Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin of South Korea has earned his second straight nomination for the Cy Young Award, the top annual pitching prize in U.S. Major League Baseball(MLB).

The Baseball Writers' Association of America(BBWAA) on Tuesday announced three finalists for the American League(AL) - Ryu, Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Indians and Kenta Maeda of the Minnesota Twins.

The 33-year-old South Korean, who finished fourth in the AL with a two-point-69 ERA, ranked in the top three in the voting, which was completed at the end of the regular season in late September.

While pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers last year, Ryu finished second to Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets for the National League(NL) Cy Young Award, becoming the first South Korean pitcher to be nominated for the top prize.

Another South Korean in the MLB, Kim Kwang-hyun of the St. Louis Cardinals, who posted a one-point-62 ERA this past season, wasn't named one of the three finalists for the Rookie of the Year Award.

The winners will be announced on November 11.