If anyone of the four people on this list has a “better chance”, it is Dylan Cease. It seems pretty likely that he is going to be one of the guys who occupy one of the two final spots in the rotation. The way some of his teammates have been talking about him this season should really excite people who cheer on this organization. If he can have a Lucas Giolito like turnaround, this could be a really good pitcher. He was never even bad like Giolito was, he just wasn’t consistent.
Now, he has a very high ceiling. His stuff has always been there but his ability to throw strikes is something that he has needed to improve on since getting to the Major Leagues. In 2020, he started off very strong but his finish made the White Sox avoid starting him in game three of the playoffs when Giolito went first and Keuchel second. He had a 4.01 ERA and a record of 5-4. All of those numbers were improved from his rookie 2019 season.
He was a 0.1 WAR player so it isn’t like he was great but he certainly wasn’t negative. If he improves his command, he could be a very good pitcher. There are even people around that look at him like they look at Michael Kopech in the way that they could see him being an ace-like pitcher. If that happens, the White Sox could have one of the best rotations in the history of the team.
Cease is probably going to be one of the two who make it, leaving one spot for the other three. Anything can happen but it seems like a safe bet at this time. The one thing that we know for sure is that the ones who don’t make it should come out of the bullpen which adds to that strength as well. We knew the White Sox needed to improve their pitching this year and it seems like they have.