Verlander and Kershaw Win Pitching Triple Crowns; Most Likely Will Win Cy Youngs

Well, I was going to make Cy Young slideshows for potential candidates in each league, but there's relatively no need to.

As the season draws to an end, Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers have both captured the pitching Triple Crown.

The pitching version of the Triple Crown is awarded to a pitcher that can lead his league in wins, strikeouts and ERA.

Let's start with Kershaw. Kershaw finished the season with 21 wins, tied with Ian Kennedy of the Diamondbacks. It doesn't matter if they're tied, though. He leads the majors with a 2.28 ERA and notched 248 strikeouts, best in the NL. Not that it matters for the Triple Crown, but he is also tied for the NL lead with a 0.98 WHIP.

Kershaw doesn't have much competition at all. The only one who really comes close to opposing him is last year's NL Cy Young winner, Roy Halladay. Kershaw has a lead in every main category I listed above. The only thing Halladay has over Kershaw this season is a playoff berth, but that shouldn't make much of a difference.

Justin Verlander, the AL Triple Crown winner, has also put together an amazing season. He leads the AL easily in wins with 24, with the next closest being 19. He also has a very solid lead in strikeouts with 250, the next best being 230. Verlander barely beat out Weaver in ERA, notching a 2.40 ERA compared to Weaver's 2.41.

Once again, despite it not mattering as much, Verlander leads the majors in WHIP with a 0.92 mark.

Verlander's only threats are Jered Weaver and CC Sabathia, but they aren't exactly threats. The Detroit Tigers' playoff berth and division title most likely will clinch the Cy Young award for Verlander.