Justin Verlander Wins AL Cy Young: Top 10 Candidates To Win the Award Next Year

In what comes as a surprise to, well, no one, Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander has won the American League Cy Young Award, becoming the sixth AL pitcher to receive all 28 first-place votes.*

To be honest, Verlander could have been handed the award at the All-Star Game, because the race was over at that point.

His 2011 season was that good.

For the rest of the hurlers in the AL, 2012 brings a fresh start, a clean slate and renewed hope that they can bring home the most coveted pitching award around.

Thus, without further ado and in no particular order, let's take a look at the top 10 AL Cy Young contenders in 2012.

*Verlander is the ninth unanimous AL Cy Young Award winner, but the feat has been accomplished by only six pitchers: Denny McLain (1968), Ron Guidry (1978), Roger Clemens (1986, 1998), Pedro Martinez (1999, 2000), Johan Santana (2004, 2006) and Verlander.

3 Pitchers Who Missed the Cut

James Shields, Tampa Bay Rays

His 2011 season was very impressive, and he was the runner-up to Verlander in the voting.

But it was also very un-Shields-like.

Prior to this season, Shields' average season looked like this: 11-10, 4.25 ERA, 1.28 WHIP.

His numbers in 2011: 16-12, 2.82 ERA, 1.04 WHIP.

We'll need to see that this season wasn't a fluke before we can call him a serious contender for 2012.

C.J. Wilson, Free Agent

He could very well end up in the National League, so we'll have to wait until he signs somewhere before bringing him into the discussion.

Ubaldo Jimenez, Cleveland Indians

After joining the Indians at the trade deadline, Jimenez was a disaster in the American League, going 4-4 with a 5.10 ERA and 1.45 WHIP for the Tribe.

He will need to vastly improve before he can enter the conversation.

2 Pitchers Who Could Surprise Everyone and Contend

Matt Moore, Tampa Bay Rays

Sure, he only has 9.1 innings and three major-league games under his belt, but Moore could emerge as the best pitcher on a very deep Tampa staff in 2012. This lefty is that good, and nobody should be surprised if he is in the discussion.

Michael Piñeda, Seattle Mariners

After a very impressive first half of 2011, the soon-to-be 23-year-old righty faded down the stretch. If he is able to maintain his performance for an entire season, he could find himself in the discussion.

Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

2011 Stats: 24-5, 2.40 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 251 IP, 250 K

Of course, being the reigning Cy Young winner, Justin Verlander tops the list of contenders for the award in 2012.

He will look to become the first American League pitcher to win back-to-back awards since Pedro Martinez won consecutive awards in 1999 and 2000.

Repeating his 2011 season will be an incredibly hard thing to do—his ERA was more than a run lower then his career mark, and he set career highs in wins, ERA, innings pitched and WHIP.

Still in the prime of his career and on a team that will look to improve the defense behind him and offense supporting him, the soon-to-be 29-year-old has as good a chance as anyone to take home the award in 2012.

CC Sabathia, New York Yankees

2011 Stats: 19-8, 3.00 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 237.1 IP, 230 K

While Justin Verlander ran away with the award, CC Sabathia was making a case for himself in the first half of the 2011 season, going 13-4 with a 2.72 ERA and 1.16 WHIP up until the All-Star break.

As the season wore on and his weight ballooned, his performance suffered, and any chance he had of being a contender disappeared.

Sabathia, 31, remains one of the 10 best starting pitchers in the game.

With a potent Yankees offense backing him up, Sabathia will need to watch his weight in order to maintain his performance for the entire season and have a real chance to unseat Verlander as the reigning champ.

Jered Weaver, Anaheim Angels

2011 Stats: 18-8, 2.41 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 235.2 IP, 198 K

In any other year, 29-year-old Jered Weaver likely would have won the award.

His 2011 season was simply outstanding, resulting in a second-place finish, the second year that he has finished in the top five of voting—he finished fifth in 2010.

While we can expect Weaver to maintain his high level of performance, one has to wonder when, not if, the Angels' lack of offense catches up to him and his win total suffers as a result.

Their 667 runs scored—4.12 per game—ranked 10th in the American League and below the league averages of 723 and 4.46 respectively.

