Dylan Cease


Dylan Edward Cease is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball.

Amateur career

Cease attended Milton High School in Milton, Georgia. Pitching for the school's baseball team, his fastball velocity averaged, while peaking at. In games that he did not pitch, Cease played shortstop. In 2013, his junior year, Milton won the state championship in baseball. Cease also appeared in a second straight state championship series, but lost to Lambert High School. Cease committed to attend Vanderbilt University on a college baseball scholarship to play for the Vanderbilt Commodores. During the summer seasons, Cease competed for Team Elite out of Winder, GA, and excelled, earning him an invitation to the Perfect Game National Showcase and Perfect Game All-American Classic.

Professional career

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. 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 of the elbow in his pitching arm. As a result, he fell in the draft, and the Chicago Cubs selected him in the sixth round.

Chicago Cubs

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

Chicago White Sox

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 total games between South Bend and Kannapolis, Cease posted a 1-10 record with a 3.28 ERA along with 126 strikeouts in a career high innings pitched. He began the 2018 season with the Winston-Salem Dash of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League, and earned a midseason promotion to the Birmingham Barons of the Class AA Southern League. Cease was selected to represent the White Sox at the 2018 All-Star Futures Game.
The White Sox added Cease to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season.
Cease opened the 2019 season with the Charlotte Knights. 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.

Personal life

Cease has a twin brother, Alec, who also played on the Milton High School team as a catcher and third baseman.