How MLB's brutal scheduling error could prevent Jacob Misiorowski from pitching in the All-Star Game

At just 24 years old, Jacob Misiorowski has quickly become one of the most dominant starting pitchers in baseball and is must-watch TV every time he takes the mound. Through his first 16 starts, he has lit up the radar gun, achieving a top speed of 105.5 MPH, set a record for the most 100+ MPH pitches in an outing with 58, and struck out 15 Philadelphia Phillies in perhaps the most dominant "Maddux" performances ever recorded.

Velocity aside, Miz has been nearly unhittable when on the mound this year. Through his first 99 innings, he has punched out 146 batters, and opposing hitters have just a .144 batting average against him. Meanwhile, he's solved his command issues from a season ago, as evidenced by a 0.77 WHIP.

Misiorowski has clearly put himself not only on pace to be an All-Star again this year, but also to be a legitimate candidate to start for the National League. However, the Brewers' demanding stretch of 18 games in 17 days leading up to the Midsummer Classic could complicate those plans, as his turn in the rotation may leave him unavailable to pitch in the All-Star Game on July 14 in Philadelphia.

Brewers needing Jacob Misiorowski for grueling scheduling stretch could prevent flamethrower from pitching in All-Star Game

Back in May, the second game of a three-game series between the Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals was postponed by rain. Rather than play a doubleheader the following day, a solution Milwaukee reportedly preferred, the Cardinals successfully pushed to reschedule the game for July 7, when the Brewers make their final visit to Busch Stadium this season.

As a result of this scheduling decision, the Brewers' pitching staff will be put to the test as they close out the first half of the season. For Misiorowski specifically, he is lined up to make three more starts: Thursday, July 2, against the Cincinnati Reds; the second game of the July 7 doubleheader against the Cardinals; and the first-half finale on July 12 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Due to the Brewers' revised schedule, which includes a makeup doubleheader that could have been played earlier in the season, they'll have little, if any, flexibility to reshuffle their rotation before the All-Star break. As a result, Misiorowski is unlikely to pitch in the Midsummer Classic, as the game would come just two days after his projected final start of the first half.

Had the makeup game been played as part of a doubleheader the day after the original rainout, Milwaukee likely would have had far more flexibility to manage its rotation heading into the All-Star break. While there's no guarantee they would have altered the rotation solely for that purpose, the current schedule certainly leaves no opportunity to do so.

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