White Sox' Dylan Cease Unbothered by Pitch Clock in First Start of Spring

Friday, Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Dylan Cease made his first start of the spring, tossing two scoreless innings, walking two and giving up one hit to the Cincinnati Reds. Cease had never used a pitch clock before, but he was not bothered in his first appearance with the clock implemented.

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Dylan Cease was unphased in his first time pitching with a pitch clock, Friday afternoon at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona.

The 27-year-old enters his fifth big league season. This time around, he will only have 15 seconds in between pitches with the bases empty and 20 seconds with runners on base.

Friday, he made his first start of the spring, tossing two scoreless innings, walking two and giving up one hit to the Cincinnati Reds. Cease had never used a pitch clock before, but he was not bothered in his first appearance with the clock implemented.

"It wasn't an issue," Cease said. "I felt like I had plenty of time. I don't anticipate it being a problem."

Friday, Cease picked up right where he left off in 2022, when he finished second in American League Cy Young Award voting behind Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander. In 32 starts, Cease went 14-8, posting a 2.20 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 180 ERA+ over 184 innings pitched. Cease was snubbed of an All-Star appearance, but established himself as one of the American League's best pitchers.

The White Sox have the third-longest odds to win the American League Central, according the oddsmakers at Fanduel. New manager Pedro Grifol has not announced who will pitch Opening Day for the White Sox, but Cease is more than a worthy candidate. Lucas Giolito has started the White Sox last three Opening Days, but perhaps Cease could be in line to pitch the Sox' opener Thursday, March 30 in Houston.

The White Sox are projected to win 83.5 games this year according to what Fanduel predicts. They were favored to win 91 last year and didn't come close. That number might seem a little small this year.

For the first time in Major League Baseball history, pitchers will have a maximum of 15 seconds to deliver a pitch to home plate, when the bases are empty. With runners on base, pitchers will have a maximum of 20 seconds. If the ball is not delivered before the pitch clock hits zero, the pitch will be ruled a ball. If a hitter is unable to step into the batter's box in time, it will be ruled a strike.

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