The Kansas City Royals’ opener wasn’t until Friday, but one KC-area product helped kick off the 2026 Major League Baseball season with a bang on Thursday.
Grain Valley High School product and 2025 MLB National League All-Star Jacob Misiorowski set a Milwaukee Brewers opening day record with 11 strikeouts — in five innings — against the Chicago White Sox.
As if that isn’t impressive enough, the previous franchise record of eight strikeouts was set by Ben Sheets the day before Misiorowski was born, on April 3, 2002. The mark was tied by Freddy Peralta in the past two seasons.
Misiorowski, 23, is the youngest pitcher to log double-digit strikeouts on opening day since Mariners legend Felix Hernandez in 2007. He is also the third-youngest opening day starter in Brewers history and seventh-youngest pitcher with double-digit strikeouts on opening day since 1900.
The game started off with a blunder. White Sox leadoff man Chase Meidroth smacked a 99.5 mph fastball 417 feet for a home run off Misiorowski, who is beginning his second-year in the majors.
But the right-hander rebounded by striking out the next three hitters, foreshadowing what turned out to be a historic outing. He gave up one earned run, two hits and three walks while compiling a 58% whiff rate on 94 pitches.
The Miz, as he is affectionately known by fans, was a top-rated prospect going into last season. He burst onto the scene and surpassed expectations, earning an All-Star nod as an injury replacement. He struggled after the All-Star break but still ended 2025 with a 5-3 record, 4.36 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 15 games.
The Brewers are looking to the Blue Springs native to be their new ace and lead them back to the National League Championship Series, and maybe even further.
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PJ Green is a breaking news reporter for The Star. He previously was a sports reporter for Fox’s Kansas City affiliate and a news reporter for NBC’s Wichita Falls, Texas affiliate. He studied English with a concentration in journalism and played football at Tusculum University. You can reach him at pgreen@kcstar.com or follow him on Twitter and Bluesky – @ByPJGreen