Who is Jacob Misiorowski? Rookie All-Star Chats Pokémon, Card Collection

Jacob Misiorowski was as surprised as anyone by his MLB All-Star selection. 

The 6-foot-7 rookie right-hander for the Milwaukee Brewers figured he would spend the break kicking back, ordering in some Chinese food, and doing "absolutely nothing."

Yet there he was in Atlanta — selected as a replacement after just five big-league starts, in a choice that ruffled some feathers — where his stuff was on full display. Nine pitches over 100 mph and this slider that wowed both dugouts. 

Before the game, I caught up with the 23-year-old standout to chat about his rapid rise, what it’s like facing the stars he grew up watching, his hobbies off the field and more. 

"I’ve been into Pokémon forever," he told me. "Getting back into sports cards, just being up here and seeing all the guys is fun."

Oh, I was young. I remember, I played like Pokémon Red and Green, that young, like on the Game Boy. But I’ve always loved it.

I still play. I got a Nintendo Switch, I got the Switch 2, so I’m going to play the new one when it comes out in October or something. But, it’s been a lot of fun.

It’s up there. It’s pretty good.

Probably the base set shadowless Charizard…but it’s beat [up]. Or the Neo Genesis Lugia. 

I have the card. I want the first edition, but the first edition is like a crazy, crazy amount. 

Jacob Misiorowski's suit jacket at the All-Star Game had a nice nod to his Pokémon collection. 

I just hold onto them. I’m trying to get like a master set of stuff, so just slowly finding cards. It’s a lot of fun.

I was into sports cards but not this heavily. I was more into Pokémon. But then I got my first Topps deal, and I was like, ‘This is sweet. I can collect my own cards?’ So that’s when I got really big into that. One of my cards was