Brewers using Corbin Burnes plan with top pitching prospect in promising development

It's a great time to be a follower of the Milwaukee Brewers. At the big league level, the club is 67-52 and 7.5 games above the Cardinals, who are 4-6 in their last 10 games. Down in the minor leagues, the organization's farm system has dramatically improved in recent years and is one of the more well-rounded groups of players in baseball.

At or near the top of most top prospect rankings is right-hander Jacob Misiorowski, who is inching closer and closer to his big-league debut. Known for his high-strikeout stuff highlighted by a triple-digit heater and sweeping curveball, Misiorowski has been shutting down the opposition at both the Double-A and Triple-A levels this year.

Interestingly, Reviewing the Brew's No. 3 prospect is going to get a look out of the bullpen for the Nashville Sounds, likely in an effort to see if a September call-up is a possibility. To some, this path for him to The Show may ring a bell.

Jacob Misiorowski taking Corbin Burnes-like path to the big leagues

Back in 2018, the Brewers had another top pitching prospect, Corbin Burnes, transition to relief in the second half of the season in hopes that he could be a big-league reliever down the stretch. You may recall that he had an extremely promising 30-game showing for the Brewers that year in which he posted a 2.61 ERA and 158 ERA+ across 38 innings of work. He also made six postseason appearances, too, punching out 11 batters and surrendering just two runs in nine innings.

It appears that Misiorowski is going to get the same treatment here. In fact, he's already made his first relief appearance of not only the season, but his minor league career. On Sunday night, Misiorowski went 1 2/3 innings with a pair of strikeouts and no hits or walks allowed. He only threw 15 pitches but 13 of them were strikes. He pounds the zone but can occasionally get wild with the high heat on his four-seamer.

If Misiorowski can have his workload limited to one- or two-inning performances, he should be able to use that heat and wipeout breaking stuff to stifle hitters and eat some high-leverage innings for the Brewers.

Shorter outings will also enable him to limit his workload, which is something the Brewers are said to be monitoring closely. His season ended prematurely in 2023 at 71 1/3 innings after he experienced some shoulder fatigue, and he's already 13 innings past that mark this year. Best to handle an arm like this with care.

Fortunately, the bullpen doesn't need any help down the stretch for the Brewers. Their 'pen currently ranks second in all of baseball in ERA (3.29) and are the best in the game when it comes to strand rate. Adding Misiorowski will make a bullpen that already features Bryan Hudson and Devin Williams borderline unfair.