Cubs division rival may have another homegrown ace on their hands

As the Chicago Cubs look to take the National League Central back in 2025, last year's division champions may have yet another homegrown ace starting pitcher coming through their system.

The Milwaukee Brewers are no strangers to developing their own talent. Milwaukee's payroll has never exceeded $140 million despite them winning the division four times in the last seven seasons. As an organization with budget constraints, the Brewers have become one of the best in baseball when it comes to scouting, drafting, and developing players, and they have a knack for turning pitchers into the best versions of themselves.

Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, and Josh Hader are great examples of Milwaukee's efforts, and it seems like they may be able to add a guy by the name of Jacob Misiorowski to that list very soon. If Cubs fans don't know who that is, they will likely see him in the Brewers rotation by the end of the 2025 season.

What's so special about Misiorowski?

The Brewers took Misiorowski in the second round of the 2022 draft, and he has emerged as one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. Standing at 6'7, the tall right-hander features a blistering fastball that regularly hits triple digits, a 70-grade curveball, and a plus slider to boot. This elite arsenal has turned Misiorowski into a strikeout machine in the minors.

Misiorowski has 51 minor league starts to his name, including 10 at the Triple-A level, where he owns a 2.95 ERA and 299 strikeouts over 219.2 innings. His most recent start came on Thursday against the Memphis Redbirds, where Misiorowski tossed a career-high seven innings of one-run ball while generating 10 whiffs on 86 pitches (58 strikes).

Most notably, Misiorowski hit 103mph with his fastball on his 78th pitch of the game, showing that he has the ability to maintain his insane velocity over the course of a game.

The outing brought Misiorowski's season ERA down to 1.46 and he is leading all Triple-A pitchers with 59 strikeouts.

This guy is scary and the Cubs should be worried. It's only a matter of time before Misiorowski is added to Milwaukee's big-league rotation, and he seems like a guy who will stay on the roster after he is called up. At 23 years old, Misiorowski could be a thorn in Chicago's side for a very long time.