Chicago Cubs May Have Cy Young Race Front Runner After Recent Voting

The Chicago Cubs have started to falter down the stretch in the final month of the season. They have dropped two straight series, first losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks then the Colorado Rockies with their loss on Wednesday.

They now sit four games back of the NL Central leading Milwaukee Brewers and reality is starting to hit that they might not catch them for the division crown.

The Cubs will need to focus on maintaining their Wild Card position if they want to make the 2023 postseason. They currently hold the second spot in the NL, two games clear of the Cincinnati Reds and Diamondbacks.

While Chicago has started to fizzle out, their ace has not.

Justin Steele has continued to pitch well and his now the frontrunner to win the NL Cy Young award according to 39 voters who were polled by MLB.com.

The lefty received 14 first-place votes, with the second-place finisher Blake Snell receiving 10.

According to MLB.com, "Voters were asked to rank their top five in each league. Pitchers received points on a 5-4-3-2-1 scale -- five points for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote and so on."

After the votes were tallied, Steele sits in first-place, surpassing Arizona's ace Zac Gallen, who has been the top choice by voters in the poll all season.

The Cubs' ace has a great argument to win the award. He has the second most wins in the league with 16 and the second lowest ERA with 2.49. Steele also has at least two fewer starts than the rest of the candidates on the list, allowing him to catch up in statistical categories he's currently lacking.

Steele is expected to make his next start on Friday against the Diamondbacks, in a series that has massive playoff implications.