Roy Halladay was the last Toronto Blue Jay to win the American League Cy Young award, capturing the prestigious pitching title in 2003. Fast forward 13 years and the Jays have not one, but two hurlers who could win it this season. So what are the chances either J.A. Happ or Aaron Sanchez take the title as the AL's best pitcher. Let's take a deeper look.

 

Happ surprises many in return to Toronto

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When Toronto signed the former-Jay to a three-year, $36 million contract this winter, not many were excited about it, mostly because he was viewed as David Price's replacement after Price left for the rival Boston Red Sox after a short - but memorable - time in Canada.

Those doubters are probably eating their words right about now.

Happ's first stint in Toronto included serious injuries and mostly mediocre pitching over two-plus seasons before he was traded to the Seattle Mariners for Canadian outfielder Michael Saunders in December 2014. After struggling in Seattle, the M's sent him to the Pittsburgh Pirates at the Trade Deadline last season. And did Happ's fortunes ever turn around. Since late July 2015, the 33-year-old from Illinois has arguably been the best pitcher in all of baseball.

Happ went 7-2 over 11 starts in Pittsburgh, posting a minuscule 1.85 ERA with 69 strikeouts. He wasn't able to pitch in the postseason as the Pirates lost to the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card Game. 

Happ got hot in the stretch run, but does he have what it takes to stay at that level for an entire season? It looks as though he does.

He went 5-0 in his first seven starts and didn't allow over three runs in any contest. Despite having a record of 12-3 with a 3.36 ERA at the All-Star break, Happ still did not get an invite to the mid-summer classic in San Diego. 

The snub hasn't affected Happ one bit. With another solid performance in New York on Wednesday, Happ extended his win streak to 12 straight games. He now has 17 in total (first in the MLB) and has lowered his ERA to 3.05. 

Happ does get a lot of help from his offence as he has the third highest run support (6.42) in the league, right behind Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals and Rick Porcello of the Boston Red Sox.

ESPN has him No. 1 on their 2016 Cy Young Predictor. 

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Sanchez dynamite in first-full year as a starter

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After spending most of 2015 in the bullpen, the Jays gave Sanchez a role in the starting rotation this season and he hasn't looked back.

Sanchez is 12-2 with a 2.84 ERA (third best in the AL), a 1.16 WHIP and 127 strikeouts over 152.1 innings pitched. Not bad for a 24-year-old.    

Unlike Happ, who's far from flashy, Sanchez has been electric for the Jays all year. He throws a mid-90s fastball, has one of better sinkers in the game and has seen vast improvement in his curveball and changeup from a year ago. Marcus Stroman was the Opening Day starter, but Sanchez has been Toronto's ace all season long. 

Despite the great numbers, Sanchez's days in the rotation might be numbered. Whether or not Sanchez should have an innings limit has been a hot topic of discussion all year. Sanchez threw 92 innings last year after throwing just 33 during his rookie campaign in 2014. President Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins could be weary of Sanchez burning himself out or even seriously injuring himself as we enter the stretch run. 

The Jays added Francisco Liriano at the deadline and quickly announced they would be moving to a six-man rotation for the time being. Don't be surprised to see Sanchez in the bullpen at some point in September which would probably hurt his chances at the Cy Young award.

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This year's competition for the Cy Young in the American League is one of the highly contested in recent memory. Not only are the Jays' duo in contention, but plenty of other pitchers have proven they're more than worthy to be a part of the discussion.

For example, Baltimore Orioles closer Zach Britton leads the AL with 37 saves and has allowed just three earned runs (0.54 ERA) over 50 innings this season. 

Rick Porcello has been terrific in his second season with the BoSox, helping fans forget about the disappointing year Price has put together. He's gone 16-3 with a 3.30 ERA and 129 strikeouts, but, similar to Happ, he's getting great run support. Boston averages 6.50 runs during Porcello's starts, second most in the league. 

Cole Hamels, Corey Kluber, Chris Tillman and Chris Sale have been sharp as well and shouldn't be overlooked.

With a month and a half of ball remaining, there's a lot left to be decided and there's no true favourite for the Cy Young.

 

Cy Young Contenders

 
Player Innings Pitched Record ERA WHIP Strikeouts Saves Run Support
J.A. Happ 150.1 17-3 3.05 1.14 133 NA 6.42
Aaron Sanchez 152.1 12-2 2.84 1.16 127 NA 4.91
Rick Porcello 158 16-3 3.3 1.05 127 NA 6.50
Cole Hamels 153.1 12-4 2.88 1.30 149 NA 4.38
Zach Britton 50 2-1 0.54 0.82 59 37 NA
Corey Kluber 163 13-8 3.15 1.02 163 NA 4.58
Chris Tillman 151 15-4 3.46 1.21 126 NA 4.64
Chris Sale 160.2 14-6 3.3 1.04 157 NA 4.70