Dylan Cease

Dylan Edward Cease (born December 28, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019.

Amateur career

Cease attended Milton High School in Milton, Georgia. Pitching for the school's baseball team, his fastball velocity averaged , while peaking at . In games that he did not pitch, Cease played shortstop. In 2013, his junior year, Milton won the state championship in baseball. Cease also appeared in a second straight state championship series, but lost to Lambert High School. Cease committed to attend Vanderbilt University on a college baseball scholarship to play for the Vanderbilt Commodores. During the summer seasons, Cease competed for Team Elite out of Winder, GA, and excelled, earning him an invitation to the Perfect Game National Showcase and Perfect Game All-American Classic.

In August 2013, prior to Cease's senior year at Milton, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com considered Cease to be a potential first-round draft choice in the upcoming 2014 MLB draft. Cease left a game during his senior season, on March 3, 2014, due to elbow soreness, which was later diagnosed as a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) of the elbow in his pitching arm.

Professional career

Chicago Cubs

As a result of his injury, Cease fell in the draft, and the Chicago Cubs selected him in the sixth round. He signed with the Cubs, receiving a $1.5 million signing bonus, well above the $269,500 recommended at that slot. After he signed, he underwent Tommy John surgery to repair the UCL. He resumed throwing in May 2015, and pitched for the Arizona Cubs of the Rookie-level Arizona League. At the end of the 2015 season, '' Baseball America'' rated Cease as the second-best prospect in the Arizona League. He spent the 2016 season with the Eugene Emeralds of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, where he posted a 2–0 win–loss record with a 2.22 earned run average and 66 strikeouts in innings pitched.

Cease began the 2017 season with the South Bend Cubs of the Class A Midwest League. Cease had a 1-2 record with a 2.79 ERA in 13 starts for South Bend.

Chicago White Sox

On July 13, 2017, the Cubs traded Cease, Eloy Jiménez, Matt Rose, and Bryant Flete to the Chicago White Sox for José Quintana. The White Sox assigned him to the Kannapolis Intimidators of the Class A South Atlantic League. In 22 total games between South Bend and Kannapolis, Cease posted a 1-10 record with a 3.28 ERA along with 126 strikeouts in a career high innings pitched.

Cease began the 2018 season with the Winston-Salem Dash of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League, and earned a midseason promotion to the Birmingham Barons of the Class AA Southern League. Cease was selected to represent the White Sox at the 2018 All-Star Futures Game. The White Sox added Cease to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season.

Cease opened the 2019 season with the Charlotte Knights of the Class AAA International League. On July 3, the White Sox promoted him to the major leagues. In his debut he pitched five innings, allowed three runs, struck out six batters, and earned the win. He finished the season with a 4–7 record and a 5.79 ERA in 73 innings. In 2020 he was 5-4 with a 4.01 ERA. He led the AL in walks, with 34.

On May 4, 2021, Dylan Cease hit his first career major league hit during a game against the Cincinnati Reds. Cease went 3-for-3 at the plate and pitched six scoreless innings giving up one hit and striking out 11 as the White Sox won 9-0.
In 2021, Cease made 32 starts with a record of 13-7 and an ERA of 3.91 and pitched 165.2 innings while striking out 226 batters and lead the American League in K/9 with 12.3. Cease made his first career postseason start in Game 3 of the 2021 ALDS against the Houston Astros. Cease struggled only pitching 1.2 innings and giving up three runs while striking out only two batters in the White Sox' 12-6 win.

In 2022, Cease was named the June AL Pitcher of the Month, his first such monthly honor. Cease was also named the July AL Pitcher of the Month, becoming the first pitcher in White Sox history to win two such awards in consecutive months. On September 3, Cease carried a no-hitter through innings against the Minnesota Twins before second baseman Luis Arráez hit a line drive single into right-center field. Cease finished the complete game shutout after this (the first complete game of his career), allowing one hit and two walks with seven strikeouts. In 2022 he was 14-8 with a 2.20 ERA in 32 starts covering 184 innings, led the majors with 78 walks allowed and his 10.4% walk percentage was the highest in the majors, threw sliders 42.9% of the time, more than any other pitcher in the major leagues, and at 77.8 mph threw the slowest changeup in the major leagues. Cease would end up being named as a finalist for the Cy Young Award alongside Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros and Alek Manoah of the Toronto Blue Jays. Cease would end up finishing 2nd in voting losing the award to Verlander.

Personal life

Cease has a twin brother, Alec, who also played on the Milton High School team as a catcher and third baseman.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cease, Dylan
1995 births
Living people
Twin sportspeople
Sportspeople from Fulton County, Georgia
Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state)
Major League Baseball pitchers
Chicago White Sox players
Arizona League Cubs players
Eugene Emeralds players
South Bend Cubs players
Kannapolis Intimidators players
Winston-Salem Dash players
Birmingham Barons players
Charlotte Knights players