Top Five AL Cy Young Candidates

I'm back, and still previewing the awards candidates for this year's MLB Season. The next two I will be doing are the Cy Young Awards, which are awarded to the best pitcher in each league. This year has been so dominated by good pitching that this award is even more coveted than usual. Last year Zack Grienke of the Royals won the award, but he has no chance this year as he sports a losing record with a relatively high ERA. Here are the candidates.

#5 Trevor Cahill SP Oakland Athletics

W

When anybody think of the best young pitcher in baseball right now, the name Stephen Strasburg pops into just about everyone's head. But 22 year old Trevor Cahill, who is just two months older than Strasburg, may be the most underrated young star in the game. Cahill had a solid first half, earning his first career all-star bid, and has been absolutely dominant since then. He currently comes in at 12-4 with a 2.56 ERA and an incredible WHIP of .98, which is 2nd in the AL. One of Oakland GM Billy Beane's few early draft picks straight out of high school, Cahill will have many opportunities throughout his career to pick up a Cy Young Award, even if it doesn't quite happen this year.



#4 David Price SP Tampa Bay Rays

Keeping up with the youngster theme on the list, 24 year old David Price has emerged as one of the best pitchers in baseball this year. Most people expected him to be a front-end starter at some point when he was drafted #1 overall in 2007 out of Vanderbilt, but little expected it to come this quick. Price showed his dominance in the 2008 ALCS vs. the Red Sox as a rookie, but struggled to stay consistent as a rookie last year. This year, he was the starter in the All-Star game for the AL, and currently sports a league leading 15 wins, just 5 losses and a low 2.84 ERA.


#3 Cliff Lee SP Texas Rangers/Seattle Mariners

Typically when someone spends the first few weeks of the season on the DL, and then changes teams in early July they are not up for postseason awards consideration, but then again most people are not as dominant as Cliff Lee. Lee started the season with Seattle, but after starting the year injured and the team starting extremely slow, he was dealt to Texas for their playoff run. Lee at the moment leads the league in ERA (2.44), WHIP (.916) and Complete Games (7), while showing a 10-5 record between the two clubs. The 2008 AL Cy Young winner should be right back in contention again this year.

#2 C.C. Sabathia SP New York Yankees

When you think about the ultimate workhorse for a rotation, C.C. Sabathia's name always come to mind. The consistency and endurance that Sabathia has shown throughout his career, as well as his excellent arsenal of pitches and his command, have been what have made him among the greats in the league. This year, the 2007 Cy Young Award winner has just been rolling along to a 14-5 season with a 3.14 ERA. He is also the rotation ace for the best team in baseball. Sabathia's best part of the season is ahead of him, which makes him a prime candidate to pick up his 2nd award.

#1 Clay Buchholz SP Boston Red Sox

I think we all knew Buchholz had this type of season in him after he threw a no-hitter in his 2nd career start in 2007, but many Sox fans (myself included) did begin to worry when he was absolutely horrid in 2008. Now, I can only imagine where the Sox would be if 2008 Buchholz was still in uniform. For a guy who was fighting for a rotation spot in spring training, Clay has emerged as arguably the ace on one of the strongest and most experienced pitching staffs in baseball. Clay currently stands at 13-5 (should be 14-5...damn Papelbon), with a sub 2.5 ERA. He has matured as a pitcher more than anyone could ever imagine and his confidence is now through the roof. If Buchholz can lead the beaten up Red Sox into the playoffs, he could very well add a Cy-Young award to his cabinet.

Honorable Mention

Jered Weaver, LAA

Carl Pavano, MIN

Jon Lester, BOS

C.J. Wilson, TEX

John Danks, CHW

Mariano Rivera, NYY

Andy Pettitte, NYY (injury)

Jeff Niemann, TBR (injury)

Rafael Soriano, TBR

Daniel Bard, BOS

EDIT: I took Buchholz's start tonight into consideration, but not Lee's. Buchholz is now the AL leader in ERA, while Lee struggled a bit, and his dropped.