Wow, imagine starting the baseball season in the minor leagues, far from the bright lights of the majors, and ending it as a hero in the National League Championship Series—that's the incredible journey of Andrew Vaughn and Jacob Misiorowski with the Milwaukee Brewers! But here's where it gets controversial: Could these late-season pickups really be the unsung stars turning a good team into playoff contenders, or is it just luck shining on underdogs? Stick around, because most people miss how trades and comebacks can redefine a team's fate.
Picture this: Back in early June, Vaughn was grinding it out in the minors with the White Sox, struggling to find his groove after a rocky start in the big leagues. Meanwhile, Misiorowski was making waves in the minors for another team, showing flashes of brilliance that hinted at bigger things. Fast-forward just four months, and these two were pivotal in propelling the Brewers to the NLCS, that intense best-of-seven showdown leading up to the World Series. For beginners in baseball, the NLCS is like the semifinals—only four teams make it, and it's where dreams of a championship really start to heat up.
Vaughn delivered a game-changing moment in Game 5 of the NL Division Series against the Chicago Cubs, smashing a tiebreaking home run in the fourth inning on a 3-2 pitch from Colin Rea. That 383-foot blast over the left-field wall put Milwaukee in the lead for good, securing a 3-1 victory and clinching the series. Misiorowski, stepping in as relief pitcher, held the Cubs to just one run over four innings, earning his second win in the series and silencing any doubts about his postseason readiness.
"It's insane," Misiorowski beamed in the celebratory Brewers clubhouse. "It's everything I've worked for, and it's a lot of fun." Their paths to Milwaukee were surprisingly linked through a chain of decisions that shook up the roster.
Misiorowski got his big promotion in June, stepping into the starting rotation and bumping established pitcher Aaron Civale to the bullpen. Civale wasn't thrilled, openly hinting he might prefer a trade to keep starting elsewhere. Sure enough, the Brewers shipped him to the White Sox, bringing Vaughn in return. Civale wrapped up the season with the Cubs, even tossing 4 1/3 shutout innings in this very series—a twist that shows how player movements can circle back unexpectedly.
At the time of the trade, Vaughn's prospects looked bleak. He'd hit just .189 with a .218 on-base percentage and .314 slugging in 48 games for the White Sox, earning a demotion to the minors. The Brewers kept him there initially after the swap, but a call-up came on July 7 when first baseman Rhys Hoskins sprained his thumb and hit the injured list. Manager Pat Murphy laid it out straight: Vaughn needed to stop swinging at pitches out of the strike zone, or he'd be heading back down.
But Vaughn flipped the script. He homered in his first Brewers at-bat off Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto and slashed his chase rate dramatically. Over 64 games with Milwaukee, he batted .308 with a .375 on-base percentage and .493 slugging—a total rebirth. "This guy's a gamer," raved Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold. "He's been through a lot, and he's failed, just like all of us. We've all failed in this sport. If you haven’t, you haven’t been doing it long enough. So we've all failed. For that guy to come in here and be himself and put the team on his back at times this year is really awesome."
Vaughn credited the turnaround to a fresh start: "Change of scenery, being around some different coaches, different stuff and just playing free." It's a classic baseball tale of redemption, and this is the part most people miss—how a supportive environment can unlock hidden potential. But is it really that simple, or does this raise questions about whether teams should invest more in player development over quick trades?
Misiorowski's story was equally rollercoaster-like. The hard-throwing righty exploded onto the scene, earning an All-Star nod after just five starts. He outdueled Cy Young contenders like Pirates phenom Paul Skenes and Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw in key matchups, proving he wasn't just flash. Then, a bruise on his left tibia sidelined him, and upon returning in mid-August, he faltered—allowing 22 runs in 32 2/3 innings, sparking worries about his reliability in high-stakes playoffs.
"We weren’t easy on him," Murphy explained. "I didn’t spend a lot of time trying to pump him up. I wanted to find out what he had, because I knew with that kind of stuff, he could really help us." And help he did! In Game 2 of the NLDS, Misiorowski tossed three shutout innings, hitting 104.3 mph and clocking 31 pitches over 100 mph. In Game 5, he surrendered an early tying homer to Seiya Suzuki but shut down the Cubs afterward, allowing just three hits and one run while striking out three. He averaged 100.3 mph on his fastballs, with 10 over 100 mph—and crucially, he didn't issue a single walk, a first in his short MLB career.
This stellar showing locks Misiorowski into a key role against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS starting Monday. "You see how much Miz cares," Arnold noted. "That’s what it’s about. In a game like tonight, you can see he’s bleeding blue and gold." As an example, think of how rookies like Misiorowski can bring electric energy—pitchers who hit triple digits on the radar gun remind us of the raw power that fuels America's pastime.
What do you think? Was the Brewers' strategy of midseason trades a stroke of genius, or could they have built a stronger roster from within? Do Vaughn and Misiorowski's comebacks prove that failure is just a setup for success, or are we over-romanticizing baseball's unpredictability? Share your thoughts in the comments—agree or disagree, I'd love to hear!
