• In 2013, Cease's junior year at Milton High School in Georgia, he and his twin brother, Alec, led the team to a state title.

  "I always had someone to play ball with and always had someone to  compete with," Dylan said of Alec. "There was never really any down time."

• In 2014, as a senior in high school, Dylan committed to Vanderbilt University.

• In 2014, the Cubs drafted and signed Cease (see Transactions below).

• In July 2018, Dylan represented the White Sox in the All-Star Futures game.

• In 2015, Baseball America rated Cease as the 28th best prospect in the Cubs organization. But they moved him all the way up to #5 in the winter before 2016 spring training. He was at #4 in the offseason before spring camps opened in 2017. After moving to the White Sox Dylan was rated their 10th best prospect in a strong farm system in the spring of 2018.

  Cease moved back up to the third-best prospect in the White Sox system in the winter before 2019 spring training.

• Dylan on the Futures game:

  "I pitched in big league ballparks during high school and appeared in the All-America Game at Wrigley Field and another game at Petco Park.

  "But it was different pitching in Nationals Park during the Futures Game in 2018. It definitely was the biggest crowd to see me pitch. I guess that's what it will be like in the big leagues, in terms of cameras and people staring at you. It was a unique experience. It was a little uncomfortable at first, but I wasn't nervous about it.

  "I was told I would throw the ninth inning; I knew I probably wouldn't get the full inning. At the onset, I just wanted to throw strikes with the nastiest pitches I could, and I was able to retire the two guys I faced.

  "It was cool to be around all those talented players. I felt like everyone was throwing 98 mph with good off-speed pitches. There were eight homers in the game. So obviously, everyone could hit. It was great to see my Birmingham teammate Luis Basabe hit a homer off a 102-mph fastball from [Reds prospect] Hunter Greene. 

  "It shows you what top-notch competition looks like. I can use that experience to help me prepare for future endeavors like that. I felt grateful to be on the field with those guys. 

  "I know Sox fans are following us in the Minors. I'm just trying to keep focused on my process. I need to be locked in right now in terms of what I have to do to get to the big leagues. It's very easy to start daydreaming, and then all of the sudden, you realize you're not that locked in." (Cease as told to Ed Sherman - mlb.com - 7/20/18)

• In 2018, White Sox GM Rick Hahn acknowledged Dylan's consistency, praising his ability to continue pitching well after a promotion to Double-A Birmingham.

  "We really viewed him entering this year," Hahn said, "a kid with electric stuff, kid with a very high ceiling and someone who had yet to be able to physically take the ball every fifth day. Dylan has dominated early at a good placement level for his age. He forced the issue, and we brought him up to Double-A—where he's continued to pitch as well, if not even better."  (Gelman - mlb.com - 7/30/18)

• 2018 season: Named the White Sox MLB Pipeline's Pitcher of the Year, Cease actually produced better numbers once he reached Double-A. He finished the year with a 2.40 ERA, .189 batting average against, and an 11.6 K/9 rate.

• 2019 Spring Training: The Cactus League split-squad starts for Dylan Cease and Lucas Giolito took place 19 miles apart in Arizona. But there still was a competitive kinship between these two talented young White Sox starters.

  “Competition between teammates will always bring the best out of teammates,” said Giolito. “Always trying to compete in whatever we do, whether it’s our outings, in the weight room, showing each other exercises, trying to outlift each other, outrun each other.

  “All those things kind of come together and bring the best out of all the players. That’s what’s important is having a good camaraderie but also some friendly competition along the way.”

  “There’s no ‘I hate you and I want you to fail so I’m better,’” said a smiling Giolito. “That doesn’t breed anything good at all. It’s all about supporting each other, but at the same time, egging each other on and if you see someone slacking off in one area, then you give them a little kick in the butt and get them back on track.” (Scott Merkin -MLB.com - March 5, 2019)

• MLB debut (July 3, 2019): Cease tossed five innings at home against the Tigers, allowing three runs while striking out six to earn the win in his big league debut. 

