MLB Awards: Top 5 AL Cy Young candidates through June

5. David Price – 16 GS, 7-2, 2.62 ERA, 100 K, 2.1 WAR

Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

David Price has had hotter stretches in his professional career since coming over to the AL Central’s Detroit Tigers. Though he is still one of the finer heads of a rotation in the American League, the southpaw was left off the All-Star squad last season while leading the league in first half strikeouts with 164. Overall, he ended up topping Hernandez and Corey Kluber by leading MLB with 271 whiffs. It was the third highest total of the 2000’s in the AL since Yu Darvish‘s 277 in 2013 and Pedro Martinez‘s 284 in 2000.

Price is off that same pace some in 2015, ranking 15th with 100 through the month of June. With a very healthy 2.87 FIP and a BB/9 exactly where it was last season at 1.7, the Tigers’ ace can be expected to have a strong second half. Detroit is caught amidst a brutally competitive AL Central division this year. Price is no stranger to being able to shoulder the load during a stretch run as he did during his days in Tampa.

Conversely, if the Tigers have a terrible July and fall further back in the standings from the Royals and Twins in the division, the club could sell high on Price and trade him to a contender for a rather healthy bounty. This could make for an interesting development. The 29-year-old was awarded a record $19.75 million salary through arbitration and will become a free agent before the 2016 season.

Next: Number 4