King Felix, Sale rate as Cy Young favorites

Look around the American League, and you'll find plenty of great hitters.

There's Mike Trout in Los Angeles, Jose Abreu right here on the South Side and Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez in Detroit.

Keep going with Robinson Cano in Seattle, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista in Toronto and Michael Brantley in Cleveland.

On the pitching side, the AL lost three of its best arms to free agency during the off-season. Max Scherzer moved from Detroit to Washington, James Shields left Kansas City for San Diego and Jon Lester joined the Cubs after pitching for Boston and Oakland last year.

Taking a look at the league's Cy Young race this season, the three top finishers - Cleveland's Corey Kluber, Seattle's Felix Hernandez and the White Sox' Chris Sale - all return and should again be big factors.

Here is my projected order of finish:

Felix Hernandez

"King Felix" won the Cy Young in 2010 and was second last year and in 2009.

Still young at 28, Hernandez appears to finally be on a Mariners team that is a legitimate playoff contender, so that boosts his cause.

And Hernandez can still pitch, as he proved again last season.

The right-hander was 15-6 and his 2.14 ERA was a career low. So were the 46 walks, while he established a career high with 248 strikeouts.

As for durability, Hernandez has pitched at least 200 innings in each of the last seven seasons and shows no signs of slowing down.

Chris Sale

The Sox' ace finished third in the Cy Young voting last season despite missing 6 starts with a strained left flexor muscle.

If Sale can ever stay healthy for a full season, he should win the award. Sale, who turned 26 Monday, had a flexor strain last year, mild shoulder soreness in 2013 and a tender elbow in '12.

Even with the health issues, Sale has quickly established himself as one of the top starters in baseball.

Last season, the left-hander was 12-4 while leading the league in strikeouts per 9 innings (10.76) and finishing second in ERA (2.17) and WHIP (0.97).

The injury bug bit Sale again in spring training. On Feb. 27, he fractured his right foot and has yet to pitch in a Cactus League game.

Sale is scheduled to throw 90 pitches in a minor-league game Wednesday and is on track to make his first regular-season start on April 12, against the Twins at U.S. Cellular Field.

Corey Kluber

Widely unknown before the 2014 season, Kluber went 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA for the Indians and edged out Hernandez for the Cy Young.

Can the right-hander do it again?

The AL hasn't had a back-to-back Cy Young Award winner since Boston's Pedro Martinez in 1999-200, so the odds are not in Kluber's favor.

There is no doubt he is a nice story, especially when you consider Kluber spent nearly six years in the minor leagues and was viewed as a relief pitcher earlier in his career.

But the pressure of defending his Cy Young crown and facing hitters with some added motivation are going to be tough challenges for Kluber this season.

Honorable mention:

With Scherzer gone, David Price takes over as the Tigers' No. 1 starter. Acquired in a trade from Tampa Bay at the July 31 trade deadline last year, Price was a so-so 4-4 with a 3.59 ERA in 11 starts with Detroit.

The left-hander is still young (29), and Price was the 2012 Cy Young Award winner.

Alex Cobb takes over for Price as the Rays' top starter, but he has been slowed with forearm tendinitis this spring.

Expected to come back strong early in the season, Cobb had a 2.87 ERA last season and a 2.76 ERA in 2013.