Jacob Misiorowski won the 2026 NL Cy Young Award with all 30 first-place votes from the BBWAA — unanimous, 210 points, not a single dissenter. But the story worth telling tonight also has a Dominican name: Cristopher Sánchez, the Phillies‘ left-hander, finished second for the second consecutive year, becoming the first pitcher to do so since Brandon Webb in 2007 and 2008. The trophy went to Milwaukee. The historical footnote went to Santo Domingo.
What Misiorowski did to make it a no-brainer
The Brewers‘ starter put together the most dominant season in the National League in 2026. He finished 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA and 0.80 WHIP over 174⅔ innings, leading the majors in all four major pitching categories: ERA, strikeouts (252), WHIP, and opponent batting average (.157).
That 0.802 WHIP is the third-lowest ever recorded by a qualified starter in MLB history, trailing only Walter Johnson (1913) and Pedro Martínez (2000). His fastball averaged 100.6 mph and peaked at 105.5 mph — a velocity standard no starter had ever set before. Add Milwaukee’s first World Series title in franchise history, and the 30 voters had no reason to split their ballots.
Misiorowski became the seventh pitcher to win the Cy Young in his second big-league season and the fourth Brewer to take home the award. It was also only the third time in history that both the NL and AL Cy Youngs were decided unanimously in the same year — Cam Schlittler of the Yankees swept all 30 AL votes the same night.
Sánchez: the runner-up who is already making history
Last year it was Paul Skenes. This year it was Misiorowski. Cristopher Sánchez is the first pitcher since Brandon Webb (2007–08) to finish second in Cy Young voting in back-to-back seasons. That kind of sustained elite presence in individual award races is exceedingly rare for any pitcher — and even more remarkable for a Dominican lefty who arrived in the majors without the star-prospect pedigree that usually surrounds this kind of résumé.
His 2026 season was first-rate by any measure. Sánchez went 18-7 with a 2.91 ERA and 231 strikeouts over 207 innings, leading all of MLB in wins and in bWAR (8.1). Between April 30 and June 3, he threw 50⅔ consecutive scoreless innings — the fifth-longest streak in MLB history and the longest ever by a left-handed pitcher.
The vote behind the winner was razor-thin. Sánchez collected 99 points on 17 second-place votes. Chris Sale of the Braves finished third with 98 points and 16 third-place votes. One point separated second from third place. The rest of the top seven: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (4th), Jesús Luzardo (5th), Mason Miller (6th), and Eduardo Rodríguez (7th).
What Statcast says about Sánchez
Sánchez doesn’t overpower hitters with velocity — his fastball sits at 95.1 mph (60th percentile). What he does is make life miserable through movement and deception. His Statcast profile from 2026 tells the story:
- 33 starts, 207.0 innings
- ERA: 2.91 · WHIP: 1.20
- 231 strikeouts, 45 walks — K% of 27%
- xERA: 3.39
- Fastball spin: 2,125 rpm (15th percentile — among the lowest in MLB)
- Whiff rate: 31.3%
- Exit velocity allowed: 89.4 mph (the softer the contact, the better)
- Barrel rate allowed: 7.5%
His MLB percentile rankings in 2026:
- Walk rate (BB%): 95th percentile — elite command
- Whiff %: 89th percentile
- Strikeout rate (K%): 81st percentile
- xERA: 78th percentile
- xwOBA against: 78th percentile
The numbers don’t lie. Cristopher Sánchez is a legitimate ace — and the Statcast data backs every bit of it up.
