Blue Jays' Dylan Cease Tightens Cy Young Race With Another Stellar Start
In this story:
When Dylan Cease signed a seven-year, $210 million contract last offseason, expectations were high.
In the prime of his career, Cease had been solid, but not always spectacular and some wondered if the contract was warranted. Through 23 games this season, Cease has proven himself worthy of the enormous deal with an AL Cy Young-worthy season.
He continues to make his case for the award on Sunday when he allowed two runs on two hits, walked three, and struck out 10 over 6.1 innings of work. Sunday was his ninth time this season striking out 10 or more batters, giving him 201 punchouts. He's first in the American League and second in the Majors in strikeouts, and in the 99th percentile in strikeout percentage at 36.1% per Statcast.
Strikeouts have been a part of Cease's game for his entire career. He has struck out 200+ for six consecutive seasons after notching his 200th on Sunday.
Dylan Cease's Dominant Start Earned Him Record Book Numbers
Cease and the New York Yankees' Cam Schlittler have put themselves in the best positon to win the AL Cy Young award this season. Boston's Sonny Gray, who at one point was considered a player that could be traded at the deadline, is the other starter in prime position to win the award.
The two aces have quite similar statistics, but Cease has three less starts due to a left hamstring strain back in May. The injury forced him to miss just 15 days, but those could be crucial in this race.
His .179 batting average allowed is 17 points lower than Schlittler's mark. Cease has also allowed five fewer homers, piled up a dozen more strikeouts, and allowed 22 fewer hits in 14.2 fewer innings of work. Cease has been phenomenal this season, but it's not as though he's running away with the award.
Schlittler has a .12 point better WHIP, walked far less batters and a has a .23 point better ERA than Cease this season.
The AL Cy Young race is coming down to the last month and a half of the season, and Toronto is thrilled for it. Entering August, the Blue Jays have a winning record in just one full month this season, with a 15-14 May record. Exiting the weekend, Toronto is four games under .500 and a disappointing 14.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East lead. But, the Blue Jays are within a game of the final AL wild card berth.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Jeffrey is a sports writer located in Louisville, Kentucky, with a passion for sports, writing, and storytelling. He has hundreds of published articles across various platforms, including Kentucky Today, The Baptist Courier, FanSided, and more. Jeffrey is a senior at Indiana University Southeast pursuing a B.S. in Journalism/Media with a Minor in Writing. He has a beautiful wife, dog, and firstborn child on the way.