to fall short of 264 strikeouts in regular season
Had Misiorowski not missed a start here or there or been on a short leash, there's no doubt this number is one he could've reached.
For the time being, he's 17 strikeouts shy of what Sheets did 22-years ago. Obviously, times were different, and it's worth noting that the Brewers team finished the year 67-94.
It's not like Sheets had a chance to pitch in the postseason, but Misiorowski sure does. If only putting him out there for three innings in one of his final regular-season starts of the year means he can go deeper into the playoffs, the Brewers will take that 10 times out of 10.
Sure, Miz could easily get 17+ strikeouts between his final regular season start (if there is one) and the playoffs, but Sheets reached 264 only in the regular season.
A closer look at Sheets' 2004 season
For reference, here are Sheets' final numbers from his historic 2004 campaign:
- 34 starts
- 12-14 record
- 6.9 WAR
- 2.70 ERA
- 0.98 WHIP
- 237.0 innings pitched
- 264 strikeouts
- 32 walks
- 8.3 K/BB
Now, here are Misiorowski's numbers from this season:
- 29 starts
- 15-5 record
- 6.1 WAR
- 1.86 ERA
- 0.80 WHIP
- 169.1 innings pitched
- 247 strikeouts
- 42 walks
- 5.9 K/BB
A few numbers that stand out are the 32 walks from Sheets, a number that is truly hard to believe when looking at his 237 innings pitched.
That said, keep in mind the fact that Miz is only 17 strikeouts shy of Sheets' number, and that's with him pitching nearly 70 fewer innings.
Surpassing Corbin Burnes 243 strikeouts from 2022 is incredibly impressive, but for now, Sheets will remain the all-time single-season strikeout leader at 264.
