Who had the most strikeouts in MLB in 2026?
Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers led MLB with 252 strikeouts in the 2026 regular season, which ended September 27. He got there in 174.2 innings, a 12.98 strikeouts-per-nine rate, with a 1.80 ERA. Gavin Williams of the Cleveland Guardians was second with 248, and Dylan Cease (Toronto Blue Jays) and Cam Schlittler (New York Yankees) tied for third with 239. Source: official MLB stats, regular season, final.
2026 MLB strikeout leaders (final regular season)
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Strikeouts | Innings | K/9 | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Misiorowski | Brewers | 252 | 174.2 | 12.98 | 1.80 |
| 2 | Gavin Williams | Guardians | 248 | 184.1 | 12.11 | 3.76 |
| T3 | Dylan Cease | Blue Jays | 239 | 169.0 | 12.73 | 2.40 |
| T3 | Cam Schlittler | Yankees | 239 | 193.2 | 11.11 | 1.95 |
| 5 | Cristopher Sánchez | Phillies | 231 | 207.0 | 10.04 | 2.91 |
| 6 | Jesús Luzardo | Phillies | 221 | 179.2 | 11.07 | 2.86 |
| 7 | Reid Detmers | Angels | 211 | 185.0 | 10.26 | 3.36 |
| T8 | Taj Bradley | Twins | 205 | 178.1 | 10.35 | 3.73 |
| T8 | Logan Gilbert | Mariners | 205 | 186.0 | 9.92 | 3.73 |
| 10 | Jacob deGrom | Rangers | 201 | 162.2 | 11.12 | 4.20 |
Cade Cavalli, Chris Sale and Paul Skenes finished just behind with 200 each. Total strikeouts is a counting stat, so it rewards innings as well as stuff: Dylan Cease needed only 169.0 innings for his 239, while Cristopher Sánchez, at 207.0 innings, had the largest workload in the top 10.
Who misses the most bats per swing?
Strikeout totals and whiff rate answer different questions. Whiff rate is swings that miss divided by total swings, so it measures raw bat-missing stuff without caring how many innings a pitcher threw. On the Legends Deck whiff rate leaderboard (2026 regular season, pitchers with at least 100 batters faced, data), the top of the list is:
1. Mason Miller, San Diego Padres: 45.3%
2. Brendon Little, Toronto Blue Jays: 41.6%
3. Andrés Muñoz, Seattle Mariners: 39.6%
4. Fernando Cruz, New York Yankees: 39.1%
5. Jeff Hoffman, Minnesota Twins: 38.0%
Misiorowski, the strikeout leader, posted a 37.3% whiff rate over 665 batters faced, while Miller's 45.3% came over 272. The strikeout title and the whiff-rate title belong to different pitchers because one rewards volume and the other does not.
How is whiff rate measured?
Whiff rate is swings and misses divided by total swings. Statcast tracks every swing in every MLB game and classifies each as contact (fair or foul) or a whiff. It differs from swinging-strike rate, which divides whiffs by total pitches, and from strikeout rate (K%), which is the share of plate appearances that end in a strikeout. A high whiff rate usually produces a high K%, but sequencing and two-strike finishing matter too.
Which strikeout leaders does Legends Deck rate highest?
Pitcher card ratings on Legends Deck are built from Statcast inputs such as fastball velocity, whiff rate, command and pitch mix, not from strikeout totals. See the fastball velocity leaderboard, the whiff rate leaderboard and the card directory for the current ratings. Every number on this page covers the regular season only; postseason games are excluded.
