Dylan Cease may not have won the Cy Young Award or have All-Star next to his name, but he has nothing to hang his head about. Cease blossomed into the ace the White Sox envisioned when they first traded for him with a breakout 2022 campaign. He also made a little history along the way. 

Second In The Cy-Young Voting

On Wednesday, Justin Verlander was named the American League Cy Young by the Baseball Writers Association of America with 210 points. Verlander was the unanimous first-place finisher after receiving all 30 first-place votes. It was a deserving victory for Verlander, 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.

Cease finished behind him with 97 points. The White Sox ace received 14 second-place and ten third-place votes, enough to beat out Alex Manoah of the Blue Jays by ten points. 

Despite falling one spot short of the future Hall of Famer, it further validated Cease, who grew up idealizing Verlander. 

“Growing up, it’s just kind of hard to imagine even being in that position,” said Cease. “I really loved and watched baseball a lot growing up. To be sitting here now, it’s definitely really surreal. I’ve watched Verlander since I was a little kid. It almost doesn’t feel real. It’s very surreal.”

Cease got the opportunity to go head-to-head with Verlander on August 16th. Cease got the better of Verlander in the heavy-weight pitching bought, throwing five innings of three-run ball, which was enough to earn the win.

Cease’s second-place finish is the highest for a White Sox pitcher since 2003 when Esteban Loaiza also finished second in the voting. Unlike Cease, Loaiza started the All-Star game that season in front of the hometown fans in Chicago. Cease was snubbed from an All-Star appearance in favor of Nestor Cortes despite being better in nearly every major statistical category.

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.

There were so many great moments for Cease that defined his season. From the jump, he looked like a new pitcher. Literally, he came in sporting a new mustache as he powered his way to the top of the leaderboard in strikeouts. Here are some of the best moments from Cease’s breakout campaign. 

September 3rd vs. Minnesota Twins 

This was the season defining game for Cease. In a nationally televised gam, he fell painfully one out short of a no-hitter. 

Early in the game, it was evident that it would be a good night on 35th and Shields. Dylan Cease opened the game by retiring the side in order.

He then got spotted a seven run lead which was more than enough run support. Cease quickly picked apart the Twins, retiring the side in order in the second inning, then working around a lead-off walk in the third by getting Gary Sanchez to ground into a 6-4-3 double play.

His first K didn’t come until the sixth inning when he froze Luis Arraez with a slider. While it was an uncharacteristically low strikeout night for Cease early on, the lack of strikeouts worked to his advantage. Cease induced lots of early contact while the Twins struggled to barrel anything up.

After recording his 18th out of the night, Cease had a feeling he was working on something special. His stuff was so electric that Twins manager Rocco Baldelli pulled Carlos Correa and Max Kepler after the fifth inning.

In the seventh inning, Cease put his slider to work. Kyle Garlick and Jermaine Palacios each fanned on an 89 and 90 mph slider for back-to-back strikeouts. Jose Miranda then lined out to right field to end the inning.

Nick Gordon was greeted with a knuckle curve and a pair of fastballs before walking back to the bench to start the eighth inning. Gio Urshela then hit a soft grounder right back at Cease for out number two. One pitch later, Jake Cave ripped a slider that looked like it would be the Twin’s first hit of the night. But Jose Abreu was in the right place at the right time and snagged the line drive.

Through eight innings, he had thrown just 91 pitches. According to Statcast, Cease allowed only three batted balls with better than a 50/50 chance of going for a hit based on the launch angle and exit velocity.

The 31,655 fans in attendance rose to their feet. Only three outs separated them from witnessing history. Cease seized the moment and waved his arms to pump up the crowd further as he walked to the dugout.

“I was excited,” the Cy Young runner up said after the game. “I was three away. I was ready to give everything I got.”

Baldelli tried to break up Cease’s rhythm by inserting second baseman Nick Gordon into the game at pitcher. The White Sox added five runs in the ninth inning, including an Elvis Andrus grand slam, while Cease eagerly waited in the dugout.

