Brewers fans are about to go to battle with Phillies over Jacob Misiorowski (once again)

Less than a year has passed since Jacob Misiorowski made his MLB debut, and yet, the Milwaukee Brewers' flame-thrower has already established himself as one of the top arms in baseball. From a record-breaking start to his career, to an incredible postseason performance, to an Opening Day start, and now a 29.1 scoreless inning streak that came to an end in his most recent start, Miz is already building an envious resume.

Included in that resume, as a result of the historic start to his career, is an All-Star Game appearance, and one that was met with a great deal of controversy last year. Miz, despite making just five starts before the Midseason Classic, was not only named a 2025 NL All-Star, but pitched a scoreless inning in the star-studded showdown last July.

Unsurprisingly, given just how new Miz was to the major leagues, his addition to the NL's All-Star Game roster led many fanbases to erupt with claims that their players should have earned a spot in the Midseason Classic over Milwaukee's rookie right-hander. No fanbase was louder than the Philadelphia Phillies', who were upset that their starting pitcher Christopher Sánchez didn't earn a spot in the All-Star Game.

When Sánchez, who sported a 7-2 record with a 2.59 ERA and 116 strikeouts at the time of Misiorowski's late addition to the All-Star Game roster, was passed up, not only did the Phillies' fanbase voice their displeasure, but Sánchez's teammate Nick Castellanos compared the Midseason Classic to the Savannah Bananas, claiming it had become more of a talent showcase than a reward for strong performance.

However, a report later surfaced from Matt Gelb of The Athletic that Sánchez had been offered a spot on the All-Star Game roster, but he passed it up because it came with the stipulation that the southpaw would have to pitch in the game, and he was fearful of the extra workload. Therefore, Miz was called upon because the NL was lacking arms who could actually pitch in the All-Star Game, resulting in the Brewers' rookie pitching in the Midseason Classic with just five games of major league experience to his name -- the least of any All-Star in MLB history.

Fast forward one year, and Misiorowski and Sánchez are once again at odds. However, this time it's not a question of who will round out the NL's All-Star Game roster, but rather who is the top arm in the entire league.

Jacob Misiorowski and Christopher Sánchez's history adds even more weight to race for top starter in National League

There are three different ways in which Miz and Sánchez are currently competing despite their two teams not having faced off yet in the 2026 season. The first and most relevant right now is the race for NL Pitcher of the Month in May.

Stats in the month of May:

Jacob Misiorowski: 4-0 in 5 starts, 0.29 ERA, 31.1 IP, 49 K, 0.54 WHIP

Christopher Sánchez: 4-0 in 5 starts, 0.00 ERA, 39 IP, 45 K, 0.72 WHIP

Add Shohei Ohtani, Chase Burns, Miz's teammate Kyle Harrison, and Sánchez's teammate Zack Wheeler into the picture, and the race looks rather crowded, but Miz and Sánchez are the clear favorites. Miz is scheduled to make one more start on Sunday, May 31, which could skew the results one way or another, but either way, it's clear that the Brewers' ace and the Phillies' southpaw have established themselves as two of the top arms in the National League.

In being two of the best starters in the NL, the question naturally turns to: who will start the All-Star Game? As things currently stand, it appears to be a four-headed race for who toes the rubber first for the National League in the Midseason Classic between Miz, Sánchez, Paul Skenes, who has started each of the last two All-Star Games, and Ohtani. While Skenes has the benefit of being the incumbent, and Ohtani has the benefit of his manager, Dave Roberts, being the NL's skipper, Miz and Sánchez are the most deserving of the bunch as things currently stand.

Notably, this year's All-Star Game will be played in Philadelphia, so Sánchez may have the advantage of being the hometown arm, and that could push him into the starter's role over Misiorowski if the two are neck-and-neck come mid-July.

Finally, in the long run, being two of the top arms in the National League, Misiorowski and Sánchez will unsurprisingly compete in the Cy Young race, assuming each of them continues the success they've found in the first two months of the season. Miz leads the league in strikeouts and is second in ERA. Conversely, Sánchez leads the league in ERA and is second in strikeouts.

Though the two talented starters don't seemingly have any actual beef between them, the All-Star Game fiasco last year has pitted them against each other as rivals. Their excellent performances this season have only increased that rivalry with several awards and accolades on the horizon.

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