Brewers' Aaron Ashby's 10 Wins Are One of MLB's Most Unexpected Stories of 2026

If you're a Major League Baseball fan and were to be asked which pitcher you'd expect to be leading the league in wins on June 17, the likely answer would be someone like Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers, Cristopher Sanchez of the Philadelphia Phillies, Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves, or someone like Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees.

If you were to guess any of the guys above, it wouldn't be a bad guess, although it would be wrong. The pitcher who is leading the league in wins right now is Milwaukee Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby with 10.

MLB Fans Need To Pay Attention To Aaron Ashby

Jun 2, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Aaron Ashby (26) throws a pitch in the eighth inning against the San Francisco Giants at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Take that one in for a minute. How absurd is that? This is just the second time since 1959 that a reliever was the first in the league to 10 wins, per OptaSTATS.

"For the second time in MLB history, the first pitcher in the majors to reach 10 wins (Aaron Ashby) did so while having all 10 come in relief. The other was in 1959 with Roy Face."

Aaron Ashby has been stacking up Ws out of the bullpen 👏

He's the first pitcher to 10 wins in 2026! pic.twitter.com/ZLnDVjgSMq
— MLB (@MLB) June 17, 2026

Ashby has made 32 appearances for the Brewers already this season and has a ridiculous 10-0 record to go along with a 2.86 ERA and 61-to-22 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 44 innings of work.

After Ashby, Gavin Williams of the Cleveland Guardians and Davis Martin of the Chicago White Sox are tied for the second-most wins in baseball with nine apiece. Ashby's surprising number of wins has been a talking point throughout the season around Milwaukee, but this is something that fans across the league should know about. Right now, the record for wins in a season by a reliever is 18. Ashby is over halfway there and Milwaukee has 92 games left to play this season. Right now, he's on pace for 23 wins, which is just ridiculous.

It would be a pretty big shock to see Ashby to reach that level, but again, he already has shocked the baseball world. Being just the second reliever since 1959 to be the first pitcher in the league to 10 wins is no small feat in itself. It goes to show how good — and bizarre — Ashby's season has been so far for Milwaukee.

The Brewers always find a way to have success. This is yet another example. Major League Baseball history is on the table for the Brewers reliever this season.

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