Jacob Misiorowski is being treated like the clear front-runner for his first Cy Young award, and the case is getting stronger by the day. Through five months of the 2026 MLB season, he is the lone pitcher in either league with an ERA under 2.00, and he could become the first qualified pitcher this decade to finish at 1.70 or below.
That is why the latest September MLB Power Rankings Week 23 update is being searched now. The race for top individual honors is narrowing fast, and Misiorowski has moved into a position where only a collapse would likely knock him off course. Braves star Chris Sale is described as the only real competition left, but the gap is wide enough that the award picture already looks close to settled.
For readers following Cubs Vs Brewers, the reason is straightforward: this is the stretch run, and the Brewers are the team carrying the most dramatic individual story in it. Jesse Rogers framed it plainly by noting that Misiorowski is just weeks away from wrapping up his first Cy Young award, with the lone pitcher in either league under 2.00 in ERA and a profile that now points toward the hardware unless he implodes.
The friction sits elsewhere, with Shohei Ohtani still trying to make a pitching return that keeps slipping. He has not pitched in a game since July 3 because of knee and biceps injuries, and his planned one-inning start Sunday against the Tigers was aborted after a shortened 20-pitch bullpen session Friday. With a little over three weeks left in the regular season, the Dodgers are still trying to get him back on track to pitch in games.
That uncertainty gives the September race its edge. The Braves are still holding first place in the NL East, but they face the fifth-toughest road ahead, including seven games left against the second-place Phillies and another series against the playoff-bound Cubs and Rays. It is the kind of finish that can reshape a division chase even as the Cy Young race starts to harden around one name.
Freddy Peralta adds another reason the Brewers keep showing up in the conversation. He has allowed just one run in 12 innings over his last two outings, and he has been leaning on a much greater percentage of changeups in his pitch mix. For now, though, the story belongs to Misiorowski: a dominant season, a shrinking field and a trophy race that already looks one swing away from being over.