Assuming Weaver can continue to overcome the shortcomings of the team's offense, he remains a legitimate contender to take home the award each and every season.

Gio Gonzalez, Oakland Athletics

2011 Stats: 16-12, 3.12 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 202 IP, 197 K

Expected to be the No. 2 starter on the staff behind Trevor Cahill, 26-year-old Gio Gonzalez was the shining star in what was a fairly dismal season for the Oakland A's.

With Billy Beane still running the show in Oakland, the talented lefty could find himself traded to another team or out of the American League altogether before the beginning of next season.

But assuming he stays put, Gonzalez will look to improve upon a season that saw him lead the league in walks with 91.

Assuming that happens, there is no reason why Gonzalez could not find himself in contention for the award in 2012 and beyond, as he is only now entering the prime years of his career.

Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees

2011 Stats: 1-2, 1.91 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 61.1 IP, 60 K, 44 SV

The greatest relief pitcher who ever lived, and arguably one of the 10 most dominating pitchers the game has ever seen, Mariano Rivera will remain a contender for the Cy Young Award until he retires.

Over the course of his career, Rivera has had six top-10 finishes, twice finishing third and once finishing second.

Soon to be 42, Rivera has shown no signs of slowing down to date, and we should not expect anything but "classic Mo" in 2012.

Next year will mark the 20-year anniversary of Oakland's Dennis Eckersley becoming the last relief pitcher in the American League to win the award—how fitting would it be for a closer to mark the occasion with another win?

Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

2011 Stats: 14-14, 3.27 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 233.2 IP, 222 K

"King Felix," the 2010 recipient of the award, has cemented himself as one of the best pitchers in the game.

Although he already has seven seasons under his belt, the uber-talented righty is still only 25 years old.

His fortunes could be helped by an improved Seattle Mariners offense, one that was the most inept in the American League in 2011, scoring a league-low 556 runs, an average of 3.43 per game.

Regardless of whether the Mariners' bats improve, Hernandez is a perennial Cy Young candidate who could take home the award in any given season.

Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox

2011 Stats: 13-7, 2.89 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 193 IP, 175 K

While the Boston Red Sox imploded down the stretch in 2011, Josh Beckett was seemingly more interested in drinking beer and eating fried chicken than he was in leading a pitching staff that sorely lacked direction.

The 31-year-old righty, when healthy, is the ace of a Boston Red Sox team that has one of the more potent offenses in the game.

Assuming the Red Sox can get their other issues resolved and he can put his injury issues behind him, Beckett finds himself in a position where he could improve upon his impressive 2011 numbers next year.

Dan Haren, Anaheim Angels

2011 Stats: 16-10, 3.17 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 238 IP, 192 K

Like his teammate Jered Weaver, 31-year-old righty Dan Haren put forth an impressive 2011 campaign in spite of the disappointing offense in Anaheim.

Haren, who finished seventh in this year's voting, finds himself in a situation similar to what sluggers Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder will face next week when the National League MVP is named—teammates taking votes away from each other.

While the argument could be made that Haren is Robin while Weaver is Batman, the sidekick in this dynamic duo is more than capable of winning the award in 2012.

David Price, Tampa Bay Rays

2011 Stats: 12-13, 3.49 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 224.1 IP, 218 K

After finishing second in the 2010 voting, big things were expected from the 26-year-old lefty.

Instead, Price struggled, allowing career highs in hits (192) and home runs (22).

All was not lost in 2011, however, as Price set career bests in strikeouts and WHIP.

His 8.7 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 were improvements over his impressive 2010 season.

He enters 2012 looking to get himself back on track and ready to assert himself as the unquestioned ace of what is a very deep Tampa Bay rotation.

Ricky Romero, Toronto Blue Jays

2011 Stats: 15-11, 2.92 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 225 IP, 178 K

In the '80s, New York introduced us to LL Cool J, the rapper-turned-actor.

In the, um, whatever we are calling this decade, Toronto has introduced us to RR Cool J, the current ace of the Blue Jays pitching staff.

A 27-year-old lefty, Romero finished 10th in the 2011 voting, sandwiched between Boston's Josh Beckett and New York's David Robertson.

What the Blue Jays do to improve the team around him this offseason, one in which they are expected to be major players, will go a long way in helping Romero's candidacy in 2012.