Jacob Misiorowski has 210 strikeouts in 2026, leads all of MLB, and is doing it with a 1.75 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP that make him the runaway NL Cy Young favorite. The Milwaukee Brewers right-hander is already the second-fastest pitcher in MLB history to reach 200 strikeouts in a single season. The full leaderboard has four more names — and each one has its own story.
Misiorowski: A Number Nobody Expected This Soon
On August 9, 2026, at American Family Field, Jacob Misiorowski fired a 101.7 mph fastball past Minnesota Twins outfielder Alan Roden — and became the first pitcher of the season to reach 200 strikeouts. He got there in 129⅓ innings, trailing only Spencer Strider, who hit that mark in 123⅓ innings back in 2022. Second fastest in MLB history. At 24 years old.
Brewers franchise records kept falling along the way. Eight or more strikeouts in eight consecutive starts: franchise record. 57 strikeouts in May 2026: franchise record for most Ks in a single month. On July 26, he struck out the first 7 Rockies hitters he faced and 12 of the first 13 — just two away from the MLB record for consecutive strikeouts to open a game. As of August 17, the ledger reads: 210 K, 12-5 record, 139 innings pitched.
Cease, Williams, Schlittler and Luzardo: The Other Four
Dylan Cease, now with the Toronto Blue Jays, sits second with 201 strikeouts and leads the American League. He went into the All-Star break with a 2.56 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP and 148 punchouts in just 17 starts — and kept dealing in the second half.
Gavin Williams of the Cleveland Guardians is third at 190 strikeouts. Between July 9 and August 2, he ran off five consecutive double-digit strikeout starts: 55 Ks, just 3 walks. The only pitchers to ever pull that off were Verlander (2019), Kershaw (2016), Kluber (2015), Schilling (2002) and Pedro Martínez (1999). Williams just joined that list.
Cam Schlittler is fourth with 189 K, one behind Williams.
Jesús Luzardo of the Philadelphia Phillies rounds out the top five at 185 strikeouts. The Venezuelan arrived in Philly from Miami in the 2024-25 offseason and has been reborn, largely on the strength of his sweeper: he throws it 38.1% of the time, hitters bat just .122 against it, and they whiff on 49.1% of their swings at it. Simply untouchable.
The Numbers Behind Misiorowski
Misiorowski’s fastball is the kind you feel differently — and Statcast backs that up. His 2026 numbers from the mound:
- 23 starts, 139.0 innings pitched
- ERA: 1.75 · WHIP: 0.75
- 210 strikeouts vs. 31 walks — he’s punching out 39.8% of batters faced
- xERA: 1.94 (the ERA his contact quality actually deserves)
- Average fastball: 99.9 mph with 2,624 rpm of spin
- Whiff rate: 38.1% of swings miss entirely
- Opponents batting average: .151
- Average exit velocity allowed: 86.7 mph (the lower, the softer the contact)
- Barrel rate allowed: 3.2%
How he stacks up against the rest of MLB:
- xERA: 100th percentile (elite)
- Strikeout rate (K%): 100th percentile (elite)
- Walk rate (BB%): 88th percentile
- Whiff %: 99th percentile (elite)
- Fastball velocity: 100th percentile (elite)
- Fastball spin: 99th percentile (elite)
- xwOBA against: 100th percentile (elite)
- Soft contact allowed: 88th percentile
- Barrels avoided: 97th percentile (elite)
- Hard hit avoided: 82nd percentile
