Cease off to strong start in Sox rotation competition originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
If Dylan Cease is truly part of a competition for a spot in the White Sox starting rotation, then he couldn't have had a better first showing than the one he had Monday.
Cease was efficient and effective, throwing three scoreless innings — and coming just one third-inning base hit away from perfection — against the Cubs in his first Cactus League start of the spring. He struck out a pair of opposing hitters and showed off the stuff that's been called "nasty" and "devastating."
The emphasis all winter and spring has been on Cease throwing more strikes. The walks piled up last season, and the idea is to reverse that in 2021. On Monday, he didn't walk a soul.
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"In this league, command is critical," manager Tony La Russa said before Monday's game. "You can have an almost unhittable ball, but (if) the count is always 2-0 and you miss right over the middle of the plate, these guys are so talented (that they'll make you pay).
"(Cease has) got a terrific future, it’s just where he is right now. He has an opportunity to be one of the five (members of the starting rotation)."
It's long seemed that Cease had a 2021 rotation spot spoken for, though a check of Rick Hahn's comments about the right-hander dating all the way back to October showed that the White Sox were open to anything following a disappointing 2020 for the big pitching piece in 2017's Crosstown swap with the Cubs. Still, with the other starting-pitching options in White Sox camp creating big question marks about the No. 5 spot, it's fair to say that the No. 4 spot was not the one carrying the biggest mystery.
Regardless, La Russa has listed the fourth and fifth spots as open for the winners of a spring competition, and he hasn't included Cease among the locks for the rotation, which to this point are only Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel and Lance Lynn in the eyes and words of the South Side skipper.
And so Monday's outing, which La Russa dubbed a big one for Cease before it happened, was an impressive way to plant the flag.
"There's always more to be done, we all know that," Cease said. "But to throw three innings, no walks, be able to challenge guys, I think we're right where we need to be.
"It's always encouraging to see results and see the swing and misses and the soft contact. That is only going to feed into (my confidence), but at the end of the day, I know there's still a lot of work to be done."
Cease spent the offseason following the instructions of new pitching coach Ethan Katz, who was brought in with, among his other tasks, the order to try to work his magic on Cease. Katz helped Giolito turn his career around following a woeful 2018 season. Cease's 2020 wasn't as bad as Giolito's 2018, of course, but a significant dip in his ERA from rookie season to sophomore year didn't tell the story of season-long troubles with walks, home runs and repeated jams.
But the work Cease has done with Katz has impressed so far this spring.
"Besides his stuff?" La Russa said, asked what exactly has been so impressive about Cease. "His willingness. He hasn’t taken a bullpen (session) off. Sometimes you will see a guy not quite into it because it’s not a game. He competes in the bullpens, during batting practice. He’s really determined to pitch to his potential, and he’s trying to hurry that process (along) by relying on good coaching."
Monday, Cease finally got a chance to show off what he's been working on.
"I don't think (a spot in the rotation is) just earned with one or two games. I think it's pretty much the work you put in and the process," Cease said. "I started that in this offseason, so right now we're getting to the point where we're close to seeing what the results from that process are going to look like.
"I want to be a valuable member of the team. I know that starts with me throwing strikes and getting ahead of guys. That's my main focus. Yeah, I definitely want to earn that spot, and that's my intention."
While Cease is right that one start won't determine who lands where in the White Sox rotation, it's hard to see Monday's outing as anything but a positive sign as he attempts to take a step toward fulfilling his enormous potential. If he can do that, the White Sox, with their championship expectations, could see their rotation grow from a three-headed monster into an even deeper group closer to World Series caliber.
Certainly, Reynaldo López and Carlos Rodón would like a shot at doing that, too. They're also part of that competition group, though it seems they're battling each other for that No. 5 spot. Seemingly, disaster would have to strike for Cease to be left out of the White Sox rotation when the regular season begins in two and a half weeks.
But if the competition is indeed still open, and Cease is still a part of it, then what a way to kick things off.
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