Dylan Cease Holds Value in Tight AL Cy Young Race

The Chicago White Sox have a lot of young, talented pitchers, and those arms might be led by Dylan Cease, who holds sneaky value in the AL Cy Young race.

Cease will make his next start this weekend when the White Sox take on the San Francisco Giants. This matchup will be a very telling start for the right-hander in a tough environment and could go a long way in seeing his odds rise. 

As good as some of the pitching has been in the American League this year, there’s still over half a season of action remaining and Cease has continued to build momentum during a solid June. 

Over his past six starts since May 29, Cease has been nearly untouchable and that’s helped the White Sox play more consistent baseball. In those six starts, Cease has allowed just one earned run, coming in his most recent outing against the Baltimore Orioles. The fourth-year pitcher faltered in his start against the Boston Red Sox on May 24, where he allowed seven earned runs and saw his ERA increase from 3.09 to 4.24.

Whatever Cease and the White Sox pitching coaches figured after that disastrous outing out has paid dividends and there’s a lot of value in keeping an eye on his situation in the AL Cy Young race. Since May 24, Cease has seen his ERA fall back down to 2.56, paired with his 6-3 record over 15 starts this year. Not only has Cease been lights out in June, he’s also been striking batters out at a high clip, tallying 121 strikeouts in just 81 innings pitched. Those numbers have seen a significant uptick during his past two starts, where he struck out 11 against the Toronto Blue Jays and 13 against the Orioles. It may be unlikely that Cease continues to put up these numbers, but he’s done enough to put himself back in the Cy Young conversation, where he owns the fifth-best odds at +1400. 

The current odds-on leader is Shane McClanahan of the Tampa Bay Rays at +290,  followed by veteran Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros at +440. The sophomore phenom Alek Manoah of the Blue Jays holds the third-highest odds at +600, while Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees has hung around in the race and sits at +850. 

McClanahan has pitched ten more innings than Cease and only has two more strikeouts than him to lead all of MLB. That said, McClanahan has still managed to be the most consistent arm in the AL this season with a 1.77 ERA, but time will tell if that will last in a tough AL East division. Cease’s beginning and near end to May could be his downfall in the AL Cy Young race, but there’s no doubt he’s presenting himself as a viable option to consider at his current price point. Investing in him at +1400 could be seen as a risk, but that’s also better than seeing him continue to fool hitters and have his odds climb into the top three of this list in July. 

You can realistically make a case that any of these five arms can take home the AL Cy Young award this season, but there’s no doubt that the current best value on this list is present with Cease after his dynamic June. 

Below you can find the top five current favorites to win the American League Cy Young award from the FanDuel Sportsbook.