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This year's AL Cy Young voting is going to be a quirky yet interesting case. I honestly believe that there are many candidates for the award. Some people that I think are candidates could be a little outrageous and yet others are a no-brainer. Let's go through the list of potential AL Cy Young candidates.

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Clay Buchholz
Boston Red Sox
17-7, 2.33 ERA, 120 K

I realized last night that Clay Buchholz was the real deal when he let up only one earned run over eight innings against the White Sox. Buchholz, like Lester, has a problem: he’s pitching for a third-place team. Buchholz will not get the recognition from them media that he deserves. But give him time, you will see the him and Lester progress to being the top pitchers in baseball.

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Trevor Cahill
Oakland A’s
17-8, 3.08 ERA, 112 K

Cahill is the next dominant pitcher in the Oakland A’s organization. The A’s always seem to produce a great pitcher year-after-year and Cahill is the latest one. He’s pitching for a losing team but you have to give him some Cy Young potential with a 17-8 record for a team that was in contention for the AL West for quite some time. Cahill is an up and coming force to be reckoned with. I like this kid a lot. He will grow into a champion.

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Felix Hernandez
Seattle Mariners
12-12, 2.31 ERA, 227 K

I’m pretty sure that his numbers speak for himself. Hernandez is pitching for the Mariners so he doesn’t get much run support, hence why he as a lowly 12-12 record. But that 2.31 ERA and 227 strikeouts are hard to argue with when talking about the Cy Young Award. The most he let up in a loss was seven runs, and that only happened twice. Hernandez is a franchise pitcher and the Mariners need more offense to back up this flamethrower.

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Jon Lester
Boston Red Sox
19-8, 2.96 ERA, 220 K

Lester has great numbers but the only problem here is that he’s pitching for a third place team. The Red Sox poor offensive showing has overshadowed their great pitching this season. It is a shame that Lester may not get consideration.

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David Price
Tampa Bay Rays
18-6, 2.84 ERA, 179 K

Probably the greatest challenge to CC is Price. In the last two games that Price faced Sabathia, the Rays have come out victorious. Price is 2-1 against the division foes with a 4.39 ERA in four games. Price has proved himself to be dominant but it could come down to who wins the division to see who comes out on top for Cy Young.

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C.C. Sabathia
New York Yankees
20-7, 3.26 ERA, 189 K

Sabathia could be the obvious case for Cy Young. His phenomenal pitching has kept the Yankees in the race for the AL East crown. In his last ten starts, Sabathia is 7-2 with a 3.41 ERA and 62 strikeouts. Why not give him the Cy Young?

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Joakim Soria
Kansas City Royals
1-2, 1.55 ERA, 69 K, 42/44 SV

Soria is probably not even a real candidate but I thought I’d mention him because he has 42 saves...on the ROYALS. The Royals have a record of 64-92 and Soria has saved over 50 percent of games for them. He has the lowest ERA coming out of their bullpen and will be a key component if the franchise decides it wants to win this century.

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Overall, I believe that CC Sabathia will be the 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner. Sabathia has  basically carried the team on his back in the absence of Andy Pettitte while the team was busy shifting Phil Hughes from the rotation to the bullpen and back again. Sabathia’s 20-7 record speaks for itself when it comes to Cy Young talk.

However, do not count out Felix Hernandez or David Price. It would be odd to see Hernandez win with a 12-12 record right now but his ERA and strikeout total are extraordinary. Price is a key component in the Rays rotation and without him, I don’t think the Rays are still a contender for the AL East crown.

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