St. Louis Cardinals: Is Cardinals Rookie Lance Lynn a Cy Young Contender?

There has only been one rookie in MLB history to win the Cy Young Award, and his name was Fernando Valenzuela. Valenzuela won the award back in 1981. 31 years later, Lance Lynn is trying to become just the second rookie to ever win the award. The question, though, is can he do it?

Lynn is off to a great start, winning every decision so far this year. He has gone five-plus innings each start, never giving up more then two runs. He is only averaging one run allowed per outing, and opponents are batting just a mere .168 against Lynn so far this season.

Lynn was not even supposed to be in the rotation at the start of the year, but since Chris Carpenter went down with an injury, Lynn came out of the bullpen to replace him. Fans were expecting fifth starter material, where Lynn just went out, pitched decently and the team walked away with the occasional win. However, Lynn has proven that he does not want to be that fifth starter. Rather, he wants to be a top pitcher in this league.

He is getting his chance to shine and he has taken over the reigns for the Cardinals.

The question remains, though, what will happen to Lynn when Carpenter returns?

Carpenter's timetable of return is still questionable. It is still going to be at least a month until he comes back. But when he does, what will happen to Lynn. If Lynn is still pitching as he is right now, should he move back to the bullpen to make room for Carpenter? On the other hand, should Carpenter get some time in the bullpen to help ease his recovery. Mike Matheny will have some questions about that when the time comes, but right now, all he is focused on is helping Lance Lynn to become an even better pitcher.

ESPN's MLB Cy Young Award Predictor has Lynn as the early favorite for the Cy Young. For the 10 years the predictor has been out, it has correctly picked the NL Cy Young winner seven times. According to the predictor, Lynn has the most chance out of every major league pitcher to win the Cy Young—even better then Jered Weaver, who just recently threw a no-hitter.

Lynn so far has my vote for NL Cy Young, but it's early in the season and anything could happen. He could go on to pitch like he is right now, or he could slow down and have an average season. No matter how it pans out, though, Lance Lynn has shown that he can be a top pitcher in the league and that he will be a dangerous pitcher in the years to come.