The Milwaukee Brewers are sitting pretty at 59-37, right near the top of MLB power rankings, grabbing that No. 2 spot behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. But don't let that shiny record fool you. This rotation is nowhere near full strength, and those injury concerns are looming large, even as they chase a historic 100-win season. They need to go 41-25 in the last ten weeks of the season to hit that century mark for the first time in franchise history, and frankly, that's going to be tough.
The Pitching Staff Is Falling Apart and Misiorowski Has No Answer
Seriously, the Brewers' pitching staff is not a picture of health right now. Brandon Woodruff is already chilling on the 60-day injured list. Kyle Harrison is also sidelined on the IL. And if that wasn't enough, they're being super cautious with Jacob Misiorowski's arm, which, if you know anything about this guy, is a terrifying thought. How are they supposed to keep up this consistent run through 96 games when key guys are dropping? It is a real problem, especially when you consider they just got swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Even the Dodgers, who are ahead of them in the rankings, lost all three games in their final series of the first half. It just shows how wild the league is right now.Misiorowski Is Doing Things Nobody Has Ever Seen
Even with all the injury drama, Jacob Misiorowski is an absolute phenomenon. He followed up his impressive rookie year with a second season that could literally be the best pitching season in Brewers history. This guy leads ALL of baseball with a mind-boggling 1.62 ERA and 167 strikeouts! He's not just good, he's record-breaking. Misiorowski has set the record multiple times for the fastest pitch ever thrown by a starting pitcher. He's already earned his second All-Star Game appearance, and yeah, he's a leading candidate for the NL Cy Young Award. Just look at his last start before the All-Star break on July 7 against the Cardinals: 11 strikeouts, zero walks, over seven innings in a 4-3 win. That moved him to 10-4 on the season! He tossed 103 pitches, his second most this year, and his third time topping 100. And remember June 26 against the Cubs? He threw a pitch 105.5 mph in the first inning, shattering his own record for the fastest by a starter and tying for the third-fastest tracked by *any* pitcher ever. That's just bananas. He allowed only one run and two hits across six innings for his ninth win. He even had a career-high 15 strikeouts in his first complete-game shutout against the Phillies on June 12, with William Contreras behind the plate. He threw a 104.5 mph pitch in that game too! The dude is on another planet. So, the Brewers are sitting at No. 2, and they are chasing that historic 100-win season. But with Woodruff and Harrison out, and Misiorowski's arm needing kid-glove treatment, the challenge of maintaining that consistency is huge. The second half is here, and everything is on the line as they try to hit that franchise record.This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.