Milwaukee Brewers starting star Jacob Misiorowski was on a heater of epic proportions coming into his start in Atlanta and, yes, if you consult online prognosticators, you’ll see he’s the favorite to win the National League Cy Young Award with roughly half a season to go.
But the National League is so loaded with talent that any slip at all will open the door for a litany of candidates to bypass Misiorowski for the best odds. You could easily name seven pitchers in reach of that annual honor for the league’s best pitcher, and that doesn’t even count Brewers starter Kyle Harrison.
Who else will compete with Miz for the Cy Young? A too-early look at the candidates, with all stats entering June 22:
Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers
Even a “subpar” Miz start in Atlanta really just continued his stretch of greatness. He has the most strikeouts on this list and limits baserunners the best, thanks in part to a run of nine straight magnificent starts. He’s the “it” name in Major League Baseball right now, and despite the competition below, the award is his if he can sustain this level of excellence. But that’s an extraordinary request.
Cristopher Sánchez, Phillies
The Brewers got the best of Sánchez on June 14, tagging him for an uncharacteristic four runs in a shutout win over the Phillies. That was only the fifth game the Phillies had lost with him on the mound all year, and those games featured three shutouts, a 3-1 loss and a loss in extra innings. They scored a lot more for him June 20 when the Phillies won, 15-3, and Sánchez tossed another six strong innings (with one earned run). Before facing the Brewers, Sánchez had allowed three earned runs in his previous seven starts combined.
Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers
The numbers are absurd, but the volume right now is a little less than others on the list, and that might stand in his way. Plus, most voters might see the Cy Young Award as a lesser trophy to the MVP, which Ohtani will be in the running to receive again. The 31-year-old is the biggest star in the sport.
Paul Skenes, Pirates
What an indictment of the Pittsburgh Pirates that they’ve managed to lose seven consecutive Skenes starts, and though voters long ago eschewed “wins” as a valuable metric in Cy Young voting, could his bizarre losing record turn into sort of a tiebreaker in someone else’s favor? The reigning NL Cy Young winner has been so good in his career that he’s managed to make the above numbers look somewhat pedestrian by comparison. He won last year with a 1.97 ERA over 188 innings, and he’s still very much that dude. Expect him to remain in the conversation all season, whether or not Pittsburgh gets the man some run support.
Chris Sale, Braves
It would have been a feather in Milwaukee’s cap if they could have beaten Sale on June 20, and though he left with a deficit, Atlanta won on a walk-off home run by Ozzie Albies. The 2024 Cy Young winner is putting up another incredible campaign, and it might the most impressive showing on this list considering he just turned 37 years old in March. The ageless wonder, despite his funky delivery and more than 2,100 career innings, has found another level in what would normally be his career sunset years.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers
The Brewers are fully aware of what Yamamoto is capable of. All they need to do is consult film of last year’s NLCS. He’s worked fewer than six innings in just two starts all year, and he just flirted with a perfect game deep into a start at the Chicago White Sox. A loss to Baltimore on June 20 snapped a four-game winning streak.
Chase Burns, Reds
The Brewers don’t have the market cornered on flamethrowers. Burns, who’s also capable of hitting triple digits regularly, has been a bolt of lightning at 23 years old for Cincinnati. The Brewers won’t get to see Burns first-hand during the three-game series in Cincinnati that begins June 22, which is good for Milwaukee since the Reds have won seven of the last eight Burns starts.
Zack Wheeler, Phillies
Yet another ageless wonder who still has it, this time coming off a serious surgery to boot. Wheeler has been special since his return and, as with Ohtani, the biggest thing working against him in this crowded field is that he got a late start and might not have the volume others can boast. The Phillies have won nine of his 11 starts.
Mason Miller, Padres
Before Misiorowski stole some of the national spotlight, Miller was sort of the high-velocity star of the league, albeit working in relief. The Padres closer is generally regarded as one of the most dominant arms in baseball, and he’d be a viable candidate for this award just about any year. But the depth of the starting pitching will probably put Miller in an “others receiving votes” category.
Kyle Harrison, Brewers
Let’s put him on here, even if he doesn’t stack up quite as favorably as the rock stars ahead of him. If nothing else, he’s an enduring symbol of how good the Brewers have been at enhancing newcomers, and he might be the product of a trade everyone in baseball sees as highway robbery. But let’s also not forget that he gave up eight earned runs in 2⅓ ugly innings at Las Vegas Ballpark. Without that start, his ERA is 1.55. Everyone should be forced to pitch at least one game in Las Vegas before submitting their name for the Cy Young, no?
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Is Jacob Misiorowski the NL Cy Young favorite? Who’s the competition?
Reporting by JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