• “Dylan's not a guy who loses confidence very easily. He's very focused and assured of himself, comfortable in his own skin.”  –White Sox manager Rick Renteria on Cease's struggles in 2019

• Dylan is one of the key young pieces of the White Sox future, but he’s also a strong believer in meditation and yoga.

  In the interview, Cease explains that he does 20 minutes of meditation and breathing techniques every morning.

  “I want to see how I function,” Cease said. “I want to see how my mind functions. I want to see how my body functions and kind of be the observer of everything and not necessarily entangled in it.”

  Cease admits it’s something he doesn’t like to talk about much because “everything thinks it’s strange.” It’s definitely not the norm for a pitcher. “Complete opposite of anything we’ve ever been in taught in our society,” Cease said.

  Cease discovered Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, a yogi with over 2 million followers on Twitter. Last year, he took part in a four-day program at one of Sadhguru’s centers about 90 miles southeast of Nashville. “I’ve always had a lot of questions about life,” Cease said. (Dan Santaromita - September 10, 2019)

• In 2020, Dylan "ceased" the effectiveness of righthanded batters. Cease limited righthanded hitters to a minuscule .202 average. The righthander was just the 16th pitcher in White Sox history with at least 12 starts in a season to hold righthanded hitters to a .202 average or lower.

  Lucas Giolito also did this, making him and Cease the first Sox pitchers to hold righthanded hitters to a .202 average or lower since Esteban Loaiza in 2003.  (Oct 19, 2020 - SoxNerd)

• In 2020, Cease became just the eighth Sox pitcher to lead the American League in walks.

  FRISBEE GOLF

• More than once this season, in the quiet hours before games, Dylan was spotted throwing around a disc.

  This, by itself, was nothing unusual. Baseball players import different equipment from other sports all the time just to have some fun before games, screwing around with footballs, soccer balls, rugby balls and frisbees.

  But while this was fun for Cease, it definitely wasn't just screwing around. He is super into disc golf.

  "I try to play as much as I can," Cease told NBC Sports Chicago. "My brother got me into it. I didn't like it at first because I was terrible at it. And then I kept going with him because it was just fun, and I liked seeing how he shaped shots. And then I started getting into it more.

  "This offseason, it was really warm, so I was able to play like four days a week. Back home (in Georgia), I'll do my lifting and all my yoga stuff, and in my free time, I'll go play as much as I can. I love it."

  It's turned into something of an impressive side project for Cease, who has a giant collection of discs, a list of top players who send him swag and an appreciation of and from those in the disc-golf community.

  "A lot of the disc-golf community's baseball fans," Cease said. "I'll buy a disc on eBay, and someone will message me like, 'Hey man, appreciate you growing the sport.' I'm like, 'Wow. OK, they recognize me.'"

  If you're part of that community, or just enjoying a day outside, you might spot Cease and some other White Sox players playing in Chicagoland. Cease said that he's trying to get some of his teammates into the sport, too, with Lucas Giolito being receptive. He's played with Michael Kopech and Jimmy Lambert, too. He's hoping Dallas Keuchel will come out with him at some point. (Vinnie Duber - June 8, 2021)

  ALMOST A NO-HITTER

• Sept 3, 2022: History was just an out away: Cease nearly no-hits the Twins. Two outs in the ninth inning, two strikes away and only Luis Arraez separated Dylan Cease from history in a 13-0 White Sox victory over the Twins before 31,655 fans on a Saturday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.

  The White Sox right-hander had kept the Twins hitless through 8 2/3 innings, But on a 1-1 slider that got just a little too much of the plate, the American League’s leading hitter dumped a single to right-center to prevent Cease from becoming the 21st pitcher in franchise history to throw a no-hitter or a perfect game.

•  Dylan Cease came one out away — one Luis Arraez ninth-inning single — from throwing the 318th no-hitter in MLB history, and 21st in White Sox history, as his team trounced the rival Twins 13-0. Cease’s performance nearly marked the third straight season in which the Sox have had a starter throw a no-hitter.

