Chicago White Sox: Will Dylan Cease turn his season around?
By Todd Welter
Chicago White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease is throwing nowhere near like he did last season.
Cease was the runner-up for the AL Cy Young last season. He posted a 2.20 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and struck out 227 hitters in 2022.
He was nearly unhittable last year with his nasty slider. It was so filthy that Cease wrote a poem about it.
This season has been anything but pretty for Dylan Cease.
Cease looked like he was prime to win the Cy Young this year during his Opening Day start against the Houston Astros. He gave up just one run on two hits and struck out 10 in six and one-third innings.
He has looked nothing like that in his seven other starts. Command of his pitches has been an issue as he has walked 20 batters. Cease got roughed up for seven earned runs in his last outing against the Kansas City Royals.
Dylan Cease has not been in his bag lately#WhiteSoxin60 pic.twitter.com/1ENXIXIE5a
— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) May 9, 2023
His numbers are down dramatically from last season.
His FIP is at 4.35, his batted balls in play (BABIP) average is .327, and his average fastball velocity is at 96mph.
Last year, his FIP was 3.10, the BABIP average was .260, and his average fastball velocity was 96.9mph.
His hard-hit percentage is 39.1% compared to last year’s 25.7%. He already has given up 11 barrels compared to 27 last season.
It means hitters are squaring him up and hitting him hard.
Cease seems to be throwing his curveball more and his slider less this year. At this point in the season, it makes you wonder if Dylan can get out of this funk.
There is hope he can start pitching well.
His ERA reached 4.24 in late May last season. He got his ERA down to under two by August.
Plus, it is just a matter of commanding his pitches. When he gets behind in the count, that is when he gets into trouble.
Opponents are hitting .429 with a 1.357 OPS when the count is 1-0 and .500 and a 1.500 OPS on a 2-0 count. When he gets the count to 1-2, the average drops to .138 with a .368 OPS.
Fangraphs still projects Cease will finish with a 3.71 ERA.
If he can go back to throwing his slider a bit more and his curveball a bit less, then he should be able to get back to being a dominant starter.
His start to the season is concerning, but it is still not time to panic, unlike some other pitchers in the Chicago White Sox rotation.
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