MLB Cy Young Winners Provided More Than $80 Million In Excess Value
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Jacob Misiorowski is all smiles as he was the most dominant pitcher in baseball this season, and did it all for less than $800,000 in salary. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
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Getty ImagesMajor League Baseball has finished handing out its end-of-season awards, and there really wasn’t any surprises in the group.
Rookie of the Year
The National League Rookie of the Year, Sal Stewart, had 112 RBI. The American League Rookie of the Year, Kevin McGonigle, had 7.1 bWAR. Those players are always a value, insofar as they — by definition — are rookies (excepting out the occasional “rookie” who comes from Japan). McGonigle signed an eight-year, $150 million contract extension the first week of the season, but that kicks in next year. He played in 2026 for $780,000. Stewart only made $760,000.
MVP
National League MVP, Pete Crow-Armstrong, signed a mega-deal prior to the season, but, like McGonigle, it does not kick in until next year. That was for six years and $115 million, and it goes through 2031. For 2026, PCA earned $894,000 plus a $5,000,000 signing bonus from said deal. Coming off arguably the best season in the Cubs’ storied history, he will make just under $11,000,000 next year (the contract escalates in 2030 and then again in 2031).
Coincidentally, prior to the 2023 season, American League MVP Yordan Alvarez signed the same deal as Crow-Armstrong. And pursuant to its terms, he was paid $26.8 million this year. He missed most of 2025 with a fractured right hand and a left ankle sprain, which earned him a Comeback Player of the Year Award before receiving the highest of honors.
Cy Young
But the real value came on the pitching side. The National League Cy Young winner, Jacob Misiorowski, went 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA and led the league with 252 strikeouts (against just 44 walks). He was worth 6.4bWAR; he led the Brewers to their first World Series title; and he won the final game of the series. For all of that, his salary was the league minimum of $760,000.
If you analyze using FanGraphs dollars per WAR concept, “The Miz” was worth nearly $82 million, providing more than $80 million in excess value to Mark Attanasio and his Milwaukee club. Misiorowski is not even arbitration eligible for two more years, so the Brewers may be reaping the benefits of his electric right arm for at least a few more seasons.
In the American League, Yankees ace Cam Schlittler took home the Cy Young Award. He anchored the staff why erstwhile ace, and former Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole, worked his way back from Tommy John surgery. The second year pitcher from Massachusetts went 14-6 with a 1.95 ERA. He struck out 239 batters and only walked 49. By bWAR, he was even more valuable than Misiorowski, with 7.0.
Cam Schlittler dominated the American League and took home the Cy Young Award, all while playing for just over $800,000. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
MLB Photos via Getty ImagesSchlittler got paid $801,000 this season. By FanGraphs analysis, he was worth just shy of $90 million, providing the ever-in-need-of-financial-benefit New York Yankees a metric ton of excess value. The Yankees have two more years of the righty before arbitration is available.
In 2025, Paul Skenes won the Cy Young Award with a salary of $1.085 million. At the time, that was the lowest since Corbin Burnes took home the award in 2021 after making just $608,000. The Covid-shortened 2020 provided one of the best values, when Cleveland’s Shane Bieber was honored after making just $230,000 (pro-rated, of course).
There is no doubt that both Schlittler and Misiorowski will both get paid…down the road. Neither team has any incentive to open their wallets at this time, as history tells us that injuries could be lurking around the corner, and team control is a wonderful concept. Plus, there is the looming labor strife and a new collective bargaining agreement that may change the financial structures of the game.
For today, Misiorowski and Schlittler can bask in the greatness of their seasons and the knowledge that the first-line of their obituary is already written. Their respective teams can bask in the bargains that they have with aces at the top of their pitching rotations at bargain-basement salaries.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com