Jacob Misiorowski’s 2026 season ended with the biggest pitching prize in the National League, and he didn’t leave any room for debate.
The Milwaukee Brewers ace was named the NL Cy Young Award winner on Wednesday night, taking the Baseball Writers Association of America vote in unanimous fashion. He finished ahead of the Phillies’ Cristopher Sánchez and the Braves’ Chris Sale after a season that put him at the center of the league’s pitching conversation.
At 24, Misiorowski put together a dominant year for the World Series champions. He struck out 37.9% of opposing batters, the best mark in MLB, and posted a 2.17 FIP that also led the majors. His 232 ERA+ ranked as the 13th-highest figure by a qualifier ever in MLB, while his 6.4 WAR placed third in the NL behind Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo of the Philadelphia Phillies.
The raw stuff was just as eye-catching as the numbers. Misiorowski averaged 100.6 mph on his heavily used four-seamer, and during the 2026 season he repeatedly threw the fastest pitch on record. One of those came in June, when he fired a 105.5 mph fastball.
105.5 MPH FROM JACOB MISIOROWSKI 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/wjvkdc7iWE
- MLB (@MLB) June 26, 2026
His postseason work didn’t factor into the award, since Cy Young ballots are submitted before the playoffs begin. Still, Misiorowski turned in a 1.89 ERA across four starts in the postseason for Milwaukee, which went on to win the title for the first time in franchise history.
The voting totals showed just how decisive the result was. Misiorowski collected all 30 first-place votes and 210 points.
Sánchez finished second with 99 points, while Sale was right behind him at 98. Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers came in fourth with 63 points, followed by Luzardo with 34.
Mason Miller of the Padres and Eduardo Rodríguez of the Diamondbacks also received votes.
Misiorowski is the fourth Brewer to win the Cy Young Award. Corbin Burnes took home the honor in 2021, while Pete Vuckovich and Rollie Fingers won in 1982 and 1981, respectively, when Milwaukee was still in the American League.
And with the way he pitched in 2026, Misiorowski will head into 2027 with a chance to do something no NL pitcher has done since Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets in 2018 and 2019: win back-to-back Cy Youngs.
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