Cam Schlittler vs. Jacob Misiorowski: Which likely Cy Young winner is having the better season?

The 2026 MLB season has once again highlighted that these young starting pitchers are forces to be reckoned with. After Paul Skenes burst onto the scene in 2024 before winning the Cy Young last year, it looks like we’re set to have two more second-year starting pitchers win the Cy Young in their respective leagues.

The two best pitchers in baseball from start to finish this year have been Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski and New York Yankees righty Cam Schlittler. Both Misiorowski and Schlittler made their MLB debuts in 2025 and pitched very well, and the second-year jumps each has made in 2026 has been incredible. They’re putting together incredible seasons – two of the best pitching years in recent memory – and there’s a good chance each pitcher is a unanimous Cy Young winner in their respective leagues.

Who is the best MLB pitcher this season: Cam Schlittler or Jacob Misiorowski?

SeatGeek is the Official Ticket Marketplace of MLB, and we’ve been paying very close attention to the incredible seasons Schlittler and Misiorowski have been putting together. We know these two are going to win the Cy Young this year, but how do they stack up against one another? Who’s had the better year? Let’s dive in. 

Cam Schlittler vs. Jacob Misiorowski tale of the tape

Cam Schlittler stats: 14-6 record, 7.0 bWAR, 1.95 ERA, 31 starts, 184 2/3 innings pitched, 5.96 innings per start, 0.904 WHIP, 228 Ks, 11.1 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 6.0 H/9, 0.8 HR/9

Jacob Misiorowski stats: 15-5, 6.0 bWAR, 1.89 ERA, 28 starts, 166 1/3 innings pitched, 5.94 innings per start, 0.812 WHIP, 243 Ks, 13.1 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 5.0 H/9, 0.8 HR/9

Let’s look at the traditional – or as I like to call them, “back of the baseball card” – numbers to start, shall we?

At first glance, things are really, really close. And that’s part of why I wanted to write this piece in the first place. Misiorowski has been getting all sorts of attention this year due to his incredible fastball and the gaudy numbers that come along with it, but Schlittler’s numbers are just as good – and occasionally better – than Misiorowski’s this year. 

Pitcher wins and losses are not something I’ll dive into here because a lot of that comes down to good ole dumb luck. But the rest of these numbers? Man, each of these youngsters are incredible.

Misiorowski has been the more dominant force between the two with a slight (0.06) ERA edge, though both are allowing fewer than two earned runs per nine, which is incredible. They’re averaging roughly the same innings per start, but Schlittler has been more durable to date with three more starts than Misiorowski this year. Each has a sub-1 WHIP, though Misiorowski’s 0.812 number is in line to be the best in a full 162-game season since Justin Verlander’s 0.803 mark in 2019. 

What I love about these two is even with absurd strikeout numbers, they’re two of the best pitchers in the game when it comes to throwing strikes. Schlittler walks 2.1 batters per nine, and Misiorowski is right behind at 2.3. And speaking of those strikeout numbers, Misiorowski is on another level with 243 on the year and 13.1 per nine, both of which lead MLB. But Schlittler has 228 and 11.1 per nine, so he has no problem punching tickets. 

I think if you were to debate who’s had the better year of these two just on a whim, you’d probably assume it’s Misiorowski just given how much attention he’s received – which is interesting given Schlittler plays for the Yankees of all teams. But were it any other year, Schlittler would be getting all sorts of praise and whatnot from media and fans alike. He just happens to be having the unbelievable season at the exact same time Misiorowski does create-a-player stuff every turn through the rotation. 

What the advanced numbers have to say

I think this is where things start to separate just a bit. Using MLB percentile rankings courtesy of Baseball Savant/Statcast, here’s a deeper dive into where these two hurlers rank across MLB in a number of intriguing metrics. 

