Dylan Cease Stats & Scouting Report — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

Track Record: After recovering from Tommy John surgery, Cease came over to the White Sox along with slugger Eloy Jimenez as part of the Jose Quintana trade in July 2017. At high Class A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham in 2018, Cease notched 160 strikeouts, 10 behind Kopech for the system lead.

Scouting Report: Cease’s top-of-the-scale fastball sits in the mid-90s and has touched triple digits. He comes by that velocity almost effortlessly, from a high-slot delivery that features whip-quick arm speed. The fastball doesn’t show a whole lot of side-to-side life, though there is some sink and tail when he works it toward the bottom of the zone. More often, the pitch features riding life up in the zone. He complements the pitch with a plus 12-to-6 curveball in the mid-70s. He doesn’t always land the pitch for a strike, but it induces chases when buried. His third pitch is an average low-to-mid-80s changeup that features moderate sink. He also throws a developing slider. Cease’s fringe-average control has shown improvement, but he still needs to refine it.

The Future: Cease will likely return to Double-A to refine his offspeed pitches. He has the ceiling of a mid-rotation starter or a dominant closer.