  With Lucas Giolito in 2020, Carlos Rodón in 2021 and now Cease in 2022, all three outings have served as emphatic confirmation of an emerging truth: This is one of the elite starters in baseball this season. Cease is the only one who’s never been to an All-Star Game, but this is the kind of performance that puts him in line for a higher honor. And it may have been the result of a certain form of superstar treatment.

  Cease’s twin brother, Alec, watching from home, certainly thought it was happening, only for history to repeat itself. When they were 12 and in Little League in Georgia, Alec was one out away from a no-hitter, when a single over the head of their second baseman ended his bid. In Chicago, 14 years later, Dylan stood against the best contact hitter in the league, and uncorked his best pitch — maybe the best pitch in the sport – only for Arraez to turn history into mere brilliance in the same way.

  “It would have meant a lot,” said Cease.

  “Now he knows my pain,” quipped his brother. (Fegan-TheAthletic.com-September 3, 2022)

• Nov 16, 2022: Cease finished second for the AL Cy Young Award, with Houston’s Justin Verlander capturing his third career honor, as announced on MLB Network.

  Verlander received all 30 of the first-place votes for 210 points, followed by Cease at 97 points with 14 second-place votes, 10 third-place votes, five fourth-place votes and one fifth-plate vote. He recalled watching Verlander pitch for Detroit as a rookie when Cease was around 10 years old, making the results all the more surreal. (S Merkin - MLB.com - Nov 16, 2022)

• Jan 17, 2023: Cease would be a coveted addition to any 2023 World Baseball Classic roster.

  The 27-year-old White Sox right-hander fanned 453 over 349 2/3 innings covering the last two seasons, posting a 2.20 ERA during the 2022 campaign and finishing second in the American League Cy Young voting. He was on the 50-man WBC interest list for Team USA and Team Israel, with Jewish heritage in his lineage, but in a Zoom conference, Cease explained why he passed on this special opportunity.

  “Yeah, I decided not to,” Cease said. “I was looking forward to it, but it made more sense to prepare for the season. It’s definitely a huge honor and exciting any time you get the opportunity to represent something bigger than yourself like that.

  “It’s a really big deal. But a lot of it is just the unfortunate reality of having to weigh not what’s more important but essentially what I’m preparing for, and it made more sense not to risk anything and to prepare for the season.” (S Merkin - MLB.com - Jan 17, 2023)

• The White Sox are in desperate need of a good news story. For that, they turn to pitcher Dylan Cease, who will share his love for art on Wednesday with some lucky students.

  Cease will serve as a volunteer instructor at Misericordia, a local nonprofit serving adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

  The White Sox ace said he picked up painting late last year after visiting an art museum in Kansas City. He had walked in feeling like he needed a breather, and walked out feeling so inspired that he got his own art supplies and started painting.

  "I kept doing artwork that I was impressed that I could do, because I have no artistic ability whatsoever.  But just somehow, through effort and just perseverance, I kept making these paintings that I was really proud of. So it was like just kind of a fun, therapeutic, creative outlet that I really, really enjoy," Cease told CBS 2's Ryan Baker during spring training.

  Cease said he's given away some of his paintings, and he is considering more charity work with his art.  (CBS Chicago Team - Aug. 9, 2023)

   

           TRANSACTIONS

• July 2014: The Cubs signed 6th-round pick Dylan Cease, out of Milton High School in Georgia, for $1.5 million. Keith Lockhart was the scout.

• July 13, 2017: The White Sox traded LHP Jose Quintana to the Cubs; acquiring 2B Bryant Flete, RHP Dylan Cease, LF Eloy Jimenez, and 1B Matt Rose.

• Jan 13, 2023: Cease and the White Sox avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year deal for $5.7 million.

• Aug. 1, 2023: The White Sox traded Cease to the Orioles for Jackson Holliday, DL Hall, Drew Rom, and Carter Young.

• Cease has a lively 92-101 mph high-spinning FASTBALL with late sink, that earns a 70 grade on the 20-80 scouting scale. He gets good spin on a 78-80 mph wipeout 12-to-6 power CURVEBALL that flashes above-average (55 grade) with impressive shape, depth and tilt, getting swings and misses as a chase pitch.

