Misiorowski and Schlittler Sweep Unanimous Cy Youngs

Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski and Yankees starter Cam Schlittler were named unanimous Cy Young winners for the 2026 MLB season Wednesday.

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Misiorowski and Schlittler Sweep Unanimous Cy Youngs

By @sharedot · · 8 pages

  • Sports
  • Mlb
  • Cy Young Award
  • Milwaukee Brewers
  • New York Yankees

Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski and Yankees starter Cam Schlittler were named unanimous Cy Young winners for the 2026 MLB season Wednesday.

A Changing of the Guard at Baseball's Pitching Peak

The Baseball Writers' Association of America named Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski and New York Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler unanimous Cy Young Award winners on Wednesday night, with Roger Clemens announcing both results on MLB Network.

Misiorowski took the National League honor after leading the World Series champion Brewers, while Schlittler swept the American League award in his first full big league season.

Philadelphia's Cristopher Sánchez finished second in the NL voting, with Atlanta's Chris Sale third, while Toronto's Dylan Cease placed second in the AL and Cleveland's Parker Messick third.

Both winners are newcomers to the award, each in only his second MLB season, and neither was a highly touted Draft pick — Misiorowski a second-rounder out of a Missouri junior college, Schlittler a seventh-rounder out of Northeastern.

Only the Third Time Both Winners Were Unanimous

This is just the third time in history that both leagues' Cy Young winners were unanimous, according to the BBWAA, joining Justin Verlander and Sandy Alcántara in 2022 and Denny McLain and Bob Gibson in 1968.

It is also only the fourth time both winners were 25 or younger, per Sportradar data cited by the Associated Press — a group that includes Tom Seaver and McLain in 1969 and Dwight Gooden and Bret Saberhagen in 1985.

No pitcher has ever won the Cy Young in a debut season, making their second-year feats rare company alongside Fernando Valenzuela, Tim Lincecum and 2025 winner Paul Skenes.

According to mlb.com, Misiorowski posted a 232 ERA+ and Schlittler a 215 mark, the first time this century that two ERA qualifiers exceeded 200 besides Jake Arrieta and Zack Greinke in 2015.

Misiorowski's Record-Setting Season Powers Milwaukee

Misiorowski went 16-5 with a major-league-best 1.80 ERA, 252 strikeouts and a 0.80 WHIP in 174⅔ innings across 30 starts, and held opponents to a .157 average — the lowest on record for a full season, surpassing Pedro Martínez's .167 in 2000, according to mlb.com.

The 24-year-old's fastball averaged 100.6 mph, and his 105.5 mph heater to the Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong in June was the fastest pitch ever thrown by a starting pitcher in the Statcast era.

ESPN reports he threw more than 1,000 pitches at 100 mph or faster, more than double the record Jordan Hicks set in 2018, and that he became the first pitcher since Randy Johnson in 2001 to win the Cy Young and the World Series in the same season.

He is the Brewers' fourth Cy Young winner, after Rollie Fingers, Pete Vuckovich and Corbin Burnes.

Schlittler Becomes the Yankees' Seventh Winner

Schlittler, 25, went 14-6 with an AL-leading 1.95 ERA and 239 strikeouts in 193⅔ innings over 33 starts, anchoring a Yankees staff that posted the majors' best ERA while Gerrit Cole, Max Fried and Carlos Rodón all fell short of 130 innings.

His ERA ranked third-lowest in franchise history by a qualifier, behind only Spud Chandler in 1943 and Ron Guidry in 1978.

The seventh-round pick out of Northeastern became the Yankees' seventh Cy Young winner, the first homegrown one since Whitey Ford and Ron Guidry, and the first since Gerrit Cole in 2023.

First BBWAA Reliever of the Year Awards Announced

Wednesday's announcements also included the first BBWAA Reliever of the Year honors. Toronto's Louis Varland won the American League award, earning 16 of 30 first-place votes after posting a majors-low 1.27 ERA among qualified relievers with 35 saves in 78 innings, per ESPN.

San Diego's Mason Miller took the National League award unanimously, logging a 1.67 ERA with 38 saves and a majors-best 129 strikeouts among relievers in 70 innings — a 47.6% strikeout rate that ESPN ranks sixth all time among pitchers with at least 50 innings.

The awards came after Cincinnati's Sal Stewart and Detroit's Kevin McGonigle won Rookie of the Year honors and Milwaukee's Pat Murphy repeated as NL Manager of the Year, with the MVP awards set to be announced Thursday.

What Comes Next for the Young Aces

With the Cy Youngs settled, attention turns to Thursday's Most Valuable Player announcements, where Schlittler was not an AL finalist despite a case built on league leads in ERA, ERA+ and pitching WAR.

Misiorowski heads into the offseason with a World Series ring and, per mlb.com, a grounded outlook — the Missouri native recently went hunting with his dad and attended a Chiefs game rather than savoring the spotlight. Schlittler's focus is already ahead: 'The job isn't done yet,' he said.

Both pitchers credited offseason work — Misiorowski added lower-body strength to fix rookie command issues, while Schlittler built velocity from the low 90s to triple digits after mechanical changes. Their parallel ascents suggest a new generation of power arms has fully arrived.

Sources

  1. mlb.com › Pair of flamethrowers are unanimous Cy Young winners for just 3rd time in history
  2. sports.yahoo.com › Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski, Yankees' Cam Schlittler unanimous selections as Cy Young winners
  3. espn.com › Brewers' Misiorowski, Yanks' Schlittler crowned unanimous Cy Young winners

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