Cam Schlittler and Jacob Misiorowski Lead Latest MLB.com Cy Young Poll as Races Take Shape

As the Major League Baseball regular season enters its final stretch with roughly six weeks remaining, the latest expert poll from MLB.com indicates that the American League and National League Cy Young Award races are coming into sharp focus. Thirty-five baseball experts participated in the survey, evaluating both performance to date and projected rest-of-season output to rank the top five contenders in each league. While several challengers have mounted impressive campaigns, two standout pitchers have established commanding leads in the voting.

American League Leaders and Standouts

In the American League, New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler holds the top spot with 165 total points, including 25 first-place votes. Schlittler has anchored the Yankees’ rotation with a league-best 2.16 ERA, 152 innings pitched, and 5.1 bWAR through his first 26 starts. His ability to limit damage has been a defining trait, as he has held opponents to one or zero earned runs in 18 starts this season.

Behind Schlittler, Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Dylan Cease occupies second place with 148 points and 10 first-place votes, driven by a major-league-leading 201 strikeouts and a dominant 1.49 ERA since the beginning of July. Tampa Bay Rays starter Drew Rasmussen ranks third, leveraging an AL-best 0.91 WHIP and exceptional control that has limited him to just 23 walks all year. Cleveland Guardians lefty Parker Messick sits fourth as both a Cy Young contender and a Rookie of the Year candidate, while Boston Red Sox veteran Sonny Gray rounds out the top five with 15 wins and 16 quality starts in his first season with the club.

National League Dominance by Misiorowski

The National League race features an even more definitive leader in Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, who captured all 35 first-place votes for a total of 175 points. Misiorowski leads not only the Senior Circuit but all of Major League Baseball in multiple key pitching metrics, including a 1.75 ERA, a 2.14 FIP, a 0.75 WHIP, and a .151 opponents batting average, alongside 210 strikeouts.

Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez follows in second place, bolstered by a majors-leading 6.6 bWAR and 16 wins, complemented by a 2.51 ERA. Atlanta Braves veteran Chris Sale ranks third at age 37, maintaining a 2.16 ERA and positioning himself for his ninth career season with 200 or more strikeouts. Los Angeles Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto sits fourth with a 0.89 WHIP and a 2.60 ERA, while Cincinnati Reds sophomore Chase Burns holds fifth place following a strong stretch that includes 14 wins and 12 consecutive decisions won earlier in the year.

Key facts
– Poll participants: 35 MLB.com experts ranking top five pitchers per league on a 5-4-3-2-1 point scale
– American League leader: Cam Schlittler (Yankees) with 165 points and a 2.16 ERA
– National League leader: Jacob Misiorowski (Brewers) with a unanimous 175 points and a 1.75 ERA

Context for Baseball Fans and Followers

For followers of NationalSportsWeb, tracking these award races provides essential context for the final weeks of the pennant chases and postseason positioning. Pitching depth often dictates October success, and monitoring how frontline starters manage their workloads down the stretch offers a direct window into which clubs are best equipped for deep playoff runs. As teams navigate the closing weeks of the schedule, performance fluctuations from runners-up like Cease, Sánchez, and Sale could still influence voter sentiment before ballots are finalized.

Source: MLB Official News, https://www.mlb.com/news/cam-schlittler-jacob-misiorowski-lead-fifth-2026-cy-young-poll

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