  He has a rarely used SLIDER that is a 40, at best.

  He also has an 81-83 mph CHANGEUP that is 50 grade. He slows his arm on that sinking changeup, which when combined with slow times to the plate, could make him an impact closer candidate if he falls short of his No. 3 starter ceiling.

  He has only 40 for control. Dylan's heater earns a 70 grade, easily coming out of his hand with some deception. His curve gets a 55 or 60 grade.

  The caveat with Cease has always been syncing his delivery, commanding his fastball and throwing strikes. If that ever comes together for Cease, he could be lethal thanks to his plus mid-80s slider (15 percent swinging-strike rate) and dramatically improving changeup (14 percent). Refining his curveball will be essential to give him a secondary weapon in a lower velocity register.

• His heater explodes through the hitting zone with late life, though his command of the pitch is below-average, and he misses his spots by wide margins at times. He comes at hitters from a high arm slot with a whippy-quick arm speed.

  “I think it’s just executing pitches better, to be honest,” Cease said. “I changed my curveball to more of a spiked curve and it seems to have improved. I feel if I was (in the majors) right now, I could compete.” (Spring, 2019)

• 2019 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball 51.5% of the time, his Change 9%; Slider 20.9%; and Curve 18.6% of the time. Average velocity: 4-seam 96.7 mph, Change 83.4, Slider 84.8, and Curve 79.6 mph.

  2020 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball 47.8% of the time, his Change 12.9%; Slider 30%; and Curve 9.3% of the time. Average velocity: 4-seam 97.7 mph, Change 83, Slider 85.2, and Curve 79.2 mph.

  2022 Season Pitch Usage/Avg. Velo: Fastball 41% - 97 mph; Slider 43% - 87.5 mph; Curve 14% - 81.3 mph; Split 2.4% - 78 mph.

• Dylan has a loose, but quick arm and a balanced, fluid delivery. The ball jumps out of his hand, but with easy velocity on his fastball. He has some effort in his delivery and tends to rush, leaving his arm dragging. The use of his lower half is a concern to some, who say he needs to adjust.

  His below-average command and control stems from a tendency to lose his release point, as well as below-average life on his fastball. He has some electric stuff, but hewill have to tame it to remain a starting pitcher. (Spring 2017)

• He's learning to repeat his mechanics more consistently. (Spring 2017)

• He is a student of the game and a great worker.

• Cease should develop into a #3 or a #4 starting pitcher. With only fair command, he may have more success as a high-leverage relief pitcher. But, as of 2018, the White Sox are still molding him into a mid-rotation guy.

• Cease on Cease: "I've definitely had a ton of growth this year. I'm happy with it, but I'm not fully satisfied. There's still more I can do to improve. I've been healthy, and that's a big thing. I'm getting better at executing my pitches.

  "At the higher levels, you have to make adjustments pitch to pitch. The more you have a good feel for how the ball is coming out of your hand, and you're able to locate it, the more success you're going to have. When you're pitching, you can't think your way to throwing strikes. It has to be something your body knows how to do. You feel that release point. Last year, I really didn't have a great feel with off-speed pitches. I was hit or miss with my fastball command. This year, for the most part, I've been throwing strikes with everything. It's really come a long way."  (Cease as told to Ed Sherman - mlb.com - 7/20/18)

• 2018 Season: Cease dominated after a midseason promotion to Double-A Birmingham en route to being named MLB Pipeline's Pitcher of the Year.

  Dylan went 12-2, 2.40 ERA, and struck out 32.5 percent of the batters he faced—fourth-highest in the minors among qualified starters. His .187 opponent average was good for fifth in the minors as well, and he would have won both the Carolina League and Southern League ERA titles if he had enough innings. He has a hammer curveball with depth and power, and hitters can't try to sit on it because he can blow them away with a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and reaches triple digits.

• In January 2019, Cease was named the prospect with the Best Curveball by MLB Pipeline.

