Jacob Misiorowski and Cam Schlittler, the two most dominant starters in baseball in 2026, were named unanimous Cy Young Award winners Wednesday.
Misiorowski, the ace of the World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers, received all 30 first-place votes for the National League honor in his first full big league season, finishing ahead of Cristopher Sanchez of the Philadelphia Phillies in second and Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves in third.
Schlittler, the New York Yankees' breakout No. 1 starter, swept the American League award also in his first full major league campaign, with Dylan Cease of the Toronto Blue Jays in second place and Parker Messick of the Cleveland Guardians in third.
San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller and Toronto Blue Jays closer Louis Varland won the Baseball Writers' Association of America's inaugural Reliever of the Year award in their respective leagues.
Varland earned 16 of the 30 first-place votes for the AL honor. The right-hander's 1.27 ERA across 78 innings was the lowest in the majors among qualified relievers. He finished the season with 35 saves in 71 appearances.
Miller took the NL award unanimously after logging one of the best reliever seasons in recent history. The right-hander was an overwhelming force late in games, logging a 1.67 ERA with 38 saves and 129 strikeouts -- the most in baseball among relievers -- in 70 innings across 66 appearances. He finished with a 47.6% strikeout rate, sixth all time among pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched.
Miller's 101.4 mph average fastball velocity was tops in the majors. Misiorowski, incredibly, wasn't far off.
Misiorowski, 24, went 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 252 strikeouts in 30 starts across 174⅔ innings -- leading the majors in ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts -- as the Brewers won an MLB-best 103 games. His 6.6 fWAR led all pitchers. His 232 ERA+ was the best for a full season since Pedro Martinez recorded a 291 ERA+ in 2000.
He became the fourth Cy Young Award winner in Brewers franchise history, joining Corbin Burnes (2021), Pete Vuckovich (1982), and Rollie Fingers (1981). He is the first pitcher since Randy Johnson in 2001 to win the Cy Young and World Series in the same season. He is the third pitcher since 2000 to win both the Cy Young Award and World Series in the same season.
"I'm going to go hunting next week with my dad," Misiorowski. "And that quiet time in the stand is really going to be my opportunity to think about this year. And think about all the positives that we had, and what to work on and what I need to do to do this again next year."
The historic performance was fueled by unprecedented velocity. Misiorowski's fastball averaged 100.6 mph, unparalleled territory for a full-time starting pitcher. He threw more than 1,000 pitches at 100 mph or faster -- more than double the record Jordan Hicks set in 2018. He threw more pitches at 101 mph or faster than every other pitcher combined from 2008 through 2026. His fastest pitch, a 105.5 mph heater in June against Pete Crow-Armstrong, was the fastest pitch ever thrown by a starting pitcher in the Statcast era.
The 6-foot-7 Misiorowski took the league by storm as a rookie in 2025, controversially making the NL All-Star team as a replacement after only five starts. But he struggled down the stretch with a 5.36 ERA over his final 10 outings before compiling a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings across three relief appearances in the postseason. This year, he harnessed the heat.
This year, he harnessed the heat. Misiorowski carried a 3.31 ERA over his first six starts through April before establishing himself as the best pitcher in the sport with a 1.46 ERA in 142 innings over his final 24 starts. The stretch included a one-hit shutout with 15 strikeouts and no walks against the Phillies on June 12. He finished the season with 10 double-digit strikeout outings before posting a 1.89 ERA in 19 innings across four playoff starts, including the Brewers' World Series-clinching Game 5 win less than a year-and-a-half after making his major league debut.
"It's happened really quick," Misiorowski said. "It's crazy, the opportunity that I got in front of me and being able to take a hole of that and run with it is really cool. It's been a crazy two years, year and a half or whatever it is. It's been fun."
Schlittler, 25, became the seventh Yankee -- and the first since Gerrit Cole in 2023 -- to win the award. Of the seven, only he, Ron Guidry, and Whitey Ford were homegrown.
He didn't throw quite as hard as his NL counterpart, but his three-fastball mix confounded hitters all season. He complemented a four-seam fastball that routinely touched triple digits and averaged 98 mph with a 94.6 mph cutter, 97.8 mph sinker, and power curveball he incorporated more later in the season.
The Massachusetts native -- and Boston Red Sox fan growing up -- finished 14-6 with a 1.95 ERA and 239 strikeouts in 193⅔ innings over 33 starts for a pitching staff that posted the best ERA in the majors. He gave up one run or fewer in 21 starts. He was at his best away from Yankee Stadium, logging a 1.16 ERA in 17 road starts. He led the AL in ERA, fWAR (6.2), and ERA+ (215). Only Spud Chandler (1.64 in 1943) and Guidry (1.74 in 1978) have posted a lower ERA as qualified starters in franchise history.
He plowed through lineups with an uncommon confidence and fire, becoming invaluable for a Yankees rotation that dealt with extended absences from Cole, Max Fried, and Carlos Rodon.
"Realistically, I look at it and I'm just happy," Schlittler said. "The goal, honestly, coming into the season was to stay healthy, be consistent, and make all my starts. That's something I was able to do."
A seventh-round pick out of Northeastern in 2022, Schlittler flew under the radar as he rose through the minor leagues because his stuff did not scream dominance. His fastball velocity averaged in the low 90s in his first full professional season in 2023. But with a few delivery tweaks and added muscle, the velocity gradually climbed until he reached 100 mph for the first time in his major league debut at Yankee Stadium in July 2025.
He found his footing in his fourth start three weeks later and was a revelation down the stretch and into the postseason. In Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series, he held the Red Sox scoreless over eight innings with 12 strikeouts and no walks, which solidified his standing among the game's best pitchers.
The Yankees entered 2026 with Schlittler firmly in their rotation. They hoped for continued growth from a resounding rookie campaign. He exceeded all expectations with one of the greatest pitching seasons in the franchise's history. He's already shooting for more.
"I definitely could have had a better season," Schlittler said. "Obviously, I had a few hiccups along the road. Realistically, I think there's things I can get better at and that's not going to be specifically in one area of the game. But just being out there on the mound and making certain adjustments in the game. Again, I feel like this season was great, but as you look at how I finished, things could have definitely been better."
