AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander and the Top 10 Contenders

Without a doubt, Justin Verlander is one of the front-runners for the AL Cy Young award, as he is just simply having a magical year.  He leads the majors in wins, games started, innings pitched, strikeouts, opponent batting average and WHIP.

But is he really the clear-cut front-runner for the award? 

Here's a look at the top 10 candidates for the AL Cy Young and where Justin Verlander lands.

10. Justin Masterson (Indians)

When the Indians acquired Masterson from the Red Sox in the Victor Martinez deal a few years ago, they knew he would eventually be good but weren't expecting it to be this soon.  After the horrible year that he had last year, he showed no signs of becoming the dominant pitcher they were hoping he would be any time soon.

However, he has completely turned it around this season.  He currently has an amazingly low 2.69 ERA.  Even with the acquisition of Ubaldo Jimenez, Masterson is easily Cleveland's best pitcher and has been all year.

After a dominating start, Masterson hit a bit of a rough stretch in the middle of the season that saw his ERA climb some but has since gone back down a lot.  This has allowed him to at least creep into the Cy Young conversation.

Cleveland's success has obviously been a huge surprise this season, and Masterson is a big reason why.  With the rotation being as shaky as it is, he has been the one guy they've been able to rely on all season long, as he has come up big for them time and time again.

If the Indians were to make the postseason, either he or Ubaldo Jimenez would start Game 1 of the ALDS, likely against either the Yankees or Red Sox.

9. Ricky Romero (Blue Jays)

Ricky Romero gets absolutely no attention from the media, and the only reason is because he plays in Toronto.  Romero has been absolutely great so far in his short career.

He is only 26 years old but has an amazingly low career ERA of 3.66.  In fact, his ERA this season is well below his career average, at 2.87.  It's even more impressive considering that he has pitched his entire career in the AL East.

The Blue Jays aren't going to make the playoffs but could play spoiler as contending teams certainly won't want to face Romero late in the season.

Ricky Romero needs to start getting the attention he deserves, as he is one of the best young pitchers in the game.

8. Gio Gonzalez (A's)

Like Ricky Romero, Gio Gonzalez gets nowhere near the attention he deserves because he plays in Oakland. 

Gonzalez had an amazing year last season as well and is just one of the many great pitchers in the Oakland rotation.  Gonzalez's teammate, Trevor Cahill, would have made this list but for some reason has not pitched well over the last few weeks.

Gio would be a lot higher on this list but has hit a rough patch recently.  Not long ago, his ERA was well under three but has recently jumped all the way to 3.36.

Gonzalez is only 25 years old, and like Romero, is also one of the best young pitchers in the game.  You'd think he'd be a big part of the Oakland rotation for years, but the way Billy Beane handles players, you just never know.

As much I hate to admit it, before the season started, I thought Oakland would have a good shot to win over 80 games and maybe even be a slight playoff contender.  They certainly had the rotation and bullpen to win, and then they even went out and signed proven hitters in Josh Willingham, Hideki Matsui and David DeJesus.

The starting rotation and bullpen have held up their end of the deal, but the offense has been a huge flop.

We'll see who Billy Beane chooses to deal in the offseason, but Gio Gonzalez is one guy you'd definitely want to hold onto.

7. Alexi Ogando (Rangers)

Alexi Ogando was a key to the Rangers' run to the World Series last year, as he was nearly unhittable coming out of the bullpen.  In 44 relief appearances last year, he had a 1.30 ERA.

This year the Rangers decided to make him a starter, and so far, it's paying off.  He was nearly impossible to score upon through the first few months of the season.

However, he has had some rough outings lately, which has raised his ERA to 3.33.  Don't let that fool you though, as it has been much lower than that the entire year.

Ogando is only 27 years old and has an absolutely electric arm, as seemingly do most pitchers from the Dominican Republic.  Last year was his first year in the majors, and amazingly, he has a career ERA of 2.87.

It looks like there is a great chance the Rangers will make the playoffs for the second straight season, and it will be interesting to see if Ogando or C.J. Wilson starts Game 1 of the ALDS.

6. Dan Haren (Angels)

Dan Haren, along with Jered Weaver, give the Angels one of the best one-two punches at the top of any rotation in the majors.  Haren has been so good for the Angels that very early on, you could debate that he was at one point having a better year than Weaver.

Weaver finally separated himself as the best pitcher on that staff, but Haren is a very solid No. 2, and would be a No. 1 on most staffs.

He was having a surprisingly bad year last season with Arizona, when they decided to make a surprise move and trade him to the Angels at the deadline.  It was a surprise move because the Angels were basically out of playoff contention at the time.

The move is sure paying off this season, as the Angels are in the thick of the AL West race.  Haren currently has a 2.95 ERA and has already thrown two complete game shutouts this year.

