To the surprise of many, Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease was not selected to the American League All-Star team this summer.
Cease has the second-best ERA in all of baseball at 2.06 and has gone 14-6 in 28 starts.
Hitters are also hitting just .184 as a group against him.
But with Justin Verlander out, Cease has a chance to catch him in the race for the American League Cy Young Award.
Verlander has posted a 1.84 ERA, but Cease is not too far behind and is breathing down his neck with a chance to overtake him, which is another way of saying that Cease could make up for his All-Star snub by winning the award.
The American League Cy Young Award winner this year just might not be an All-Star. 😐
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) September 9, 2022
Will Cease Catch Verlander?
Wouldn’t that be something?
Cease has had an incredible season and was ultimately robbed when he wasn’t selected to the All-Star team.
He certainly deserved a chance.
But he could make all of that a distant memory if he continues to dominate the way he has been.
The White Sox have desperately needed somebody to pick up the slack in their rotation due to the struggles of Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito.
Cease has done just that and has more than earned a chance to compete for the Cy Young Award.
The last Cy Young Award winner to not be an All-Star the same season was Jake Arrieta back in 2015, when he went on his unprecedented run with the Chicago Cubs.
Cease could do that this year.
It would be quite something to see him earn the award.
While Verlander is the clear favorite, Cease cannot be overlooked as he continues to dominate every time he makes a start.
We’ll see if he can catch Verlander.
NEXT: Dylan Cease Keeps Putting Up Cy Young Numbers