Jacob Misiorowski could be hero MLB needs in NL Cy Young race against Shohei Ohtani

It's hard to put into words just how good Jacob Misiorowski has been in 2026. Through his first 11 starts of the season, the 24-year-old has recorded a 1.83 ERA, 1.89 FIP, and 2.6 fWAR. There won't be any controversy when he's voted to the All-Star Game this time around.

But Miz should have his sights set on more than just another all-expenses-paid trip to the Midsummer Classic. He's pitching like an award-winner right now, thrusting himself into a complicated Cy Young conversation in the National League.

At the moment, it's nearly impossible to pick one over any of the others in that race, as everyone brings something different to the table. But with Shohei Ohtani finding a new gear on the mound -- he's sitting on a 0.82 ERA through nine starts -- it's going to be awfully tough for anyone to unseat the most popular player in the sport from the top of the odds charts.

Enter: Jacob Misiorowski.

Jacob Misiorowski will need to dominate the counting stats to bridge gap to Shohei Ohtani's awards narrative

Like it or not, narratives play a huge part in the awards races in baseball every year, and Ohtani has a darn good one. A four-time league MVP going for a three-peat, he could add to his monstrous trophy cabinet with the one award he still lacks by taking home the Cy Young. It'd be a nice bookend to the start of his Dodgers tenure, as he won the MVP in 2024 without stepping foot on the mound.

No one else matches that kind of historical aura or narrative je ne sais quoi. Chris Sale already won the award in 2024, ditto for Paul Skenes in 2025, and Chase Burns and Nolan McLean may not have the team success to win in any tiebreaker situations.

That would leave Christopher Sánchez and Misiorowski as the last two men standing, but both are competing with brilliant teammates (Zack Wheeler and Kyle Harrison, respectively) that could cannibalize their votes.

The reasons to believe in Miz's candidacy are two-fold. One is that, for all of his greatness thus far, Harrison hasn't sustained anywhere near the success that someone like Wheeler has. If he regresses to any degree, Misiorowski's standing as the Brewers' ace is only further solidified.

Likewise, Misiorowski has the far-tougher task of stepping into vacated shoes atop his rotation this year. Freddy Peralta is long gone, and Brandon Woodruff has spent most of the season on the injured list. The old guard is out, yet somehow, the Brewers have barely lost a step from their recent dominance, leading the best division in baseball with a 33-20 record.

Thanks to his superior workload -- Ohtani only starts once per week -- Misiorowski will have more time to rack up impressive counting stats, like strikeouts, quality starts, and even WAR. If the former finishes the year with an ERA below 1.00, there may be nothing anyone can do, but Misiorowski looks like the safest bet to break up Ohtani's historical run of awards dominance.

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