Why Dylan Cease Could Have Won the American League CY Young
· Yahoo Sports
Dylan Cease‘s Cy Young dreams have come up short with the Toronto Blue Jays after signing in Toronto this past offseason. The 2026 season was full of strong performances. Cease advanced as a finalist, joined by New York Yankees star Cam Schlittler and the Cleveland Guardians Parker Messick. All three had strong cases, but in an unsurprising result, Schlittler took home the award.
Dylan Cease Cy Young Caliber Season Comes Up Short
Cease’s Cy Young case was a strong one, which began with a dominant Cy Young-caliber start. This season, he recorded a 2.40 ERA. Good for the fourth-best in Major League Baseball. Only Schlittler had a better ERA in the American League. Cease’s 1.10 WHIP was tied for 13th best in the entire league, and the second-best in his career. Compared to some other Cy Young finalists, Cease appeared in only 169 innings, which was tied for the 35th most in the league. However, he had 239 strikeouts, only behind Jacob Misiorowski and Gavin Williams. In fact, Cease had just as many Ks as Schlittler, who pitched in 193 2/3 innings.
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Sep 13, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Dylan Cease (84) pitches to the Baltimore Orioles during the third inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn ImagesWhen it came to batting average allowed, Cease had a .180. The only pitcher who was better was Misiorowski. Cease didn’t record as many wins, only having 11. However, this does not take away from his dominance.
Now, the one small question mark came over the last month of the season, as he allowed 15 hits and six earned runs. He also missed some time with right shoulder inflammation. This was not awful at all, but in September, he had a 2.89 ERA. Again, this is still elite, as one of the Blue Jays’ biggest storylines was whether he could keep up his dominance. It is clear he played at an elite level, but for his unreal standards, he took a minor step back
However, when being in a tight race, each allowed run makes a difference. It was still an elite performance, but it was enough to drop his ERA behind Schlittler’s. Schlittler was electric the entire year, and matched Cease in many statistical categories. It was always a tight race, but the final month definitely made it more challenging for Cease’s Cy Young case.
How Dylan Cease’s Cy Young-Quality Season Gives Hope
Schlittler was the better man this season, but it does not take away from Cease’s season. He was a great pitcher and important to the Blue Jays pitching staff. It wasn’t as strong of a year for the team as fans hoped, but there is still some hope going forward. This season, Cease proved he is capable of being a true ace. The Blue Jays now have a true special pitcher to lead them in 2027. There is hope that the rest of the team can rebound, which is easier than finding a pitcher like Cease. Having a superstar to lead the team is an important step in contending for the World Series.
Sep 2, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease (84) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn ImagesDylan Cease Could Have Joined Elite Company
Cease’s Cy Young caliber season could have joined a rich history of award winners in Blue Jays history. They have had four players win the award. Pat Hentgen won the award in 1996. Roger Clemens then followed that up by winning the award back-to-back in 1997 and 1998.
After winning it three years in a row, Toronto took a few years off before winning it again. Well, only five years to be exact. Roy Halladay won it in 2003. They then went a while without winning it. Robbie Ray ended the drought by winning it in 2021. Cease’s season came close, but he does not join the history books.
The Last Word
Cease’s Cy Young case was a strong one. In many metrics, he was one of the best pitchers in baseball. Messick and Schlittler both had amazing years. No offense to Messick, but Cease and Schlittler were viewed as the two favorites for much of the season. The two were compared all season long. A very slight hiccup in September gave Schlittler the ERA lead. Also, Cease having fewer innings may have helped set him back. It was an elite race, but unfortunately only one of the three pitchers could win. Cease showed up the entire season, but Schlittler was too good to fight.
Main Photo Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images
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