MLB just made Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski No. 1 target of undeserved hate

In a stunning move on Friday night, Major League Baseball named five-game veteran Jacob Misiorowski to the 2025 All-Star Game. The fact that Misiorowski will be honored among the league's best next Tuesday speaks to just how dominant the 23-year-old flamethrower has been since bursting onto the scene exactly one month ago.

But while The Miz keeps breaking record after record and continues his remarkable introduction to MLB, yesterday's All-Star announcement has made the Brewers' rookie the target of some very underserved backlash from MLB insiders that don't believe he's put in the necessary time to earn a spot in the Midseason Classic.

Jacob Misiorowski should be receiving praise for his record-breaking start to his MLB career, not backlash for something he can't control

It began with a subtle dig from ESPN's MLB Insider Jeff Passan, who admittedly did not mention Misiorowski by name in his post on the social media platform X. However, in pointing out another pitcher who is on the border of an All-Star nod, Christopher Sánchez, Passan implied that the Philadelphia Phillies starter should be in the All-Star Game instead of Miz.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post continued the rhetoric, mentioning Kodai Senga of the New York Mets and Sanchez's teammate Ranger Suárez as starting pitchers that he believes are more deserving of the All-Star distinction. Heyman made the claim on X, while reposting an article from his New York Post colleague Matt Ehalt, who described Misiorowski's selection to the All-Star Game as a "major MLB controversy."

Of the three names that Heyman mentioned, all of them pitched or will pitch at some point this weekend; Senga and Suárez threw last night, and Sánchez goes tomorrow. This resulted in each of the two Phillies pitchers, Suárez and Sánchez, denying invitations to the All-Star Game. Yes, according to Matt Gelb of the Athletic, the pitchers that have baseball fans most up-in-arms about Miz's All-Star selection were offered spots on the NL's All-Star roster and denied because they said they wouldn't pitch in the game.

"The league offered Sánchez an All-Star spot if he agreed to waive the restrictions and make himself available for an inning two days after his start...Suárez, who allowed three runs (one earned) in 6 2/3 innings during Friday’s loss to San Diego, revealed he had been asked earlier in the week by MLB to attend the All-Star Game. The league told him he could be an All-Star if he agreed to pitch an inning in the game."

Matt Gelb, The Athletic

So there you have it. The two "snubs" that didn't get a spot in this year's All-Star game because of Misiorowski's selection were offered a spot and declined. But it doesn't change the fact that Miz is one of the most electric arms in the history of baseball, and fans want to see him pitch under some of the brightest lights.

In fact, as quoted in Ehalt's article for the New York Post, which admittedly did address both sides of the argument, AL All-Star Aaron Judge acknowledged Miz's talent, saying, "He’s impressive. He’s got some of the best stuff in the game right now, even though he’s a young pitcher...He’s going to be a special pitcher in this game for a long time, so I think he deserved it, and it’s going to be pretty cool for him and his family.”

Judge, unlike many around the baseball world, focused on the right stuff: Miz's unparalleled talent, his future in the game, and how awesome of an experience it is going to be for the 23-year-old rookie. Without a doubt, Miz's place on the NL All-Star roster will have baseball fans everywhere tuning in to next Tuesday's game, hoping to catch a glimpse of an invisible 103 mph fastball or a 96 mph knee-buckling slider.