What if Brewers pitching phenom Jacob Misiorowski had played for LSU baseball?
Paul Skenes put up generational numbers with LSU baseball in 2023. After transferring from Air Force, Skenes threw 122.2 innings with a 1.69 ERA. He struck out 209 and walked just 20 while leading LSU to a College World Series title.
Skenes went on to be the No. 1 overall pick in the MLB draft and less than a year later, make his MLB debut. Since joining the Pirates, Skenes has continued to dominate.
But LSU was close to having another pitching phenom in that rotation.
In 2022, Misiorowski tore it up at Crowder Community College and caught the attention of the LSU coaching staff. The righty earned an LSU offer and committed to the Tigers. But before he made it to campus, the Brewers made Misiorowski a second-round pick.
Had Misiorowski joined LSU, he would have been in the same rotation as Skenes.
At the time, LSU didn't know what it lost with Misiorowski passing on the Tigers to play professional baseball. But now that Misirowski has burst on the scene in the big leagues, its clear LSU was close to having one of the best rotations of all time.
Misiorowski only has 11 innings under his belt, but his fastball might be the best pitch in baseball. According to FanGraphs, the fastball has a stuff rating of 135, the best mark in the National League.
After two starts, Misiorowski owns a 1.64 ERA and 0.545 WHIP. Meanwhile, Skenes leads the NL in pitching WAR.
LSU did just fine without Misiorowski as the Tigers captured the 2023 College World Series. In Game 1 of the final vs. Florida, LSU pitcher Ty Floyd struck out 17 Gators. That would of been hard for Misiorowski to top. We never got to see Skenes and Misiorowski pitch together in college, but its fun to imagine the machine LSU's pitching staff would have been.
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