TORONTO -- Dylan Cease finished second in American League Cy Young Award voting, behind only Cam Schlittler of the Yankees, who won unanimously on Wednesday night.
For much of the season, particularly through the heart of the summer, it felt like a two-horse race between the AL East aces. Schlittler eventually pulled away down the stretch as Cease faded, then eventually ended the season on the IL with right shoulder inflammation, but this was still one of the finest seasons we’ve seen from a Blue Jays pitcher.
Cease finished with a 2.40 ERA and a whopping 239 strikeouts over 169 innings, good for a strikeout rate of 12.7 per nine innings. His 239 strikeouts were the fourth-most in franchise history behind only Robbie Ray and Roger Clemens (twice), both of whom won Cy Youngs. On Wednesday night’s show on MLB Network it was Clemens who finally announced the Award.
Behind the unanimous winner in Schlittler, Cease received 22 of a possible 30 second-place votes from BBWAA voters. Rounding out the top five were Parker Messick of the Guardians, Drew Rasmussen of the Rays and Sonny Gray of the Red Sox, giving the mighty AL East four of the top five spots.
When the Blue Jays signed Cease to a seven-year, $210 million deal last offseason, this is what they dreamed of. The 30-year-old exceeded all expectations in year one, doing exactly what he said he’d do in Toronto.
Cease has an uncanny understanding of his own game, weaknesses and all. Coming up with the White Sox, where he also finished second in AL Cy Young voting in 2022, and later with the Padres, Cease has always been fully aware of his rare talent, but he’s also been open about how inconsistent he’s been. Looking back through his track record, there are clear “on” years and “off” years, and from the moment he signed with the Blue Jays, Cease has spoken about slamming that gap shut. The talent is there, but it’s the consistency that was missing.
At Cease’s peak through June, July and August, you could easily make an argument that he was the most dominant pitcher in the AL.
He carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Giants back in July, and later that month, struck out 12 Red Sox batters over a one-hit shutout. He was a true workhorse through those summer months, and while it caught up to Cease by the end of the season, he was one of the best stories on a Blue Jays team in need of more.
Schlittler is a deserving winner, of course, and he will be a problem for the Blue Jays’ lineup for years to come. Still just 25, Schlittler posted an incredible 1.95 ERA over 195 innings with 239 strikeouts, pairing a heavy workload with elite numbers.
Speaking recently at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas, Ross Atkins told reporters that Cease is doing well this offseason after ending the year on the IL with that shoulder issue. With six years left on his deal in Toronto, Cease surely has a few more runs at the Cy Young Award ahead of him.