During his appearance on “Foul Territory” on May 26, national baseball correspondent Ken Rosenthal addressed the question of whether Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski had established himself as the front-runner for the National League Cy Young award early in the season. Rosenthal concurred that Misiorowski, often referred to as “Miz,” was indeed ahead, but predicted an intense competition given the numerous strong contenders.
“The NL Cy Young race… could be one of the finest in history; currently, we boast five starting pitchers with ERAs below 2, and Miz is among them,” Rosenthal stated, citing Christopher Sánchez of the Philadelphia Phillies, Chase Burns of the Cincinnati Reds, and Chris Sale alongside Bryce Elder of the Atlanta Braves as qualified starters.
He continued, “We have an exceptional roster of pitchers performing right now. [Reigning Cy Young recipient and Pirates starter] Paul Skenes doesn’t have an ERA under 2, but he will certainly be part of the discussion. The initial gauge of the National League’s top pitcher is, ‘Who gets the All-Star Game start?’ And if I had to speculate today, assuming no changes or injuries, I’d say Miz would be the selection to start the All-Star Game, just to witness if he can hit 105 [miles per hour], or what feats he might accomplish. As demonstrated yesterday with his 12 strikeouts against the Cardinals, he is currently the most dominant force in the game. It will be fascinating to observe how this unfolds. We need everyone to remain healthy to fulfill the race we all anticipate. Right now, I would assert that yes, Miz is the leading candidate for the National League Cy.”
Misiorowski concluded his outing against St. Louis with a 1.83 ERA, becoming the first pitcher in Major League Baseball to reach 100 strikeouts. Although he didn’t surpass Teddy Higuera’s franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings as a starting pitcher (32, Misiorowski stopped at 29), he has not conceded an extra-base hit in six games (37 innings), since a double by Kyle Stowers on April 25. He hasn’t allowed a home run since April 14, marking a streak of 42 innings without surrendering one since Wisconsin native Daulton Varsho of Toronto achieved the feat.
Rosenthal lauded the Brewers as a team on a hot streak, with Misiorowski playing a pivotal role.
“What he’s achieving is incredible,” Rosenthal remarked. “He reached 103 miles per hour eight times in the first inning, and triple digits 57 times throughout the day… that’s 10 more than any pitcher has ever managed, at least in the pitch-tracking era. Miz is a phenomenon, a Cy Young contender, and he isn’t their only ace-caliber pitcher right now.”
However, it’s not a foregone conclusion that Misiorowski is the undisputed front-runner. ESPN and some oddsmakers still view Sánchez, the Phillies left-hander having an outstanding season, as the one to beat. Fangraphs projections placed Misiorowski fourth. BetMGM’s most recent assessment identified Skenes as the front-runner, in a close contest with Sánchez.
Sánchez boasts an impressive 1.62 ERA through 11 starts for the Phillies, including a complete-game shutout, and has recorded 86 strikeouts in 72 innings. He’s coming off a strong 2025 season where he pitched 202 innings with a 2.50 ERA. Brewers fans might recall the All-Star Game controversy last year when the Phillies were displeased that Misiorowski was selected over a deserving pitcher like Sánchez, who was nonetheless unavailable for the game having pitched just before the All-Star break. The league conveyed to the Phillies that it was unwilling to name ceremonial roster replacements who couldn’t play.
The Brewers’ franchise record for strikeouts in a season is 264 by Ben Sheets in 2004. At his current pace (14.0 strikeouts per nine innings, which significantly surpasses the previous best of 12.6 by Corbin Burnes in 2021), Misiorowski is on track to achieve 312 strikeouts over 200 innings of work.
Jacob Misiorowski is among the very early leading candidates for the National League Cy Young award.
