Ranking the top 5 NL Cy Young contenders following Justin Steele's latest masterpiece

2) Ranking the top 5 NL Cy Young contenders: Justin Steele of the Chicago Cubs

With the way Steele finished last season maybe he shouldn't have been such a surprise, but Justin Steele has been not only one of the best pitchers in the National League, but in all of baseball.

A lot of the talk this season surrounding Cubs pitchers had been revolving around Marcus Stroman who was sensational in the first half, but Steele has taken over as the team's unquestioned ace, and deservingly so.

The 28-year-old has gone 16-3 with a 2.55 ERA in 26 starts and 152 innings of work. He's allowed just seven home runs in those innings and leads the league with 0.7 HR/9. He also leads the league with a 168 ERA+. He was an all-star, and is helping lead the Cubs in their quest to the postseason.

Steele just delivered his best start of the season and arguably the best of his career on Monday afternoon against the Giants. He pitched eight brilliant innings allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out 12. He dominated another NL Wild Card contender and outdueled Logan Webb, another outside Cy Young candidate.

The main thing holding Steele back is the fact that he missed some time due to injury. Even with that being said, he only has three fewer innings pitched than the guy I'd deem the leader at this moment, so Steele has every chance to take that top spot.