Jacob Misiorowski caps Cy Young-worthy 2026 season with fitting final tune-up

Jacob Misiorowski won't officially be named the National League's 2026 Cy Young Award winner for over a month, but now that the flame-throwing 24-year-old's regular season has officially come to a close, it truly is a matter of when, not if.

In fitting fashion, the Milwaukee Brewers' ace dominated his final outing of the 2026 season, putting a bow on what could certainly be considered the greatest single-season performance from a pitcher in franchise history. On Sunday afternoon, facing the St. Louis Cardinals in a rare "meaningless" game for the perennially contending Brewers, Misiorowski covered 5.1 scoreless innings while allowing just two hits. Miz, who was limited to 68 pitches in his final tune-up before the postseason, struck out five batters before he walked off the field to a resounding standing ovation from the largest crowd of the season at American Family Field. That's right, in the final game of the season -- one that carried no significance in terms of playoff seeding -- Brewers fans broke the record for the largest single-game attendance of the year, and everyone was on their feet to congratulate Misiorowski on his record-breaking season.

Miz is not only the clear-cut winner of the NL Cy Young Award this year, evidenced by the fact that he led all of MLB (not just the NL) in ERA (1.80), strikeouts (252), WHIP (0.80), and opponent batting average (.157), but he also set a number of franchise records during his unbelievable 2026 campaign. Misiorowski is the new holder of the lowest single-season ERA from a starting pitcher in Brewers franchise history, blowing past Mike Caldwell's previous record of 2.36, which he set in 1978. Miz also now holds the best single-season WHIP in franchise history, besting the 0.94 mark that Corbin Burnes set during his Cy Young season in 2021, and he also now tops Burnes for the best strikeout per nine innings pitched rate in franchise history (12.98).

Jacob Misiorowski all but solidifies Cy Young Award with scoreless final regular season performance

With the MLB lead in strikeouts and ERA, there's no argument for Misiorowski not to be named the NL Cy Young in a few weeks' time. The only question is just how many votes he will get. It's by no means out of the question that Misiorowski becomes the first unanimous Cy Young Award winner in franchise history. Each of the Brewers' three Cy Young winners, Rollie Fingers, Pete Vuckovich, and Corbin Burnes, earned the honor without all of the first-place votes, meaning they weren't unanimous Cy Youngs. However, in a recent poll from MLB.com, all 32 experts who were surveyed gave Misiorowski their first-place votes, meaning there's momentum building around Misiorowski being named a unanimous Cy Young.

Whether or not it's unanimous, which is a technicality that truly doesn't matter, Misiorowski's Cy Young Award will cap one of the best individual seasons Brewers fans have ever had the pleasure of witnessing. It's impossible to overstate just how dominant Misiorowski was this year. While simultaneously setting essentially every velocity record by a starting pitcher, Miz ranked sixth among qualified starting pitchers in walks per nine innings (2.27). In other words, he wasn't just blowing 100+ mph fastballs past his opponents; he was locating them on the edges of the strike zone.

What lies ahead for the 24-year-old ace is perhaps the most anticipated postseason run in franchise history. Miz helped lead the Brewers to a franchise record 103 wins during the regular season, and, as a result, Pat Murphy's squad enters the postseason as the top seed. Misiorowski will start Game 1 of the NLDS, Murphy confirmed as much after Sunday's game, and from there will need to make a number of strong starts to help the Brewers reach their ultimate goal. The flame-throwing ace, and soon-to-be Cy Young winner, is ready for the challenge.

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