Cease finishes runner-up for AL Cy Young Award
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Dylan Cease finished runner-up in the 2026 American League Cy Young Award voting, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America announced Wednesday.
Only Yankees righty Cam Schlittler garnered more votes than Cease, who carried a no-hitter into the ninth and twirled a one-hit shutout in separate July starts this season.
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Schlittler received 30 of 30 first-place votes in the balloting, with Cease garnering 22 second-place votes and Guardians left-hander Parker Messick receiving seven.
For a long stretch of this season, straight through the summer months, Cease looked like he had a legitimate shot at his first Cy Young Award. Back in 2022 with the White Sox, Cease finished second in voting to Justin Verlander.
Cease’s case this season rested on his massive ceiling, the high-end dominance few pitchers in this game are even capable of. His 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings set a Blue Jays record for qualified pitchers, and his 237 strikeouts were the fourth most in franchise history behind only Robbie Ray (248 in 2021) and Roger Clemens (292 in 1997 and 271 in '98), both of whom won Cy Youngs.
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