The Chicago White Sox saw Dylan Cease have a brilliant year in 2022. He was as good as any pitcher in recent White Sox memory. Going into the season, we could only hope that he would have a breakout at all let alone one this good.
Cease was so good that he got himself nominated for the American League Cy Young Award. He accumulated a 6.4 WAR thanks to his dominant performance this year. He had an ERA of 2.20 and a WHIP of 1.109 with 227 strikeouts over 184 innings pitched.
It was somewhat clear all season long that Cease was going to be nominated for this award. He was so good including a dominant stretch of about a dozen games where he gave up one run or less. The Chicago White Sox were given a significantly better chance to win when he started.
When the White Sox acquired Cease from the Chicago Cubs, he was known to be an incredibly talented pitcher that had a lot to unlock. Well, the White Sox clearly unlocked it in 2022 as he was one of the best pitchers in all of Major League Baseball.
White Sox ace Dylan Cease is nominated for the AL Cy Young Award.
Cease was so good that the 2022 season feels like even more of a failure as they went 81-81 as a team. They were unable to take advantage of this dominating performance that he put on every five days. Hopefully, the proper moves are made in the off-season to make him happy.
The other two nominees in the American League are Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros and Alek Manoah of the Toronto Blue Jays. It is probably going to end up being Verlander who takes the award this year but it will be close. Cease should end up being a close second if he doesn't win.
In the NL, Sandy Alcantara f the Miami Marlins, Max Fried of the Atlanta Braves, and Julio Urias of the Los Angeles Dodgers are the nominees. It is a solid group of pitchers representing the award here in 2022. There is a lot of good talent in this spot right now.
Cease is just getting started. 2022 could just be the beginning of what he has the potential to do in this league. Getting nominated for the Cy Young in his breakout year tells you what his ceiling is in his prime. Hopefully, the White Sox are able to take advantage of him.