Of course Eloy Jimenez was the central figure in the White Sox trade of Jose Quintana to the Cubs in 2017, but Dylan Cease was a highly-regarded prospect in his own right, and on Thursday he received more validation when he won the MLB’s Pipeline Pitcher of the Year Award.
Cease was shut down by the White Sox organization due to reaching a pitch limit they had set for him, but his overall year showed tremendous growth. He pitched 124 innings, and went 12-2 with a stellar 2.40 ERA. Cease got stronger as the year went on, going 3-0 with an 1.72 ERA once he got called up to Double-A Birmingham.
The White Sox No. 5 overall prospect, Cease only allowed a batting average of .189 in his starts. He also racked up 160 strikeouts on the year, 34 more than the previous season. Cease wasn’t included in the “will they, won’t they call him up”-drama that surrounded the seasons of Eloy Jimenez and the (eventually) called-up Michael Kopech.
The MLB Pipeline Pitcher of the Year Award is voted on by the MLB Pipeline staff. And if their selection of Cease is any indication, he projects to be playing in meaningful big league games in 2019.