Jacob Misiorowski and Cam Schlittler are the favorites to win this year's Cy Young Awards, and they are having historic seasons.
Misiorowski has the best ERA in baseball and leads all of baseball in strikeouts this year. Schlittler leads the American League in bWAR and ERA through 30 starts. Both have cleared the 200-strikeout mark. Misiorowski has an ERA of 1.95 through 27 starts, and Schlittler's ERA sits at 2.01.
According to OptaSTATS, since ERA became official in both leagues in 2013, no MLB pitcher has finished a season with an ERA better than 2.50 and 200 strikeouts after entering the season with fewer than 75 innings of work. Now, Schlittler and Misiorowski are both on pace to do it for the first time.
The only thing that could hold one of them back is if they have a couple of blow-up starts and their ERA goes up. However, given how dominant they have been, it's unlikely.
Misiorowski and Schlittler both have elite fastballs, but Misiorowski's is on another level. He has thrown over 1,000 pitches at at least 100 mph this season and is a huge part of the Milwaukee Brewers owning the best record in baseball. Schlittler has made 20 starts this year, allowing one earned run or fewer. Both are deserving of a Cy Young Award and should each win their first after the season ends.
