The National League Cy Young Award winner will be announced Thursday at 2 p.m. ET. One of the favorites is the returning Cy Young winner, the Giants' Tim Lincecum. But he'll get competition from a pair of Cardinals aces, former Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Will a Cardinal capture the award, or will Lincecum repeat? Check out below to see how ESPN's experts voted. Who is your choice?

• NL pitching: ERA | QS% | WHIP | K/9 | BAA
• 2009 Cy Young Predictor: National League

THE TOP CONTENDERS

CHRIS CARPENTER, RHP, ST. LOUIS

Carpenter missed time early with a rib-cage strain, but he was only a pain to NL hitters after that. He led the NL in ERA, WHIP and win percentage (.810).

TIM LINCECUM, RHP, SAN FRANCISCO

Lincecum might have been more dominant than '08; he led the league in K's, QS percentage (.81) and batting average against (.206) and was second in ERA and WHIP.

ADAM WAINWRIGHT, RHP, ST. LOUIS

Wainwright, who's already won the NL Gold Glove award, led the NL in wins and innings pitched while ranking fourth in ERA, strikeouts and win percentage.

ESPN'S NL CY YOUNG AWARD PICKS

ESPN'S CHOICE:

TIM LINCECUM

VOTING TOTALS: Lincecum (10), Carpenter (6), Wainwright (5)