  Cease has a hammer curveball with depth and power, and his mid-90s fastball is just as devastating. That combination helped him win recognition as MLB Pipeline's 2018 Pitcher of the Year after he posted a 2.40 ERA while ranking fifth in the Minors in opponent average (.189) and eighth in strikeout rate (11.6 per nine innings).

• Cease's 2020 season did not go well. He had a fine 4.01 ERA, a mark that plummeted from 5.79 during his rookie campaign in 2019. But the young righty struggled mightily with walks, home runs and repeated jams. It got to the point where the White Sox looked elsewhere for a No. 3 starter in their playoff series against the Athletics.

• June 12, 2021: With the win, Cease became the first pitcher in White Sox history—and the first in MLB since 2008—to win his first eight starts against the same opponent. The White Sox beat the Tigers 15-2.

  “The last couple of starts against them, I’ve really been locked in,” Cease said. “It’s just one of those things where if I’m executing pitches and bringing my ‘A’ game, I’m tough to hit.”

• July 3, 2021: Cease readily admitted in the offseason not being happy with his second-season results and worked diligently to make changes, ones that are now showing up on the mound.

  “Yeah, I’m executing at a pretty high clip right now. It’s night and day different from last year,” Cease said. “There’s always room for improvement. I’m going to keep trying to reach that next level. I like the shape of my pitches. I like the fact that I’m able to execute and throw my off-speed for strikes. I’m at the point where I can feel good throwing a 2-0 slider for a strike if I have to. It’s head and tails different from last year where I was trying to throw anything in the zone. I never feel like I’m out of a count.” (S Merkin - MLB.com - July 3, 2021) 

• September 24, 2021:  Dylan's 221 strikeouts are the ninth most in a single season in White Sox history. And the third most by a Chicago pitcher in his age 25-or-younger season, trailing Lucas Giolito in 2019 (228) and Chris Sale in 2013 (226).

• 2021 Season: Wearing the highest number for a pitcher — 84 — in White Sox history, Cease’s 2021 featured …

  –226 strikeouts at age 25. Only Lucas Giolito with 228 at age 24 in 2019 had more Sox strikeouts at a younger age than Cease in 2021.

  –An American League-leading average of 12.27 strikeouts per nine innings. Cease became the first Sox right-hander to top the A.L. in this department. Prior to 2021 lefties Sale, Floyd Bannister, Juan Pizarro and Billy Pierce were the only Sox to lead the A.L. in strikeouts per nine innings.

  –50 strikeouts in August. He joined Giolito (twice), Sale (three times), Bannister, Pizarro, Ed Walsh and Roy Patterson as the only Sox pitchers with at least 50 Ks in the month

  –A 3-0 mark against the Tigers, which boosted his career mark to 8-0 against the American League Central rivals. The only pitcher with more wins and no losses against the Tigers is Joe Coleman, who went 9-0 vs. Detroit between 1965 and 1978. Cease is the only pitcher in Sox history unbeaten in at least eight decisions against any team.  (OCT 29, 2021 - SOXNERD)

• July 2, 2022: Cease was named the Pitcher of the Month for June. Cease is the first American League Pitcher of the Month from the White Sox since Lucas Giolito in May 2019.

  The 26-year-old Cease allowed only one earned run over 27 1/3 innings in June, recording a 0.33 ERA with 45 strikeouts and a .192 opponents' batting average. In his final two starts of the month, Cease struck out 24 of the 46 batters he faced and gave up one run in 13 innings. (T Harrigan - MLB.com - July 2, 2022)

• July 24, 2022: Cease starred for the White Sox in a 6-3 win over the Guardians. Cease threw six shutout innings against Cleveland, and in the process, put himself into an exclusive club, previously exclusively occupied by only Bob Gibson.

  Over an 11-start stretch in 1968, the Cardinals Hall of Famer allowed only three earned runs. For the last 54 years, he had been the only starting pitcher in MLB history to do that. Following his recent performance, Cease joined Gibson.  (Michael Dixon)

• July 31, 2022: Cease's 0.42 ERA is the second-lowest over an 11-start span in a single season since 1913.

