Oakland Athletics: Trevor Cahill Leading the AL Cy Young Race

Trevor Cahill, age 23, has exceeded all expectations in the early going of the 2011 MLB season. 

Cahill was 18-8 last season with a 2.97 ERA. He had a 118:63 strikeout to walk ratio. 

Cahill has now started off the 2011 season with a 6-0 record, which is tied for best in the American League. His ERA is a very low 1.72, which is best in the American League. 

His strikeout to walk ratio this season is 45:16. He has a WHIP of 1.09 as well. 

Two other pitchers in the AL have six wins also. Jered Weaver came out the gates on fire winning his first six starts. Since that hot start, Weaver has lost his last two starts. 

Detroit Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer has matched Cahill's 6-0 start. Scherzer has nearly double the ERA of Cahill though, at 3.60.

There are plenty of great pitchers in the AL like David Price, C.C. Sabathia, and last year's AL Cy Young award winner Felix Hernandez. Winning the 2011 AL Cy Young will not be easy.

The only thing that will hurt Cahill in the long going is the fact that the A's offense is less than stellar. The A's have scored a total of 129 runs this season, which is 27th worst. 

Cahill pitches in the pitcher-friendly Oakland Coliseum, which bodes well for Cahill. 

If Cahill continues on with his hot start, he will easily be leading the AL Cy Young talks when the season is over. 

A's fans have had to sit and watch as Tim Lincecum has won two Cy Young awards across the bay in the last few years. This may finally be the year that the A's get to celebrate a Cy Young of their own— the last was Barry Zito in 2002.