Chicago White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease should be an All-Star

Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson has a shot at being the starting shortstop in the upcoming MLB All-Star game in July. Andrew Vaughn also looks to be rounding into shape as a future all-star which is essential.

However, pitcher Dylan Cease has put together a pretty nice first half of the season which could earn him a trip to Los Angeles in a few weeks.

Cease has been the White Sox’s top pitcher to this point and is looking like the best player to emerge from the 2017 trade with the Cubs that brought him and Eloy Jimenez over to the southside in exchange for pitcher Jose Quintana.

A good example of Cease’s talent was last Tuesday when he went six innings, striking out 11 and allowing only one hit in the team’s 7-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Cease became the first White Sox pitcher to record five straight starts with five or more strikeouts and no earned runs.

The Chicago White Sox needs a lot from Dylan Cease going forward in 2022.

Heading into his start on Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles, Cease leads the majors in strikeouts per nine innings at 13.135 (which he led the American League in last season) while being second in the AL and fourth overall in strikeouts with 108.

His earned run average of 2.68 is seventh in the AL and puts him on pace to top his career-best of 3.91 from 2021.

In adding a splitter to his arsenal, Cease is looking to top his strikeout total of 226 last season and is well on his way to doing that. Cease currently has a 63% strike rate and a 34.3% strikeout rate.

As the adage goes, Cease’s greatest ability has been his availability. While the White Sox have been hammered by injuries this season, Cease has made 14 starts and should be able to make all 32 of his starts.

However, for Cease to remain healthy and be there when called upon down the stretch, he will have to cut down on walks and the number of pitches he throws per outing. He currently leads the AL in walks allowed with 36 and is averaging around 96 pitches in his starts.

Over his last five outings covering only 27.1 innings, Cease has thrown 528 pitches, hitting 110 pitches once and 108 pitches twice in that span.

Starting pitchers don’t get the chance to face batters a third time through the order as they used to and Cease is a prime example of that. He has gone seven innings and six innings two times a piece and is averaging just over five innings per start.

Even though Cease pitched a gem against Toronto, he has allowed 10 unearned runs over his last five times taking the mound. Granted unearned runs are not credited to the pitcher but that is still a large number of runs that he did have a hand in.

Nonetheless, Cease has been very consistent for the White Sox and has been the team’s most productive starter. He leads the White Sox starters in games started, innings pitched, wins, ERA and strikeouts. His five home runs allowed are tied for second least with Johnny Cueto who has 26 fewer innings pitched.

Cease has been a steadying force in the rotation and has helped the team stay within striking distance of Minnesota and Cleveland in the Central division. He is building a reputation for himself of being a quality starter and could be rewarded for that effort come All-Star time.