He has an extremely low career ERA of 3.58 and is yearly one of the best pitchers in the game.

5. CC Sabathia (Yankees)

Most people would have Sabathia higher on this list, but don't let his numbers fool you.  Yes, his 16-7 record is pretty impressive, but he can afford to give up three or four runs a game and still get the win.  Heck, almost any decent pitcher could go out there with that offense and win 16 games.

His 2.93 ERA is solid, but there are plenty of pitchers in the American League with better ones.

The media is trying to hype him up as one of the top two or three pitchers worthy of the Cy Young, but there are plenty of pitchers who are more deserving.

It's also hard to ignore the fact that he wasn't necessarily pitching great throughout much of the first half.  He was very mediocre at times early on but has picked it up a bit recently to lower his ERA into the 2-range.

It's also hard to ignore the fact that against New York's biggest challenger, the Red Sox, he's been terrible this year.  They have beaten him numerous times already this season and seem to have no trouble against him.

This could come into play if the two teams were to meet in the ALCS.  It could potentially give the Red Sox a big boost knowing that they were to face Sabathia in Game 1.

4. James Shields (Rays)

James Shields is having an absolute monster year with the Rays.  Surprisingly, he, not Jeremy Hellickson or David Price, has been their best pitcher this year.

What has been most impressive about Shields this year is how dominant he has been at times.  Amazingly, he leads the majors with nine complete games.  Even more impressive, he has thrown four complete game shutouts, which is tied for the AL lead.

Shields has been the definition of an ace this season, going deep into games countless times.  He is certainly having the best year of his career.

Even though the Rays are well over .500, they are likely out of the playoff picture because of the division they play in.  Because of this, there was a lot of talk that Shields would likely have been available at the trading deadline.  If he had been available, he would've been the most sought after starting pitcher, ahead of guys such as Ubaldo Jimenez and Erik Bedard.

However, the Rays smartly held onto him.  Shields has always had the "stuff" to be a great pitcher but has had trouble putting it all together at times.  That was the case last year when he had an ERA over five.

He has certainly put it all together this year, and the Rays should hold onto him for as long as they can.

3. Josh Beckett (Red Sox)

Josh Beckett is finally looking like the Beckett of old again.  He has returned to his 2007 form, when he was so dominant with the Red Sox.  He won 20 games that year, had an ERA barely over three and almost won the Cy Young award.

He's not going to win 20 games this year, but his ERA should be well under his 2007 mark of 3.27.  Beckett's ERA is currently 2.40, which is not only third best in the AL, but in all of baseball.

The Red Sox have been carried by their offense this year, but Beckett has been a huge bright spot in the rotation.  Actually, he has been one of the few positives in Boston's rotation.

Daisuke Matsuzaka has been a complete disaster and is out for the year.  John Lackey has been a disaster as well, with an ERA over six.  Clay Buchholz was doing well, until he was injured and likely out for the year.  Jon Lester has been the only other consistent starter, but even he has spent time on the DL.

Beckett has been there the whole year for them, and at times, they've really needed him.  He will likely be a huge factor in deciding how far the Red Sox go in the playoffs.

2. Jered Weaver (Angels)

Jered Weaver has basically been amazing all year for the Angels, except for a little rough patch he hit in May.  He and Dan Haren sure form a solid one-two punch.

Weaver is just one of the many great pitchers in the AL West, as they are seemingly loaded with great starting pitching.  Even though his 2.13 ERA leads all of baseball, it has actually been below two for much of the year.

As mentioned above, Weaver and Dan Haren have been amazing all year for Los Angeles, but there's another pitcher in the LA rotation who deserves to be mentioned: Ervin Santana.  These three have been tremendous lately for the Angels, but so far, it hasn't been enough, as they are currently in second place in the AL West.

If they are able to overtake the Rangers or even win the Wild Card, they would be a tough out in the playoffs, seeing as how they would have Weaver, Haren, and Santana at the top of their rotation.

1. Justin Verlander (Tigers)

Justin Verlander has been the best pitcher in baseball this year.  He is the front-runner for the Cy Young award, and certainly deserves to win it.

When looking at his stats, it is amazing to see which categories he all leads in.  His ERA currently sits at 2.31, which is second in the majors.  He has 18 wins, which is better than any other pitcher.

Not only does he have 18 wins, but his 18-5 record is better than any other pitcher as well.

Verlander has thrown more pitches than any other starter this year.  In fact, he has thrown at least 100 pitches in every single start.

He leads the Majors in strikeouts and is actually 28 ahead of the AL pitcher with the second most.

Detroit has needed Verlander countless times this year to get a win, and he has come through almost every time.

If the Tigers make the playoffs, they will have a great chance of winning their first game with Verlander on the mound.

Verlander has certainly proven himself countless times that he deserves the award, and it is looking like the media agrees.