• July 2022: Cease of the White Sox has been named the American League Pitcher of the Month for the second consecutive month. Cease claimed his second career AL Pitcher of the Month Award and his second in a row.

  Cease is the first White Sox hurler to win consecutive Pitcher of the Month Awards since Jose Contreras in September 2005 and April 2006. However, Cease is the first White Sox pitcher to accomplish the feat in the same season. Jack Flaherty of the Cardinals was the last Major Leaguer to win back-to-back Pitcher of the Month Awards in a single season, doing so in August and September 2019.

  The last White Sox hurler other than Cease to win Pitcher of the Month was his All-Star rotation-mate Lucas Giolito in May 2019. 

  “It’s so fresh, I really haven’t reflected a whole lot on it,” Cease said. “I’ve said it before. It’s one of those things where after the season will be a lot of the reflecting and sitting down, and really taking a good look at it.

  “Right now, I’m still in compete mode and trying to continue the process. It’s definitely special. I couldn’t be more grateful and happy to have accomplished it. Hopefully it’s not the last one. But we still got work to do.”

  Dylan Cease, Chicago White Sox:

  • Registered a 5-1 record with 40 strikeouts and a 0.76 ERA across six starts, while limiting the opposition to 24 hits, 13 walks and three home runs over 35 2/3 innings.

  • Made 12 consecutive starts from May 29-July 31 in which he allowed one earned run or less, joining Jacob deGrom (2021) as the only starting pitchers (excluding openers) since 1913 to post 12 straight such starts.

  • The Georgia native joined deGrom and Jake Arrieta (2015) as the only starters since 1913 to allow a total of four earned runs or less in a 12-outing span.

  • Cease also became the third pitcher in MLB history to post nine consecutive starts in which he pitched at least five innings without allowing more than one run in nine or more consecutive starts, joining Bob Gibson (1968) and Jack Coombs (1910), according to the Elias Sports Bureau. (White Sox - MLB.com - Aug 2, 2022)

•  Aug. 11, 2022: Cease completed his 14th straight start with one or no earned runs allowed, extending his major league record since the earned run became an official statistic in 1913.

• 2022 Season:

  32 G, 184.0 IP, 30.4% K, 10.4% BB, 16 HR, 2.20 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 6.4 bWAR, 4.4 fWAR

  What a season. Those who preached patience with Cease had their faith rewarded in a huge way. Dylan laid the groundwork for this year in 2021 when his slider turned into a premium out-pitch. In 2022, Cease threw the slider even more often than his fastball, a plan of attack that proved to be an absolute nightmare for hitters.

  He was able to command his elite stuff in ways we’ve never seen before. The coolest feature of his season was throwing 14 straight starts in which he allowed one or fewer earned runs. He won’t win the Cy Young award, but he’s put himself on the short list of frontrunners for 2023.  (PATRICK NOLAN - OCT 19, 2022)

• Sept. 23, 2023: Dylan Cease just reached his third straight 200-strikeout season against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

   Dylan Cease is the third White Sox pitcher to earn reach 200-strikeout seasons and do it consecutively.

  In White Sox history, only three pitchers have ever recorded three or more 200-strikeout seasons. Chris Sale (four seasons) and Ed Walsh (five seasons) are the only other two South Side pitchers to do it.

  The three are also the only three to post three 200-strikeout seasons consecutively. This season marks Cease's third straight season posting the impressive mark. Sale posted three straight seasons between 2013-15 (and 2016) and Walsh from 1910-12. (NBC Sports)

• March–April 2014: Cease was out with an elbow injury.

• July 2014: The Cubs signed Cease knowing he would need Tommy John surgery. He had the surgery on July 22, 2014.

• April 14-16, 2021: Cease was on the Covid-related IL.

• Sept 25, 2021: Manager Tony La Russa said that Cease is still getting treatment for his right triceps contusion. “We probably still have to wait to find out how much of the soreness we got out of there,” the skipper said.