Jacob Misiorowski is finally getting the respect he deserves in NL MVP race

Though he's still slated to take one more start on the final day of the regular season, Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski has all but locked up the NL Cy Young award. He leads all qualified pitchers in ERA (1.86), strikeouts (247), FIP (2.16), WHIP (0.803), and fWAR (6.5) this year, putting together one of the greatest under-25 seasons baseball has ever seen.

However, when you're that level of dominant, the Cy Young isn't the only award that should be on your mind. The Most Valuable Player trophy is often reserved for hitters -- or two-way players, if your name is Shohei Ohtani -- but when a pitcher has a really special season, they've been able to "steal" the honor in the past.

Unfortunately, due to the season Pete-Crow Armstrong has put together -- his fWAR lead over every other player in baseball this season is honestly ridiculous -- Miz isn't going to etch his name in history by sweeping awards season. Still, he deserves plenty of votes, and it appears as though he's well on his way to being named a finalist alongside PCA and Ohtani.

Jacob Misiorowski can't defeat the MVP narrative about pitchers all by himself

The last pitcher to win an MVP award was Clayton Kershaw all the way back in 2014, a feat only he and Justin Verlander have accomplished this century. In the same way non-quarterbacks have found it near-impossible to win the NFL MVP trophy in recent years, pitchers have had a hard time overcoming the narrative that they "already have an award" in the form of the Cy Young.

There is at least franchise precedent for that achievement, back when Rollie Fingers won both the MVP and Cy Young in 1981. He only threw 78 innings (in a 109-game season), but he was so comically dominant that it didn't matter. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone in the modern day even mention a reliever in the MVP race, but some do vouch for starters when they spend the whole season flummoxing hitters. For reference, Paul Skenes earned a sixth-place finish in MVP voting during his Cy Young effort a year ago.

Then again, when Corbin Burnes won his Cy Young back in 2021, he only received down-ballot support in the MVP race, finishing 15th. Whether or not you agree with the reasoning, there's simply a stigma against pitchers when it comes to determining who the "Most Valuable Player" in the league is.

Nevertheless, Misiorowski will get his just due when he wins the Cy Young award. It's just a shame he'll have to share that celebratory week with the kid from Chicago.

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