Cliff Lee and the Top 10 Contenders for the NL Cy Young Award

Major League Baseball has almost finished another complete season. The ultimate prize is obviously a team one: winning the World Series. However, all of these teams are made up of remarkable individual performers who are also hoping to be rewarded in the very near future.

This year, the National League Cy Young Award picture seems extraordinarily crowded.

Cliff Lee and two of his Phillies teammates are obviously near the front of the pack in this race, but the award is far from a given.

Without further ado, here are the 10 top contenders in no particular order for the National League Cy Young Award.

Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies

As the title of the article indicates, Lee is having a phenomenal year after his return to the red-and-white pinstripes. Considered an outsider in the race to get the former free agent, the Phillies managed to pull in the 32-year-old left-hander despite the fact that he received higher offers from other teams.

So far this season, Lee is 12-7 with a 2.83 ERA. He has struck out 177 opponents in 172 innings and has also demonstrated solid control, only surrendering 34 walks so far.

Lee is a fan favorite in Philadelphia. The loyalty that he showed by returning to Philadelphia has been reciprocated by the fans.

It is definitely possible that Lee could be named the Cy Young winner, but he would need something more. There are a few options on this list who have outperformed him so far, so while he will be in the race, he is slightly behind.

Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies

Hamels has finally been able to break away from his disappointing win-loss records from the past few years and is establishing himself as another excellent option in a loaded Phillies rotation.

Hamels is 13-7 with a 2.62 ERA. However, his most impressive statistic is a WHIP of 0.99. Opponents are only hitting .215 against him, and if they do hit the ball, he gets a lot of ground outs. Surprisingly, his ERA is even better at home in a hitter's ballpark than it is on the road, and he has been striking out hitters at a pretty decent rate.

Hamels may very well be ahead of his teammate Lee in this race because of a lower ERA, WHIP and higher Wins above Replacement according to FanGraphs. In fact, he is probably one of the front runners right now in the entire race for the Cy Young. A strong finish would only strengthen his case farther.

Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies

Halladay is the defending Cy Young Award winner, and he has definitely not decreased his performance this year.

He is 15-4 with a very low 2.51 ERA. He has six complete games and is regarded as one of the most durable pitchers in baseball. He has a WHIP of 1.05, which is a testament to his control and limitation of walks.

Halladay has been dominant so far this season, and he is definitely one of the front-runners in this race. He has the name recognition as an established ace and is also having one of the strongest seasons in the National League.

Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

Kershaw is only 23. However, he made his debut in 2008 when he was just a 20-year-old. He came up partway through that season but hasn't looked back since. In the past two seasons and so far through this season, he has never posted an ERA over 3.00.

He is 14-5 with a 2.72 ERA. He has dealt a pair of shutouts already, and opponents are only hitting .212 against him. He also does not surrender very many walks as his WHIP is a very low 1.03. His 193 strikeouts are also evidence of the dominance he has been showing this season.

Kershaw does play for a team that has not been having the best success so far this year. The potential is there for this to either hurt or help his Cy Young bid. Either he will stand out as a star on an under-performing team or he will be forgotten because of his team's lack of performance. He should definitely not be forgotten, and as of right now, he should be thought of as one of the front runners for this award.

Ian Kennedy, Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks have just moved into first place, and Kennedy is a large part of that success. Formerly a hot prospect in the New York Yankees organization, he has come into his own in the desert.

He has arguably the best win-loss record in the National League at 15-3. He has coupled that with a very solid 3.12 ERA and has struck out 142 batters in 170.1 innings.

Kennedy has a very impressive win-loss record, but right now he seems to be slightly outside in the race. However, a strong finish by Arizona could very well move him up the charts and closer to the award.

Jair Jurrjens, Atlanta Braves

Although he is currently on the disabled list, Jurrjens deserves a place on this list. He went into the All-Star break with a 1.87 ERA. That is pretty much amazing for a starting pitcher, and he is definitely one of the strongest parts of a very strong rotation in Atlanta.

He had hit a rocky road since the All-Star game before he landed on the DL, but even after this damage, he is still sitting with a cool 12-4 record and 2.63 ERA. He does not get outs by overpowering hitters as he only has 85 strikeouts in 133.2 innings. However, he more than makes up for this by getting outs any way he can. He has only given up 118 hits this season, and opposing batters are only hitting .238 against him.

This injury may very well knock Jurrjens out of the Cy Young race, but as of right now, he is definitely in the race and could be still in consideration if he returns from his injury in a frenzy.

Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

Quite frankly, "The Freak" has one of the most dominant arms in baseball. He is 27 years old and has already struck out over 1000 batters in his young career. He won back-to-back Cy Young Awards in 2008 and 2009, and he has never suffered a losing season.

This season, he is 11-9 with a 2.58 ERA. He has struck out 175 batters in 164 innings. He gets a lot of ground balls, and opponents have trouble even hitting the ball as he is holding them to a .212 average.

His record is very well what might hold him back this season despite the fact that his ERA is definitely excellent, and he simply overpowers many opponents. If the Giants can take back the West, and Lincecum is able to pick up a handful of wins over the next month and a half, expect him to be near the top of the shortlist for the Cy Young Award.

Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves

It seems as if Hudson has been around forever. From his strong years in Oakland to a continuation of that trend in Atlanta, the 36-year-old is rapidly approaching 200 career wins. At 177, he should be able to reach that milestone in the next few years.

However, he is not just picking up a win every now and then. He is in the midst of another strong season with a record of 12-7 with a 3.18 ERA. Opponents are only batting .227 against him and his WHIP is sitting at a very low 1.09. He walks very few batters and gets a lot of ground ball outs. He is savvy on the mound and does not seem to be slowing down even though he is getting older.

Hudson is definitely on the outside of the Cy Young situation. Despite having a great year, he would need a very strong finish to rise up. Never count him out though because he has proved in his career that he knows how to win.

Ryan Vogelsong, San Francisco Giants

Vogelsong has bounced back and forth from the rotation to the bullpen throughout his career. However, he has never been overly successful in any of these roles. This year has been much different.

He is 10-2. To put this in perspective, he had 10 wins in the rest of his career combined. He has a 2.47 ERA and is holding opponents to a .241 batting average against him. He has 102 strikeouts in 127.2 innings, so that is also a sign that he is effectively getting outs.

What could ultimately hold him back is the lack of innings pitched and strikeouts. However, his wins and ERA are definitely impressive. Vogelsong might not be at the top of the list to win this award, but he does deserve the recognition that he has received.

Yovani Gallardo, Milwaukee Brewers

Gallardo is still young. He is also 25, but he made his debut as a 21-year-old for the Brewers. None of these stats are necessarily the best in each category, but he is near the top of every category which demonstrates why he deserves a place on this list.

He has 13 wins, a 3.67 ERA and 133 strikeouts. He gets a lot of ground balls as well, which results in easy outs. This allows him to go relatively deep into most games, which also adds value. He is also pitching for Milwaukee, which means that he will probably get the run support he needs to keep getting wins.

Gallardo is having an excellent year, and if he can continue to get wins (he is tied for third in the National League in this category), he very well could become a competitor in this race even though he is outside right now.