With the baseball season already two months in, pitchers are starting to really establish themselves as top candidates for the 2009 NL and AL Cy Young award. Here is the updated list of candidates for this prestigious award:
American League
1. Zach Greinke: Kansas City Royals, 8-1, 0.90 ERA, 88 K's
Although the Royals have recently struggled, Greinke has kept pitching beautifully. He gave up three earned runs today to raise his ERA to 0.90. He is still the top candidate for the Cy Young.
2. Roy Halladay: Toronto Blue Jays, 8-1, 2.63 ERA, 68 K's
No matter how Toronto is doing, Halladay continues to pitch consistently. He remains one of the best pitchers in the majors. Barring injuries, he could be headed for Cooperstown.
3. Mark Buehrle: Chicago White Sox, 6-1, 2.71 ERA, 42 K's
Buehrle is one of the main reasons the White Sox are not out of the AL Central race. He continues to pitch consistently. He doesn't look like he is slowing down anytime soon.
4. Jared Weaver: Los Angeles Angels, 4-2, 2.36 ERA, 53 K's
The Angels seem to be playing better after a slow start. Weaver is one of the reasons why. Although he is not getting great run support, he is still having a fantastic start to the 2009 season.
5. Edwin Jackson: Detroit Tigers, 5-3, 2.30 ERA
Jackson has been a fantastic addition to the Tigers rotation this season. After a breakout 2008 season with the Rays, Jackson is continuing to mature into a fantastic starting pitcher.
Honorable Mention:
Erik Bedard, Joe Saunders, Felix Hernandez, CC Sabathia, Justin Verlander
National League
1. Johan Santana: New York Mets, 7-2, 1.77 ERA, 86 K's
Most players are not worth the huge money they sign. Santana may be close. He continues to be an absolutely dominating starting pitcher for the Mets.
2. Matt Cain: San Fransisco Giants, 6-1, 2.31 ERA, 45 K's
Cain has struggled with lack of run support the last two seasons. It doesn't seem to be bothering him as much this year. Cain is having a breakout season. The Giants are definitely thrilled about this.
3. Chad Billingsley: Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-3, 2.80 ERA, 76 K's
Billingsley continues to be an impressive ace of the Dodgers pitching staff. He has lost a couple of games lately, but his stats show that he is still a top-of-the-rotation pitcher.
4. Jair Jurrjens: Atlanta Braves, 5-2, 2.59 ERA, 40 K's
Although Derek Lowe and Javier Vasquez have been pitching pretty well for the Braves, it has been Jurrjens who has taken over as the team's ace. He seems to get better and better every start.
5. Tim Lincecum: San Fransisco Giants, 4-1, 3.03 ERA, 84 K's
Lincecum has struggled a bit lately. That is why he is further down on the list. I imagine he will be one of the top candidates by the end of the season. He is that good!
Honorable Mention:
Johnny Cueto, Yovani Gallardo, Adam Wainwright, Josh Johnson, Randy Wolf
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