Chicago White Sox 2021 Season Preview: Dylan Cease
The Chicago White Sox has the perfect spot for Dylan Cease going into the 2021 season. Having Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel, and Lance Lynn ahead of him in the rotation is perfect for him as they continue to develop his skills. If we’re being honest with our evaluation, he has the stuff to be a top-two guy in a rotation. He just needs to use the strike zone more on a consistent basis. He has done that so far in spring training but it needs to continue.
The Chicago White Sox has something special brewing with Dylan Cease.
Cease has been working hard on his command. It appears that he is on his way to being a great pitcher but there is more to prove. We see it with lots of Major League’s youngest pitchers, they need time and reps. Dylan Cease has only made 26 career starts. Most elite prospects don’t really reach their good stuff until they are 30-35 starts in so there may be a few more bumps in the road for him.
There also might not be because he is that good. White Sox fans should feel the same level of excitement about Cease as they do for Eloy Jimenez. They both came over in that robbery of a trade with the Chicago Cubs for Jose Quintana. It sure feels good that both of these players are looking like they can be stars for this team.
Pitching in that fourth spot will be amazing for him. He won’t have to deal with the pressure of being the number three guy like he was last year, especially going into the playoffs. If he starts to reach his stride by June, we could be talking about one of the best number fours in the entire league. That would also make this rotation World Series good which is exciting to think about.
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2021 Expectations:
Expect Dylan Cease to have a mostly good start to the year. Don’t be surprised, however, if he has one or two starts where he struggles. By the time we reach June, he should be at that 30 career start mark and he could explode. He has MLB ace potential and he is going in as the number four. That is an incredible situation for someone of his status at this time.
A good season for Cease would be an ERA under three and lots of wins. The offense is going to give him plenty of run support which is nice as well. If he is pitching in game four of a playoff series, White Sox fans will be feeling good about him by that point.