Milwaukee Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski and New York Yankees’ Cam Schlittler were named unanimous Cy Young Award winners on Wednesday, confirming what many believed would be the case as the two most dominant starters in baseball during the 2026 MLB season.
Misiorowski, who led a Brewers pitching staff to the franchise’s first-ever World Series title, received all 30 first-place votes by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Philadelphia Phillies’ left-hander Cristopher Sanchez came in second place, while Atlanta Braves veteran lefty Chris Sale finished third.
Schlittler, in his first full season with the Yankees, was a breakout star in a loaded rotation. He also received all 30 first-place votes, while Toronto Blue Jays’ Dylan Cease and Cleveland Guardians Parker Messick finished second and third, respectively.
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It was also announced on Wednesday that San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller and Blue Jays closer Louis Varland won the inaugural Reliever of the Year award for their respective leagues.
Misiorowski, the 24-year-old with a lightning rod for an arm that lives in the triple digits with his fastball, had the best ERA for a starter in baseball this season at 1.80, while collecting 252 strikeouts in 30 starts, which also led the league.
As the Brewers went on to win 103 regular-season games, "The Miz" pitched to a 0.80 WHIP, while owning a 6.6 fWAR which led all pitchers.
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Misiorowski became the fourth Brewers pitcher to ever win the Cy Young Award, the latest being Corbin Burnes in 2021. Pete Vuckovich (1982) and Rollie Fingers (1981) collected the award as well.
Even sweeter, Misiorowski was the first pitcher since Hall of Famer Randy Johnson to win both the Cy Young and a World Series in the same season, which he did as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.
At 6-foot-7, Misiorowski’s fastball against Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs during a June game became the fastest pitch ever thrown by a starter in the Statcast era after clocking at 105.5 mph. He averaged 100.6 mph on his fastballs, throwing more than 1,000 pitches at that speed or faster during the season.
In the American League, though, Schlittler, standing at 6-foot-6, also delivered a triple-digit four-seamer. Misiorowski certainly has him beat for the best fastball, but in his first full season with the Yankees, he was as dominant as they believed he could be following an impressive showing in 2025.
But nobody in the Bronx expected the 25-year-old to be the ace of a rotation that featured Gerrit Cole, the Yankees’ most-recent Cy Young winner in 2023, Carlos Rodon, and Max Fried.
Schlittler owned an AL-best 1.95 ERA with 239 strikeouts across 33 starts. The Yankees had the best ERA as a pitching staff in the regular season, and Schlitter was a key reason why, giving up one run or fewer in 21 of those 33 outings.
And it wasn’t a home crowd that got him going extra when it was his turn to take the mound. It seemed Schlitter relished moments on the road, owning a 1.16 ERA over 17 starts away from Yankee Stadium.
Schlittler, a Massachusetts native who grew up a Boston Red Sox fan and is now universally hated by the fan base he loves to troll on social media, is a product of the Yankees’ minor league system. As a seventh-round draft choice out of Northeastern, Schlittler wasn’t always throwing gas with a devastating curveball mixed in with a cutter and sinker.
After mechanical changes, adding muscle and more, the Yankees saw Schlitter’s velocity rising from the low 90s to the upper 90s, with times where he’d top out at triple digits. Like Misiorowski, Schlitter has the ability to not only blow it past you, but place his heaters wherever he wishes, making it that much harder to get on base.
Schlittler proved he wasn’t just a one-hit wonder after his tremendous Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series in 2025, where he held his childhood team scoreless for eight innings with 12 strikeouts. He dominated his way through the Yankees’ schedule and ultimately picked up another win against the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Series this past season, where he pitched Game 1 as the team’s ace.
Both pitchers have bright careers ahead of them, with one already notching a World Series ring under his belt.
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