Jacob Misiorowski is the most exciting pitcher in Major League Baseball.
The Milwaukee Brewers‘ right-handed ace is all long limbs and high-octane pitches, with a fastball that approaches 105 miles per hour and an unfair slider.
He brings that all to the mound for the 2026 World Series, where he’ll be one of the most key pieces to the Brewers bringing home their first-ever World Series championship.
Misiorowski burst onto the scene just last year — he was so good so quickly that he was chosen as an All-Star Game replacement (controversially) after just five starts.
He has made those who believed in him look smart, though. He may not have gone to a big college program, and there were plenty of doubters about whether he could get all his levers in order at the same time to pitch at the big league level.
Misiorowski has it figured out, though. His talent is special, and he’ll now get to show it on the biggest stage.
But when a player ascends to such a level so quickly, his salary sometimes doesn’t keep up. Relative to some of the top pitchers in MLB, Misiorowski isn’t making a lot of cash.
Jacob Misiorowski Salary
Jacob Misiorowski is playing the 2026 season for $788,300, according to Spotrac.
That’s after he was paid a prorated amount of his $760,000 salary in 2025.
The Brewers did pay Misiorowski a $2.35 million signing bonus when he was drafted — because he planned to go play Division I college baseball, and they wanted to make sure he signed a contract with them instead.
But still — this is one of the best pitchers on the planet, and in a game awash with huge contracts, Misiorowski made less than $1 million this season.
Why Jacob Misiorowski’s Salary Is So Low
Jacob Misiorowski isn’t alone in his salary setup. That’s how it works across MLB.
Players who are drafted come to the majors with six years of club control once they reach the top level.
The first three years of those are called the pre-arbitration years. Players make a predetermined amount in those seasons. Misiorowski had no control over his 2026 salary.
The subsequent three years of club control are the arbitration years. Players can go to salary arbitration each offseason to have an independent arbiter determine what they’ll be paid in the season ahead. Generally, a player’s salary will increase in each of the three arbitration years.
Only after those six years of club control can a player go to free agency. A club can also sign them to an earlier contract extension to buy out some later years while locking them into a solid payday earlier on.
For now, Misiorowski has no such extension, so he’s just doing his thing while the Brewers get quite a bargain.
Jacob Misiorowski’s Salary Is Much Less Money Than You Think