Tanner Bibee considered AL Cy Young Honorable Mention

Cleveland Guardians rookie starting pitcher Tanner Bibee has enjoyed an impressive start to his career. So much so that he is being mentioned as one of the top arms in the American League.

Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter put together a list of the Top 5 Cy Young candidates from each league, and Bibee is mentioned. While he is relegated to Honorable Mention status alongside Felix Bautista, Zach Eflin, Kevin Gausman, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Pablo Lopez, Shane McClanahan, Shohei Ohtani, and Eduardo Rodriguez, being the only rookie on the American League side of things is very impressive. The only other rookie when both leagues are taken into account is Kodai Senga of the New York Mets, but considering he is 30 years old, it is not quite the same.

Bibee made his MLB debut much earlier than anticipated this season due to injuries in the Guardians' rotation. Even though this was not the ideal set of circumstances for Bibee, it did not faze him one bit. Bibee has compiled a 3.05 ERA, 1.234 WHIP, and 129 strikeouts in 23 starts (129.2 innings) this season. The 24-year-old right-hander has displayed composure well beyond his years and has become an anchor in Cleveland's rotation.

The pitching performances of Bibee are one of the few reasons why Cleveland truly remained in the playoff mix for as long as they did. Having an arm that they can count on to have a good outing more often than not is not something many teams can confidently say they have. Even as young as Bibee is, the Guardians have been able to count on his stable presence when his turn in the rotation comes up.

It would not be surprising to see Bibee take the step from Honorable Mention to true Cy Young contender as soon as next season if he is able to continue this level of pitching. From what has been seen from his first season, that is something that appears to be on the table.