Dylan Cease

Dylan Edward Cease (born December 28, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB).

In 2013, his junior year, he was 9–0 with an 0.81 ERA in 69.1 innings with 100 strikeouts, and Milton won the state championship in baseball.

Cease also appeared in a second straight state championship series, but lost to Lambert High School.

During the summer seasons, Cease competed for Team Elite out of Winder, Georgia, and excelled, earning him an invitation to the Perfect Game National Showcase and Perfect Game All-American Classic.

Cease committed to attend Vanderbilt University on a college baseball scholarship to play for the Vanderbilt Commodores.

In August 2013, prior to Cease's senior year at Milton, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com considered Cease to be a potential first-round draft choice in the upcoming 2014 MLB draft.

The Chicago Cubs selected him in the sixth round of the 2014 MLB draft.

Cease left a game during his senior season, on March 3, 2014, due to elbow soreness, which was later diagnosed as a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) of the elbow in his pitching arm.

As a result of his injury, Cease fell in the draft, and the Chicago Cubs selected him in the sixth round of the 2014 draft.

He signed with the Cubs, receiving a $1.5 million signing bonus, well above the $269,500 recommended at that slot.

After he signed, he underwent Tommy John surgery to repair the UCL.

He resumed throwing in May 2015, and pitched for the Arizona Cubs of the Rookie-level Arizona League.

In 11 games (eight starts) batters hit .145 against him.

At the end of the 2015 season, Baseball America rated Cease as the second-best prospect in the Arizona League.

He spent the 2016 season with the Eugene Emeralds of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, where he posted a 2–0 win–loss record with a 2.22 earned run average and 66 strikeouts in 44 2⁄3 innings pitched (averaging 13.3 strikeouts per 9 innings).

He held batters to a .175 average.

He was named a 2016 Northwest League Post-Season All-Star, and a Baseball America Short-Season All Star.

Cease began the 2017 season with the South Bend Cubs of the Class A Midwest League.

Cease had a 1–2 record with a 2.79 ERA in 13 starts for South Bend.

He was named a Midwest League Mid-Season All-Star.

On July 13, 2017, the Cubs traded Cease, Eloy Jiménez, Matt Rose, and Bryant Flete to the Chicago White Sox for José Quintana.

The White Sox assigned him to the Kannapolis Intimidators of the Class A South Atlantic League.

In 22 starts between South Bend and Kannapolis, Cease posted a 1–10 record with a 3.28 ERA along with 126 strikeouts in a career-high 93 1⁄3 innings pitched, averaged 12.2 K/9, and held batters to a .221 average.

Cease began the 2018 season with the Winston-Salem Dash of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League, with whom he was 9–2 (his 9 wins were third in the league) with a 2.89 ERA.

He earned a mid-season promotion to the Birmingham Barons of the Class AA Southern League.

Combined he was 12–2 with a 2.40 ERA in 124 innings covering 23 starts, with 160 strikeouts (11.2 K/9) and a .189 batting average against.

Cease was selected to represent the White Sox at the 2018 All-Star Futures Game.

He was named MLB Pipeline Pitcher of the Year, and a Carolina League midseason All-Star.

The White Sox added Cease to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season.

He made his MLB debut in 2019.

Cease was born in Milton, Georgia.

His mother is Anne Cease, and his father, Jeff Cease, played high school football.

His father's side of his family is Jewish.

His paternal grandmother, Betty Cease, played professional baseball, and she and her husband Harold Cease are buried in Lakeside Memorial Park, a Jewish cemetery in Doral, Florida.

Cease attended Milton High School in Milton.

Pitching for the school's baseball team, his fastball velocity averaged 91 to 95 mph, while peaking at 98 mph. In games in which he did not pitch, Cease played shortstop.

Cease opened the 2019 season with the Charlotte Knights of the Class AAA International League.

On July 3, the White Sox promoted him to the major leagues.

In his debut he pitched five innings, allowed three runs, struck out six batters, and earned the win.

He finished the season with a 4–7 record and a 5.79 ERA in 73 innings.