Toronto right-hander Dylan Cease will start Tuesday night's All-Star Game presented by Mastercard for the American League, the Blue Jays announced on Sunday.
Cease heads into the All-Star break with a 2.56 ERA that ranks seventh lowest in baseball -- and third lowest in the AL -- among qualified starting pitchers, entering play on Sunday. He leads the AL with 148 strikeouts, a 36.9% strikeout rate and a .189 batting average against. By FanGraphs’ version of WAR, Cease has been the most valuable pitcher in the league and the third-most valuable pitcher in baseball.
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Cease has certainly lived up to expectations after signing a seven-year, $210 million contract with the Blue Jays in November.
Cease will become the first Blue Jays pitcher to start the All-Star Game since Roy Halladay in 2009. It’s another honor for the 30-year-old, who entered the 2026 season still eyeing his first All-Star selection.
Earlier on Sunday, Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler announced that he will not pitch in the All-Star Game, all but teeing up Cease to do so.
Cease hammered home his case with a brilliant outing on Wednesday, carrying a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Giants. He wound up allowing just one hit across eight scoreless innings while recording 11 strikeouts.
Now, he'll climb the mound on Tuesday to tackle the NL's best hitters at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park.