9 reasons why Misiorowski's season has been one of a kind

Jacob Misiorowski has been a joy to watch this season. From the 100+ mph heat to the energy and emotion when working out of a rare jam, we are so lucky to be witnessing this happen in real time.

Misiorowski has authored one of the all-time dominant seasons -- and he’s still just 24 years old. He’s not just about 100 mph fastballs either; Misiorowski is on pace to set and come close to records based on traditional box score stats, too.

Here’s a look at nine reasons this season has been one for the record books.

1. The first thing most people think of with Misiorowski is velocity, and for good reason. His quality and quantity of sustained triple digits is unlike anything else we have ever seen from a starter. He enters Sunday with 1,053 pitches of at least 100 mph this season, by far the most by a pitcher in a single campaign under pitch tracking (2008), ahead of Jordan Hicks (673) in 2018. No other team aside from this year’s Brewers has thrown anywhere close to that many. This year’s Padres are second on the list, with 688 entering Saturday.

2. Entering this season, the fastest strikeout by a starting pitcher under pitch tracking was 102.6 mph by Tarik Skubal on May 25, 2025. Now? Misiorowski has each of the top 41 spots on that list, including seven strikeouts on 104+ mph pitches. That’s rarefied air even for relievers --- only six other pitchers have at least one 104+ mph strikeout under tracking, all in relief: Aroldis Chapman, Mason Miller, Ben Joyce, Jhoan Duran, Hicks and Mauricio Cabrera.

3. We could go on and on about the velocity marks Misiorowski has set, like his 105.5 mph pitch on June 26, which was the fastest by a starter and tied for the third-fastest by anyone under tracking. He’s set records for most 100-plus mph pitches in a game (66, July 26), as well as 101+ (63), 102+ (54) and 103+ (33). He had a game with a whopping 12 strikeouts at 100+ mph (June 12), three more than anyone else in a game under tracking.

4. But as we noted earlier, it’s not just about the velocity. Misiorowski leads MLB in strikeouts (243) as well as ERA (1.89) and opponents' batting average (.160). Since 1950, only three pitchers have led MLB in all three of those categories for a season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. It hasn’t happened since Mike Scott did so in 1986. Before that, it was J.R. Richard in 1976 and Sandy Koufax in 1965. That’s quite a list Misiorowski could join at the season’s end.

5. Let’s circle back to that batting average Misiorowski has allowed: a microscopic .160. That would be the lowest by a pitcher in a qualified season (excluding significantly shortened seasons), surpassing Pedro Martínez’s .167 in his spectacular 2000 campaign. And before you chalk this up to simply a product of a lesser batting average environment -- with the league hitting .270 in 2000 and .244 this year -- consider this: Plus stats, the most popular of which is OPS+, allow us to more fairly compare across eras by showing how much better an individual was than league average at the time. By AVG+, which abides by the same concept, Misiorowski is currently at a 66 AVG+, meaning he’s allowed an opponents' batting average that is 34% better than league average. That would rank tied for second with Nolan Ryan (1991), behind only Martínez at 61 in 2000. Even adjusted across different offensive environments, Misiorowski’s would be a top-two season by opponents' batting average allowed.

6. The Miz also leads all qualified pitchers with a 0.81 WHIP. While that mark wouldn’t set a record, it would be within an exclusive list. That would be the fourth-lowest WHIP by a qualified pitcher (again, looking at seasons of at least 100 team games) in the Live Ball Era (since 1920). The only lower marks belong to Martínez in that 2000 season (0.74), Justin Verlander (0.80) in 2019 and Greg Maddux (0.81, lower than Misiorowski by decimal points) in 1995. The next on the list is Verlander (0.83) in 2022 and Dave McNally (0.84) in 1968, to give you a sense of where Misiorowski has to end up to finish within that top five.

7. We mentioned earlier how young Misiorowski is. He will be 24 years and 177 days old next Sunday, the final day of the regular season. He would be the third-youngest pitcher to lead all qualified pitchers in both ERA and strikeouts for a season since earned runs became an official stat (1913), per Elias, based on age at the end of the season. Only Dwight Gooden in 1985 (20 years, 324 days) and Hal Newhouser in 1945 (24 years, 133 days) did so at a younger age.

8. Here’s another way to quantify his dominance. Misiorowski has allowed just 24 extra-base hits all year, striking out 243 batters. That would be the fewest extra-base hits allowed by a pitcher with at least 240 strikeouts in a season in MLB history.

9. We won’t know who will win the Cy Young Award in the National League until November, but Misiorowski has certainly put together a strong case. Remember, this is only the second season of his career. No pitcher has won in his debut season, but there have been five second-year winners: 2025 Paul Skenes, 2008 Tim Lincecum, 1985 Bret Saberhagen, 1985 Gooden and 1981 Fernando Valenzuela (rookie). Of course, AL favorite Cam Schlittler is also in his second season, meaning that 2026 could join 1985 as seasons with two second-year Cy Young Award winners.