The inning mercifully ended with an Adam Haseley strikeout allowing Cease to finally retake the mound and try for his shot at history.

The first batter standing in his way was Caleb Hamilton, who was searching for his first major league hit. He would have to wait as Cease quickly dispatched of him with a slider in the dirt for his sixth strikeout of the night. Cease didn’t have to wait long for out number 26. Gilbert Celestino chased the first pitch he saw and flew out to Adam Engel in center field.

The last batter standing between Cease and the 21st no-hitter in franchise history was Luis Arraez, the American League leader in average.

With Kyle Garlick on deck, Cease could have pitched around Arraez. He had already walked two batters, so a walk would cause no harm. Instead, Cease went right after him. His first pitch was a low slider. He then challenged Arraez with a high fastball that Arraez fouled off his foot. The 26-year-old then attacked Arraez with a high knuckle curve. Once again, Arraez fouled it off, bringing Cease just one strike away.

The fans began chanting his name as he uncorked his 99th pitch of the night. It was a 90 mph slider, but this time Arraez was ready; he ripped it to right field to break up the no-hitter.

Ethan Katz came out to calm down his pitcher. Despite the disappointment of missing out on history by one strike, he still had a complete game shutout on the line. The Georgia native took the message to heart and wrapped up his gem by striking out Garlick to end the game.

His final line was nine innings, no runs, one hit, two walks, and seven strikeouts. It was a superb effort. Yet it left Cease wanting more.

“I am disappointed, but like you said, it’s a win, CG. I’ll take it, but yeah, it’s a little disappointing,” Cease told Ken Rosenthal.

While he may have missed out on history, he showed guts pitching to Arraez. He also put his name on the map for anyone not paying attention to the season he was having. 

Cease Wins AL Pitcher Of The Month Back To Back

On August 2nd Dylan Cease became the first White Sox player since Jose Contreras to be named Pitcher of the Month in consecutive months after also taking home the honor in June. Jose Contreas accomplished the feat by winning it in September 2005 and April 2006.

On July 31st the right-hander chucked six innings of one-run ball and struck out seven against the Oakland Athletics. He lowered his season ERA to 2.01 and notched his 161st strikeout of the season. At the time he trailed only Garrit Cole for the MLB lead in that department.

His outing in Oakland put an exclamation point on a historic run. During that two-month stretch, the 26-year-old posted a 5-1 record with 40 strikeouts and a 0.76 ERA during six starts in July. Opponents could only muster 24 hits and three home runs in 35 2/3 innings against him.

From May 29th to July 31st, Cease established himself as just one of two pitchers since 1913 to make 12 consecutive starts with one earned run or less allowed. The only other pitcher to match that mark was Jacob deDrom in 2021.

Cease also joined deGrom as only one of three starters since 1913 to allow a combined four earned runs or less in a 12-start span. Jake Arrieta did it during his Cy Young winning season in 2015.

If that wasn’t enough, the Georgia native placed himself in some Hall of Fame company when he became just the third pitcher in MLB history to toss nine consecutive starts of five-plus innings and allow one run or less. Bob Gibson did it during the 1968 season, while Jack Coombs did it 58 years prior to Ginson in 1910.

Setting A Career High, June 26th 

On June 26th, Cease played the role of stopper. After dropping three straight to the Orioles in an abysmal home stand, the White Sox were desperate for a win. Cease answered the call by tossing seven strong innings of one-run ball. In the process, he set a new career-high with 13 strikeouts.

The 26-year-old only allowed four-hit and a walk en route to his sixth victory of the season. His only blemish was a solo home run to Jonathan Arauz in the third inning. Cease pounded the strike zone all afternoon, throwing 67 of his 101 pitches for strikes, 21 of which were swinging.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde had a front-row seat to what Dylan Cease can do to a lineup.

“That’s elite stuff,” Hyde said. “I was happy we got four hits off him. It’s three-plus pitches. It’s 100, it’s a bright day, so it’s tough to see. He’s throwing 100 with a nasty slider and nasty curveball… Very difficult to hit against.”

There should be more where that came from in the future.