Jacob Misiorowski wasn’t at his best in Game 1 of the World Series, but he threw five innings of one-run ball, departing with his Milwaukee Brewers up over the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1. Misiorowski is already a lock to win the NL Cy Young award, and now he just pitched well enough to earn a World Series win.
That, obviously, is tough for any Chicago Cubs fan to hear, given their rivalry with Misiorowski’s Brewers. It should be even tougher for them to digest knowing that they had multiple opportunities to draft the superstar pitcher yet went in another direction both times.
Cubs should regret passing on Jacob Misiorowski more than any other team
Misiorowski was a second-round pick, meaning that every team could’ve gotten him. He was picked late in the second round, meaning that many teams had two chances to get him. When looking at the 2022 MLB Draft results, though, it feels like the Cubs should regret Misiorowski ending up in Milwaukee the most.
The Cubs used their first-round pick (No. 8 overall), and you know what, I won’t rip them for that. Will Horton ever be Misiorowski? Almost certainly no, but he has frontline starter potential and has looked really good at the big-league level when healthy. With that being said, the Cubs held an early second-round pick at No. 47 overall. (16 spots ahead of where Misiorowski ultimately went), and they gave their pick a higher bonus than the $2.35 million the Brewers handed Misiorowski. The pitcher they chose with that pick was Jackson Ferris.
Now, this pick wasn’t terrible, as Ferris was part of the trade that sent Michael Busch, a rock-solid player, to the Cubs. With that being said, is Busch as good as Misiorowski? Of course not, and neither is Horton.
Cubs’ Jacob Misiorowski whiff explains why Chicago is nowhere near catching the Brewers
The Cubs are a team that should be dominating the NL Central division. They’re the team with the most money to spend by far, and they’ve had a solid foundation to build on for a while now. They even stole Craig Counsell away from the Brewers, flexing their financial muscle, and yet, the Brewers have dominated the NL Central for a while now, and are only getting better.
The Brewers don’t spend as much money as the Cubs, but they’re just better in every other way. The Brewers have owned the MLB Draft, with guys like Misiorowski, Brice Turang, Garrett Mitchell, Logan Henderson and Aaron Ashby among those selected by Milwaukee. On the flip side, the only really good players the Cubs have to show for the MLB Draft on their roster right now are Horton, Nico Hoerner and Justin Steele.
The Brewers have made several International Free Agency splashes, headlined by Jackson Chourio, Jesus Made and Abner Uribe. The Cubs, on the other hand, are led by guys like Pedro Ramirez and Javier Assad from the IFA market, which isn’t terrible, but not the Brewers. The Brewers have found guys off the scrap heap like Trevor Megill and Jake Bauers. Where are the Cubs’ examples?
The Brewers are simply better at finding and developing talent than everyone, including their biggest rivals. The Cubs passing on Misiorowski twice, handing two pitchers higher slot bonuses in the process, while watching this ace right-hander turn into a superstar in Milwaukee, is a prime example of that.
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