• Overall run value: Schlittler 99, Misiorowski 100

• Fastball run value: Schlittler 100, Misiorowski 100

• Breaking ball run value: Schlittler 47, Misiorowski 94

• Offspeed run value: Schlittler N/A, Misiorowski 70

• Expected ERA: Schlittler 93, Misiorowski 100

• Expected batting average: Schlittler 85, Misiorowski 99

• Fastball velocity: Schlittler 93, Misiorowski 99

• Average exit velocity: Schlittler 51, Misiorowski 82

• Chase rate: Schlittler 84, Misiorowski 90

• Whiff rate: Schlittler 78, Misiorowski 90

• Strikeout rate: Schlittler 96, Misiorowski 100

• Walk rate: Schlittler 87, Misiorowski 80

• Barrel rate: Schlittler 45, Misiorowski 95

• Hard hit rate: Schlittler 42, Misiorowski 63

• Groundball rate: Schlittler 56, Misiorowski

Before diving in, for those unfamiliar with how Baseball Savant metrics work, basically each of the above metrics is graded against other qualified pitchers on a percentile scale, with 100th percentile being as good as it gets and the lower the percentile, the worse your ranking. 

And while for traditional numbers ERA and WHIP you need to average one inning per game played (meaning at least 162) to qualify, qualifying pitchers face 1.25 batters per team game played. That means these two aren’t just going up against other starters, but also relievers. I wanted to point that out because I think it shows just how good these two are that their numbers are as good or better than even some of the best relievers the game has to offer.

One thing I love about Baseball Savant is being able to look at pitchers’ repertoires. Schlittler and Misiorowski are both big guys with electric fastballs, but they have very different pitch mixes. Misiorowski leans on his 4-seamer and cutter, with those two making up 77.6% of his pitches, but he also utilizes a slider and curveball, with the latter being an elite secondary offering that, quite frankly, he should probably use more. 

As for Schlittler, his pitch mix is one of the more intriguing ones you’re going to find. He also leans on a 4-seamer and cutter, with those two making up 69.7% of his pitches this year. But his third offering is a sinker/2-seam fastball, which he throws 19.6% of the time. Add that all up and Schlittler is throwing some sort of fastball a whopping 89.3% of the time! The results speak for themselves, and if a guy is throwing almost 90% fastballs and opponents still can’t figure the dude out, that really speaks volumes. 

Now, we’re not here to compare and contrast pitch mixes (though it is very fun). When it comes specifically to Misiorowski vs. Schlittler and the production they’re compiling, it’s important to note two things. First, both these guys are unreal. Their electric fastballs are baffling hitters, and they’re both elite at keeping runs off the board, pounding the zone and punching tickets. 

And second … Misiorowski may be in a league of his own here. 

“The Mis” has an otherworldly heater, both in terms of velocity and production. He’s sitting 100.6 mph on the 4-seamer in 2026, and opponents are hitting .176 off it with a .276 SLG. Additionally, he’s gotten 161 third strikes with that fastball.

But what really stands out in terms of separating these two is the quality of contact. A lot of times, hard throwers will give up their fair share of hard contact, and that’s just the trade off that comes with throwing hard and getting a ton of strikeouts. Schlittler is pretty average when it comes to opponents generating hard contact off him, while Misiorowski, when he does allow contact, is still one of the game’s best in terms of average exit velocity and barrel rate. There’s a reason he also allows very few home runs.

Schlittler is ridiculous. But what Misiorowski is doing overall this year is just ludicrous once you start diving into the more “under the hood” metrics.

The verdict

I think the fact that Schlittler is a 90% fastball guy and he still has a sub-2 ERA, sub-1 WHIP and punches out 11.1 batters per nine is awesome. He’s a more than deserving AL Cy Young winner, and he’s finally separated himself from Toronto’s Dylan Cease in that race. It’s going to be very fun to watch Schlittler lead the Yankees’ stellar rotation into the postseason along with a former Cy Young winner in Gerrit Cole and a seemingly perennial All-Star in Max Fried. 

But the nod still goes to Misiorowski when it comes to who’s having the better season. Those three fewer starts certainly stand out, but a blip of arm fatigue in July has not slowed this firebreather down. 

No one in baseball can do what Misiorowski does. From the fastball to elite secondary offerings to generating whiffs and strikeouts to still staying in the zone and avoiding hard contact, “The Mis” is truly in a league of his own. It’s one of the more well-rounded seasons from a pitcher in recent memory, and the fastball numbers alone are one of a kind. The Brewers have a good one on their hands, as we already knew, but when diving deeper into the numbers, it’s clear that we’ve been witnessing one of the more truly special pitching seasons of all time in Milwaukee. Like Schlittler, I can’t wait to watch Misiorowski pitch in October.