Perhaps as no surprise, last year’s AL Cy Young Runner-Up will be the first one out of the gates in Houston.
This morning, the White Sox announced that Dylan Cease will be their Opening Day starter once the team gets to Houston to start off 2023. Based on the rotation this Spring, it appears he will be followed, in order, by Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, Mike Clevinger, and Michael Kopech.
Cease will go up against Houston’s Framber Valdez in one of Opening Day’s best starting pitcher matchups.
After a few seasons of showing potential, but room for growth, Cease broke out in 2022, going 14-8 across 184 innings last season. His ERA was south of 2.00 until his final start, finishing at 2.20 on the season. He struck out 30.4% of batters while walking 10.4%, and his slider became a legitimate weapon – per Baseball Savant, the -36 Run Value on Cease’s slider made it the most valuable pitch in baseball in 2022.
Cease will look to build on an impressive campaign in 2023 and show that his breakout season was no fluke. He is the next in a long line of strong Opening Day starters for the White Sox.
As a reminder, Opening Day for the South Siders is on March 30th. Based on this, it is also likely that Michael Kopech will start the club’s home opener against San Francisco on Monday, April 3rd.
Follow us @SoxOn35th for more!
Featured Image: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
