Two of the NL Cy Young frontrunners will face hitters in Milwaukee this weekend, with Jacob Misiorowski taking the mound on Friday—exactly one year after his MLB debut—and Cristopher Sánchez getting the ball on Sunday. Their performances, alongside the strengt
The Cy Young conversation doesn’t usually feel this close to the moment. But this weekend, it practically is.
In Milwaukee. Jacob Misiorowski of the Brewers will pitch on Friday—one-year anniversary of his MLB debut—right as the race for the NL award is gaining momentum. On Sunday. Cristopher Sánchez of the Philadelphia Phillies will take the mound in the same city. with the spotlight now fixed on who can keep separating themselves from the rest of the league.
They’re not alone in the chase, either. Cincinnati’s Chase Burns. Atlanta’s Chris Sale. Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes and Los Angeles’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani have all had dominant seasons. Still. the two frontrunners give this particular weekend a sharper edge: Misiorowski arrives with numbers that make the award feel possible in a single start. and Sánchez comes in with a second-year run that has already placed him firmly in the history-books conversation.
Entering Friday, Misiorowski led the NL among qualified starters in ERA (1.50), strikeouts (116), WHIP (0.81) and opponents’ batting average (.151). He’d allowed just 22 walks in 78 innings.
His fastball has been central to that dominance—ranked as the fourth-best pitch in baseball this year via run value. and also among the nastiest pitches on a new miss distance leaderboard. The way that pitch showed up in his last start against the Rockies at Coors Field made it feel even louder. He threw the fastest pitch (103.7 mph) recorded by a starter in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008), while throwing 45 pitches at 101+ mph.
And it’s not been one hot stretch. In his last seven starts. Misiorowski has a 0.20 ERA. the third-lowest in a seven-start span (excluding openers) since 1913—when ERA became an official stat. The only two lower were in 1968. the year before the mound was lowered to its current height. when Bob Gibson posted a 0.14 and Don Drysdale posted a 0.15.
The timing matters, too. Misiorowski’s rise didn’t begin slowly. One month after his MLB debut one year ago, he was named to the NL All-Star team after making only five MLB appearances. Now, the question isn’t whether he can deliver. It’s how much more separation his next start can create.
Sánchez brings the kind of momentum that usually turns races into verdicts.
Last season, Sánchez finished as the unanimous runner-up to Skenes in the NL Cy Young Award race. This year, he has pushed further into the record conversation. Overall this season, Sánchez leads NL qualified pitchers in innings (93 1/3) and complete games (one). He ranks second in wins (tied with two others at eight), ERA (1.54) and strikeouts (113).
Entering Thursday, Sánchez also led the Majors in fWAR (3.9). His changeup has been the most valuable pitch in the Majors via run value.
He did have a jolt to his storyline—his scoreless streak was broken two starts ago. But the pattern returned quickly. In his last start, Sánchez struck out 10 hitters in seven innings against the Blue Jays on Monday, and since May 5 he has gone seven innings or more in each of his last seven starts.
On Sunday, Sánchez will face Kyle Harrison, who gets the nod for the Brewers in the finale against Sánchez. Harrison, who has also had a terrific season, ranks 12th in the NL in strikeouts (77). He is 8 1/3 innings shy of qualifying, and if he did qualify, he would rank 10th in the NL in ERA (2.72).
One bad inning can distort a season’s storyline—happened in a way that’s still sitting in the memory of anyone tracking this pitching race. Before allowing eight runs in 2 1/3 innings against the A’s during Milwaukee’s 15-14 win on Monday in Las Vegas. Harrison hadn’t allowed more than two runs in any of his first 11 starts to begin the season.
The recovery is the real hinge now. If Harrison rights the ship, then this weekend won’t just be a pair of standout starts—it will be a full weekend that separates the top NL Cy Young contenders from everyone else.
That separation is what the sport has been chasing all season: not just dominance on paper, but dominance when it’s time to matter.
NL Cy Young Jacob Misiorowski Cristopher Sánchez Brewers Phillies Milwaukee Kyle Harrison Chase Burns Chris Sale Paul Skenes Yoshinobu Yamamoto Shohei Ohtani