Dylan Cease was not an All-Star this season, yet he has a chance to be named American League Cy Young. On Monday, the MLB announced Cease as one of three finalists for the award, alongside Alek Manoah of the Blue Jays and Justin Verlander of the Astros.
Cease blossomed into the ace the White Sox envisioned when they first traded for him. Cease looked like a new pitcher, both literally and figuratively. He debuted a new mustache before the start of the season. The 26-year-old then proceeded to have the best year of his career.
The hard-throwing right-hander posted a 14-8 record with a 2.20 ERA and 227 strikeouts in 184 innings. He ranked fifth in the AL in bWAR, second in strikeouts, and 10th in innings. However, he also led the league in walks.
The walks didn’t seem to matter much. His opponents hit just .190 against him on the season. Cease set a new MLB record with 14 consecutive starts of no earned runs allowed. He settled for a one-hit shutout against the Minnesota Twins on September 3rd after falling just one batter short of a no-hitter.
The nomination for Cy Young is further validation for Cease after he was snubbed of an All-Star appearance in favor of Nestor Cortes. This came despite being better in nearly every major statistical category.
Cease is the second White Sox starter to be nominated for the award in as many seasons after Lance Lynn finished third in the voting in 2021.
If he wins, he will become the first White Sox pitcher since Jack McDowell in 1993 to take home the award. Cease will be up against some stiff competition. Verlander is a World Series champion who continues to defy father time. At the age of 39, he led the MLB with 18 wins. He also put up a league best 1.75 ERA and 0.829 WHIP.
Meanwhile, Manoah had a breakout campaign of his own. In his sophomore season, he won 16 games in 31 starts and posted a 2.24 ERA.
The winner will be announced on November 16th.
