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Wednesday July 17, 2013

Felix Hernandez has been the face of the Seattle Mariners since 2009 when he won 19 games for their club. He looks to be doing it again in 2013 as he has already won 10. It is the first time in his career that he has won 10 games before the All-Star Break. In 138.2 innings pitched he has struck out 140 batters and has an excellent 2.53 ERA.

By Ryan Ritchey (MLB Reports Writer) Follow @baseballaddicts

The Cy Young Award is always a fun award to predict. There are always three or four great pitchers from each league that could deserve the award. But in the end only one person can get that award and that is why it is so fascinating.

This season is no different. There are three players in my mind from the American League that deserve to be candidates for the Cy Young Award.

Those three players are Bartolo Colon of the Oakland A’s, Max Scherzer of the Detroit Tigers, and Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners.

Who is the front runner? Here is who I have…

First is the King, Felix Hernandez. Every season since he came into the league at the age of 19 in 2005 he has gotten better mentally and physically.

As a young pitcher, he would get frustrated easily on the mound and it would go downhill from there. This season it looks as if he has got his emotions under control and just goes out and pitches.

Hernandez is 10-4 with a 2.53 ERA in an even 20 starts. This is the first season he has won 10 games before the All-Star Break in his nine year career.

Those numbers right there are a lot better than his 13-12 Cy Young season in 2010. He always seems to stay right around a .500 record but I think this is the season he breaks out and wins 20 games for the first time.

There is just one more player better than him that deserves the award more than the King.

Bartolo Colon 2013 Highlights: Mature Lyrics – Please Use Parental Guidance Here

Bartolo Colon of the Oakland A’s is doing it again in 2013 at the age of 40. After winning 10 games last season I thought he was done. But no, he has already won 12 games before the All-Star Break! Bartolo Colon is defying the odds in Oakland and is winning games for the 1st Place A’s.

Next on the list is Bartolo Colon of the first place Oakland A’s. Colon is in his 16th season in the majors at the age of 40 and is in the top three for Cy Young.

That is just amazing. He is 12-3 with a 2.70 ERA and has won two more games at the All-Star Break than he did all of last year.

It might be the atmosphere in Oakland that has brought him back to life but none the less he is pitching well. He is third in the American League in ERA and Wins.

He isn’t a guy you pick in March to be your Cy Young Award winner in October but he is showing everyone that he still has something left in the tank.

He isn’t my front runner for the award but he definitely deserves to be in the discussion as we head into the second half of the season.

Last but not least is Max Scherzer. If you read my article yesterday on MVP candidates you would have seen that I have Scherzer in that race as well.

He is no doubt the best pitcher in the American League right now, but he might be the best in the majors! Scherzer is rocking a 13-1 record, and picking up his first loss on Friday, his last start before the break.

Scherzer is my Cy Young award winner for one simple reason. He just finds a way to get the Win! Yes Brian Kenny will not agree with me on the wins but isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? You are supposed to win games.

That is how you make the playoffs and possibly win a championship.

Max Scherzer is having the best year for any American League starter as we head into the break. How great you ask.. He is now 13-1 with a 3.19 ERA. He is the starting pitcher for American League in the All-Star Game tonight in New York. That’s not all, he is now my front runner for the American League Cy Young Award.

Now its time for the National League which is just as tough as the American League. No one is really running away with it but there are some really good candidates. I could give you a list of six guys that could end up winning the award but here are my top three… 

Adam Wainwright is undoubtedly the ACE of the St. Louis Cardinals and he is showing it in 2013. He is 12-5 with a 2.45 ERA in 20 starts. In 2010 he finished second behind Roy Halladay for the Cy Young Award. We he get over the hump this year and finish first?”

Adam Wainwright is doing it again in 2013. After missing the 2011 season due to Tommy John Surgery, he is back to his normal ways in St. Louis. It isn’t very often that you see a guy on the mound and know he will give you innings to save your bullpen.

Wainwright is that guy for the Cardinals.

Wainwright is 12-5 on the season with a fabulous 2.45 ERA, which is 5th in the National League. He has such great presence on the mound that he knows that he is going win every time out.

That is what is so amazing about him, he not only does it himself but he teaches other pitchers on the staff as well. 

Unfortunately Adam Wainwright comes up a little bit short once again. 

Next on my list is Mets phenom pitcher Matt Harvey. Harvey is having a season for the ages in New York. He will start the All-Star game in his home stadium tonight in front of his home fans.

Pretty awesome right? Here is why he deserves to be the All-Star starter. He is 7-2, should have about 12 wins if it wasn’t for the bullpen, and he has a 2.35 ERA. 

To go along with those numbers he has 147 strikeouts, which leads the National League, in just 130 innings. He is the future of the Mets and their pitching staff and it looks like their future is bright with Harvey.

Does he deserve the MVP? Some would say yes, but I don’t believe he does. He is a close second though… It always seems like the Mets come up just a bit short.

Last on my list and my winner of the 2013 National League Cy Young Award is Clayton Kershaw. He doesn’t have the best record at 8-6 but he is the best pitcher in the league in my opinion.

I’m going to back up Brian Kenny on this one and say that Wins sometimes shouldn’t matter when it comes to the Cy Young. As I said earlier Felix Hernandez was 13-12 when he won the award back in 2010. 

Kershaw has an ERA under 2 at 1.98 and a WHIP under 1 at .98. He is one of two active pitchers to throw a shutout at Coors Field which he did this season. He is also a workhorse on the mound going at least 7 innings in 15 of his 19 starts.

The Dodgers offense hasn’t been great this season but Kershaw has done the best he can do. 

A left handed batter has yet to hit a home run off of Kershaw this season. He is holding opponents to a .186 average, .240 On Base Percentage and .269 slugging percentage.

Those numbers are just unheard of. For those reasons right there, Clayton Kershaw is my National League Cy Young Award Winner. 

Clayton Kershaw is 8-6 with a 2.35 ERA in 2013. Those numbers don’t look like Cy Young numbers but with everything else on his resume he is my Cy Young. Holding opponents to .186 average in unbelievable and deserves to be noticed. The Dodgers offense is picking up and he will get more Wins in the second half and everyone will see that he deserves the National League Cy Young Award.

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com or their partners ***

A big thank-you goes out to Our ‘Baseball Writer‘ Ryan Ritchey for preparing today’s featured article. Ryan is a sophomore at Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky.

Ryan is a huge fan of Barry Larkin and Brandon Phillips  He has been a baseball fan his whole life and has been writing about baseball since his freshman year of High School. You can reach Ryan on Twitter  Follow @mlbreports

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