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Good morning. Godspeed to the Los Angeles Angels today. Inside:
While You Were Sleeping: Blockbuster, done
This MLB season’s most anticipated deal is agreed, a league source told The Athletic last night, with Tarik Skubal headed in a predictable southwesterly direction.
The Tigers-Dodgers trade means the back-to-back AL Cy Young winner is joining the back-to-back World Series champs … and you’re about to hear a lot about the competitive balance in baseball.
The Tigers get three prospects in return, a relatively modest haul they basically had to accept because Skubal is a free agent after the season.
The Dodgers? They didn’t need Skubal like other teams needed Skubal, but even for them he’s a level-upper: a lefty whose five pitches include an upper-90s fastball and an otherworldly changeup.
See our writers’ trade grades here.
This was the deadline’s big domino, so expect more action to follow today. Follow our live blog for frequent updates, predictions and analysis ahead of Monday’s 6 p.m. ET deadline.
On the subject of unhittable pitchers …
The Miz
Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images
We’ve never seen anything like this
Nearly 200 years into the whole “baseball” thing, almost nothing in this sport is new. Jacob Misiorowski, however, is a different animal. He has never happened before, and his success is both mind-bending and a little unnerving.
This afternoon, the Brewers ace starts against the woeful Angels. If he goes six innings and strikes out 10 guys while allowing one run and sitting at 101 miles per hour with his fastball, it will not even feel that special. “The Miz,” 24, has posted a 1.58 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 20 starts, grabbing a commanding lead in the NL Cy Young race.
That line isn’t what’s unprecedented. There’s a long, fun list (big table here) of modern pitchers to have 20-start, 120-inning runs with even better run prevention. However:
- He throws unbelievably hard. If he’s not the hardest-throwing starting pitcher ever (touching 105.5 mph in his last start), he’s the hardest thrower who’s done his work in a time of detailed pitch tracking. (In terms of raw heat, it’s Misiorowski and a guy named Ryan.)
- But it’s not just the heat. It’s the quantity. Misiorowski has thrown 1,150 four-seamers this season. They have averaged 100.6 mph. He often throws dozens of pitches in excess of 100 mph in one game and, in his last start, threw a preposterous 66, several times more than any other pitcher since they started tracking. Leaguewide fastball usage is around 31 percent, likely the lowest ever, but The Miz is at 64 percent.
- Consider 2014 Aroldis Chapman, who averaged 100.9 mph with the heater and threw 643 of them across the whole season (i.e., 56 percent of the fastballs that 2026 Miz had uncorked by the end of July). That year, Chapman had a 2.00 ERA and made the second of four straight All-Star teams while he was at the peak of his powers. It’s a crude comparison (and Misiorowski isn’t a lefty), but if I told you The Miz is like having prime Aroldis Chapman for several times as many innings, I wouldn’t be far off.
Just absurd, and all happening in his first full season in the majors.
There is, of course, something tense about watching Misiorowski. Pitchers get hurt, and nobody has ever thrown with this kind of force and frequency. How worried should we be about that while we watch his greatness? I asked Eno Sarris:
💬 Nobody likes the analyst with the reams of research throwing cold water on an exciting phenomenon, but here I am. Which sucks, because Misiorowski is super fun to watch when he’s doing what no other starter has done in the pitch-tracking era.
But there are some reasons to worry, including one important piece of research about direct stress on the elbow as a result of increased velocity. Oh no. There are caveats! But they aren’t very promising in this case, because Misiorowski throws such a hard slider, too, calling to mind peak Jacob deGrom. We know how that turned out.
Another peer-reviewed, published study gives some hope, though, because Misiorowski generally sits well below his maximum velocity.
Either way, just a general look at the hardest-throwing starters in the league shows you how many have been injured in the last few years. We’re getting close to nearly half the league having had Tommy John surgery at some point. The truth of the matter is that it’s probably a matter of when, not if. I’ll show myself out.
On the one hand, that’s sobering to read. On the other hand, who among us knows what tomorrow promises? All the more reason to enjoy this historic ride. Thanks to Eno.
More News
- The Mariners sent reliable starter Luis Castillo to the White Sox for Seranthony Domínguez, Nolan Jones and Boston Smith, according to a league source. Details here.
- Will Levis, fighting for the Titans’ backup QB job, said there aren’t 32 quarterbacks in the NFL better than him. The comments are brutal.
- American Yealimi Noh has a three-stroke lead in the AIG Women’s Open after “a really rough couple of months.” Good background here on the 25-year-old as she chases her first major today.
- Astros infielder Carlos Correa says there’s a chance he’ll return this season despite having an ankle surgery in May that was described as season-ending.
- Kevin Durant, who knows a thing or two about superteams, said the 76ers are “for sure” championship contenders with LeBron James. Comments here.
- More tough luck for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, who have season-ending knee surgery. Full story.
- The Lions signed former All-Pro linebacker Devin White after his 174-tackle season with the Raiders.
Watch Guide
Bailey McLean / Getty Images
📺 WNBA: Fever at Lynx
1 P.M. ET on ABC
Behold the No. 2 and 4 teams in our WNBA power rankings.
📺 MLB: Red Sox at Dodgers
7:20 p.m. ET on NBC
Out of nowhere (in Boston’s case, anyway), this one has at least some chance of being a World Series preview. Breakout lefty Jake Bennett starts for the Sox. He has a 2.74 ERA in his first 11 MLB starts, despite barely striking anyone out.
Get tickets to games like this here.
Pulse Picks
Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Naomi Baker / Getty Images
Most-shared stories on The Athletic last week:
- We asked 13 athletes for the best mental advice they’ve ever received
- Athletics’ hottest hitter undergoes emergency surgery for ruptured testicle
- Arsenal exploring deal for Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior
- Mike McCarthy came home to Pittsburgh, his family and the grief he can’t escape
- Yankees reveal annual George Costanza bobblehead, complete with calzone
It was a disastrous week for FIFA and president Gianni Infantino. Here is the inside story of what went down, with some fresh intel on potential challengers to Infantino’s throne.
I’m the kind of person who wants to start and finish a craft in one sitting, and bonus points if it’s something actually useful. This impossibly easy knot bag really checked all the boxes. — Torrey Hart
Some shows you watch because one actor is worth the time investment. That’s the case with “Slow Horses” on Apple TV, starring Gary Oldman. A former star in the service, he’s now the grumpiest of burnouts, heading up a group of misfit agents who’ve only been assigned to his department as punishment. I cannot stress enough how brilliant Oldman is. Immediately an all-time favorite character. — Levi Weaver
Which NHL jerseys should make a comeback? Our staff picked one from every team’s history.
Multiple brands have realized that decent sunglasses shouldn’t cost the same as a car payment. But nobody has captured my heart like Goodr. 20-30 bucks? Yep! I don’t know how many pairs I have now or have lost with little guilt. 😎 — Chris Sprow
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Tony Romo, CBS and the “worst contract in media history.”
📫 That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, and check out our other newsletters.
