How Corbin Burnes can make Bleacher Report's wild Cy Young prediction come true

Ever since being acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers late in the offseason, Corbin Burnes has been every bit as good as advertised for the Baltimore Orioles. The team was fortunate to be able to acquire Burnes at a good price and finally add a true ace to their starting rotation. This season, he's 10-4 with a 2.38 ERA in his 20 starts. He's also struck out 116 batters over 124.2 innings.

Burnes even drew the start in the All-Star Game last week for the American League side and tossed a scoreless inning. But now with the second half underway, the pennant races are heating up and the time has come to focus on what may be in store leading up to the postseason.

The Orioles' ace was projected to finish second in the AL Cy Young race behind Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers by Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report.

Corbin Burnes projected to finish second in Cy Young race

Heading into the second half, Burnes had an ERA of 2.43, but he was able to lower it on Friday night with a six-inning, one-run performance that included six strikeouts. He and Seth Lugo are now tied for the best ERA in all of baseball among qualified starters, with Skubal sitting right behind them with a 2.41 mark.

Right now, the Cy Young race in the American League is neck and neck. Burnes certainly has a shot to take home the honors, and if he is able to do that, he'll become the eighth pitcher in Major League history to win the Cy Young in both leagues. He won the National League Cy Young in 2021 with the Brewers.

But the race is very close in the American League, and Burnes has as good of a chance as anybody to win the award. Lugo and Skubal will certainly give him a run for his money, so it will not be easy. But if he stays hot, he'll certainly have a chance to either win it or finish close in the race, as Bleacher Report predicted at the beginning of the second half.