Blue Jays’ ace Dylan Cease was terrific in the first season of his seven-year deal
Photo credit: © John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Oct 20, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 20, 2026, 04:19 EDT
Dylan Cease was a big reason why the Toronto Blue Jays even sniffed a playoff spot in September.
Signed to a seven-year, $210 million deal last off-season, the flamethrowing righty instantly slotted in as the Blue Jays’ ace. He made an immediate impact as well, striking out 12 over five and one-third innings in the second Blue Jays’ game of the season.
That was the start of a Cy Young calibre season.
How Dylan Cease’s season went
Among qualified starting pitchers, Cease’s 2.40 ERA ranked fourth-best, behind just Jacob Misiorowski, Cam Schlittler, and Chris Sale. His FIP of 2.56 was tied third with Schlittler, while the other two National League pitchers already mentioned finished with a better mark than Cease.
Only two pitchers in baseball, Misiorowski and Cleveland Guardians’ ace Gavin Williams finished with more strikeouts than Cease’s 239, though he was tied with Schlittler yet again. In terms of K% (strikeouts divided by number of batters faced), his 34.9 K% was second to, you guessed it, Misiorowski.
It wasn’t a perfect season for Cease, because despite a career-best strikeout, he also struggled with command all year long. No qualified pitcher had a higher BB% than Cease’s 11.4 percent, and it wasn’t even particularly close as Cincinnati Reds’ Andrew Abbott finished with a 10.4 BB%, the second-highest among qualified pitchers.
Cease has been a durable pitcher throughout his career, but for the first time since becoming a big-leaguer, the flamethrower was placed on the injured list. The first stint came in late-May/early-June due to a hamstring injury, before missing his final few starts due to a shoulder injury.
That shoulder injury hampered his velocity as well. From the start of the season until July 20th, Cease’s fastball averaged 97.7 mph. It was down two ticks over his last 11 starts, and by his final start on September 18th, the heater averaged just 93.6 mph.
Ironically, the first game his velocity began to decline was one of his best starts of the season. Cease carried a no-hitter into the top of the sixth against the Boston Red Sox, before Andruw Monasterio hit a lead-off double. That turned out to be the lone hit of the game, as Cease threw nine scoreless innings with three walks and 12 strikeouts.
This was the second time he carried a no-hitter past the six inning mark in 2026, the first time coming on a trip out west two starts before. It took until the bottom of the ninth for the San Francisco Giants to finally reach base with a hit, sadly breaking up what would’ve been the second no-hitter in franchise history. For good measure, Cease carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the New York Yankees on August 22nd.
Given Schlittler’s performance, namely a 1.95 ERA in 193.2 innings of work, Cease will likely remain on the hunt for his first Cy Young award. Still, it was a terrific season for the hard-throwing righty, and here’s to six more of them.
Cynthia Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, DFOEdmonton, and DFOCalgary. She can be followed on Twitter @CynthiaRDelaney.