Milwaukee Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski has been “The Pitcher” of the 2026 MLB season, cruising to his first National League Cy Young crown and helping his team claim the best record in the sport. But is he in fact the No. 1 hurler this year? His American League counterpart certainly has an argument for the title. New York Yankees ace Cam Schlittler is posting monster numbers in his own right, and he is doing so while logging more innings.

The Talkin' Baseball podcast made some interesting points. “If there was one Cy Young Award, Misiorowski or Schlittler?” Talkin' Jake asked former MLB infielder Trevor Plouffe. “Misiorowski has been the pitching story of baseball this year, {but} Schlittler's toe-to-toe with him, if not… Has a good argument for the not.”

There’s an argument Cam Schlittler has been better than Jacob Misiorowski this season pic.twitter.com/9xOUun5lFE

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 18, 2026

Talkin' Jake did acknowledge his Yankees bias, but he is still right to open this discussion up for debate. Both starters are a huge reason why their clubs are in World Series contention entering the final stretch of the regular season, and they both deserve substantial praise for their respectively historic showings. Nevertheless, it can be fun to dive deeper into the numbers.

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Misiorowski boasts an MLB-leading 1.89 ERA, 243 strikeouts, 13.1 Ks per nine innings pitched, 0.812 WHIP, .479 OPS against and one complete game shutout through 166 1/3 innings of work. Schlittler owns a 1.95 ERA, 228 strikeouts, 11.1 Ks per nine, 0.904 WHIP and .544 OPS allowed in 184 2/3 innings. The bigger workload should carry significant weight, and the WAR totals reflects as much. Schlittler has the edge over his fellow right-hander, 7.0-6.0.

There is more to consider, however. Misiorowski has the superior fielding independent pitching value (FIP), 2.19 to 2.57, which measures the factors a pitcher can most control. Moreover, his hard-hit percentage is six percent better. It is hard to know what kind of an affect an additional 18 innings would have on him, but it is important to remember that nobody throws harder than The Miz. Maintaining eye-popping velocity for an even longer stretch could take a toll.

But we do not know that for sure. Jacob Misiorowski has already proven himself to be a unicorn when it comes to exceeding 100 mph throughout a campaign. Therefore, removing him from the top spot in the 2026 pitcher power rankings seems a tad hasty. That being said, Cam Schlittler possesses the perfect combination of volume, high-octane stuff and reliability.

Perhaps this argument will appear more clear by the end of September, or by the end of October.